This Music video introduces teachers to the key concepts and teaching approaches used throughout the Year 4 Sounds of China unit. It explores how children discover traditional Chinese music and the vibrant music of the dragon dance, then use rhythm and melody to compose their own three-part musical retelling of the dragon dance story.

The video supports teachers in developing pupils’ understanding of rhythm, melody and musical structure through practical composition activities. It explains how children begin by creating rhythmic loops using words and percussion before layering them into energetic compositions. Teachers are also introduced to the pentatonic scale and shown how pupils create simple melodies by changing the order of notes and repeating patterns, while becoming familiar with musical notation through regular exposure.

The content also explores how pupils bring rhythmic and melodic ideas together to create a complete performance that accompanies the story of the dragon dance. By encouraging experimentation, collaboration and active listening, teachers gain practical strategies for helping children compose confidently while developing an appreciation of Chinese musical traditions.

This video is part of Kapow Primary’s Music videos, which support teachers in developing confidence and subject knowledge when helping children explore musical concepts, perform with accuracy and creativity and deepen their understanding of how music can be written, shared and performed.

See more of our Key Stage 2 scheme of work.

• Music, Year 4, Sounds of China: Scales and structure.