3 ‘Must Teach’ Music Analysis Activities For Primary Students

Do you think music analysis is only for advanced students of music? 

No, actually it isn’t. 

If you’ve been told that only kids learning music at a really high level need to and can analyse music, then you have been buying into a false myth. 

Kids of any age can learn to analyse music and actually it is one of the best ways to get them interested in music. 

In this post, I am going to give you a detailed explanation of how you can teach your primary school aged kids to analyse music in the comfort of your home. 

And no, you don’t need any prior knowledge nor formal training in music, because I am going to give you all the steps and all the tools you need and it is going to be as easy as one, two, three. 

As always, I have also made a printable available with this post, so don’t forget to download it once you are done reading the post. 

Ok, so without further ado, let’s get started. 

Listen To Dynamics

Now, don’t get worried when you see the word ‘terminology’. 

I’m going to teach you three simple music terms for you to introduce to your homeschoolers and you will see how those three terms can open up a world of musical learning in no time. 

So what are these three magical words?

Ready to hear them?

Ok, here goes. 

Volume – Is the music loud or soft?

Pitch – Is the music high or low?

Pace – Is the music fast or slow?

That’s it? 

What do you think? 

Now, let’s move to the next step.

After you have introduced the musical terms to your children, it is now time to listen to a piece of music and ask her about the dynamics. 

Is the piece loud or soft? Are the notes high or low? Is it fast paced or slow paced? 

Of course, you might have to guide her through the first song or two, but you will see that she understands pretty quickly and is able to accurately analyse each piece. 

Reflect

Like beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it is the same with music as well. 

So now it is time to reflect on the compositions. 

Ask simple questions like

Do you like the song?

How does the song make you feel?

Why don’t you like the song?

Why do you think the song is scary? etc, will help her to reflect on each song. 

Instruments

Once she has accurately reflected on the song, you can go a step further and ask her to try to recognize the different instruments in the song. 

Identifying instruments like drums will be easier than figuring out if a cornet or a trumpet is being played. 

Watching music videos and getting accustomed to the sound of instruments will also help in this stage. 

Besides, trying to identify the instruments alone it will also be good for your child to reflect on how the instruments contribute to the overall tone of the piece and the emotions it elicits. 

Compare And Contrast

Once she has listened and analysed a few pieces of music, it is time to compare and contrast two pieces in terms of the dynamics (volume, pitch and pace), the moods, the instruments used and how the instruments in each melody change the mood etc. 

What do you think? Will you primary school aged homeschooler be unto this? 

Comment below and let me know how it went.