---
title: "Listening to Music"
description: "Learn what to notice when listening to music: instruments, voices, changes in speed or loudness, and returning tunes. Practise with written descriptions and pictures, then try the listening activities"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/arts-and-music/listening-to-music-mt_sVUxOvaDOO
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/arts-and-music/listening-to-music-mt_sVUxOvaDOO.md
retrieved: 2026-11-12
---

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# Listening to Music

Learn what to notice when listening to music: instruments, voices, changes in speed or loudness, and returning tunes. Practise with written descriptions and pictures, then try the listening activities with someone.

Subject: Arts & Music · Area: Music · Ages 5 to 9
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/arts-and-music/listening-to-music-mt_sVUxOvaDOO

## Ready when they can

- Choose a way to share observations after listening and put described instrument entrances and stops in order
- Identify a piano from a stated playing clue and distinguish changes in voices, speed or loudness described in words or pictures
- Recognise a returning tune as a repeat and count appearances of a named tune in a picture

## Lesson: Listening to Music

Listen to a short song from start to end. Notice a sound or a change. When it ends, tell someone what you heard. You can like a song and describe its sounds too.

*(drawing: These words show a song getting louder as it goes on.)*

**Example.** Theo hears a flute. Drums join halfway through. Then the flute stops. He tells the order: flute, both, drums. Singers can join too. One voice can become many voices.

A piano has black and white keys. Its notes can ring after a key is pressed. A guitar has strings that a player may pluck or strum. A drum may thump or tap when hit. Listen to examples with someone who can name them. Each instrument can make different sounds.

Music can get faster or slower. It can also get louder or quieter. Speed and loudness are different changes. A picture can show loudness with bars. Read each bar's name. A taller bar means a louder part in that picture.

*(drawing: These words show changes in speed.)*

A tune is a line of notes you can remember. Listen for it to return later. You can hum a short tune to help remember it. In a picture, the same tune has the same name each time. Count its name to find how often it plays.

**Recap.** Listen all the way through, notice the changes, and remember the tune.

*Original lesson, questions and flashcards written for this dataset.*

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Opens up

- [Music Through History](https://lightmysky.com/learn/arts-and-music/music-through-history-mt__1i5N9PywE)
- [The Families of the Orchestra](https://lightmysky.com/learn/arts-and-music/the-families-of-the-orchestra-mt_5asOXH89es)
- [Dance: Telling a Story Without Words](https://lightmysky.com/learn/arts-and-music/dance-telling-a-story-without-words-mt_JCmUH5GmE9)
- [Composing Music](https://lightmysky.com/learn/arts-and-music/composing-music-mt_QzScsMn9fX)
- [Listening to a Whole Piece and Saying What Happens](https://lightmysky.com/learn/arts-and-music/listening-to-a-whole-piece-and-saying-what-happens-mt_rtquCTEn0v)
- [The Shape of a Piece](https://lightmysky.com/learn/arts-and-music/the-shape-of-a-piece-mt_sSoi-W_vs-)
- [Reading Musical Notation](https://lightmysky.com/learn/arts-and-music/reading-musical-notation-mt_YrnMXGEnk-)