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  2. Music >
  3. Lower key stage 2 >
  4. Year 3 >
  5. Inspired by India: Musical improvisations >
  6. Lesson 2: Improvising a melody
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This is preview content for the 2026-27 academic year. Your feedback will help us improve these units.

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This is preview content for the 2026-27 academic year. Your feedback will help us improve these units.

Learning objective

  • To improvise a simple melody using a pentatonic scale.

Success criteria

  • I can name different ways to improvise.
  • I can
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National curriculum

Music

Pupils should be taught to:

  • Play
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Cross-curricular links

None.

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Before the lesson

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Lesson plan

Recap and recall

Show the Presentation: The knowledge pot. Ask children to recall facts about improvisation. Click the pot to provide clues.

Learning objective

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Adaptive teaching

Pupils needing extra support:

  • Could improvise using three notes rather than five to simplify note choices (e.g CDE).
  • Could remove notes from the glockenspiel to focus only on the chosen notes.

Pupils working at greater depth:

  • Should extend their musical pattern by using more than one improvisation technique (for example, adding silence and repetition).
  • Could extend their pattern further by repeating notes.
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Assessing progress and understanding

Pupils with secure understanding can:

  • Improvise using five notes and change the
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Vocabulary definitions

  • note

    A single music sound that represents a pitch.

  • pentatonic scale

    A scale of five notes (e.g. C, D, E, G, A).

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In this unit

Assessment - Music: Inspired by India: Musical improvisations

Lesson 1: Introduction to traditional Indian music

Lesson 2: Improvising a melody

Lesson 3: Exploring drone and tala sounds

Lesson 4: Musical stories

Lesson 5: Practise and perform

Created by:

Kapow Primary team
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Maintained by: Kapow Primary team

Last update: 10th April, 2026

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Lesson 1: Introduction to traditional Indian music Previous Lesson
Lesson 3: Exploring drone and tala sounds Next Lesson

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