The Arts · Year 6

Active learning ideas

Music and Storytelling: Program Music

Program music asks students to hear stories without words, which can feel abstract until they map sounds to action. Active listening and hands-on composition make these abstract sounds concrete, so students can feel how tempo or timbre shapes a narrative before they analyze it.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9AMU6D01
• AC9AMU6E01

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Project-Based Learning
• 40 min · Small Groups

Listening Stations: Narrative Mapping

Set up stations with excerpts from program music like The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Students map story elements, noting dynamics, tempo, and instruments on worksheets. Groups rotate every 10 minutes and compare maps in debrief.

Analyze how a composer uses dynamics and tempo to build suspense in a musical piece that tells a story.

Facilitation Tip

During Listening Stations: Narrative Mapping, place a visual timeline on each station to guide students to mark where they hear suspense building and which instrument plays each character.

What to look for

Play a short excerpt of program music (e.g., from 'Peter and the Wolf'). Ask students to write down one word describing the mood and one musical element (dynamics, tempo, instrument) the composer used to create that mood.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Project-Based Learning
• 30 min · Pairs

Motif Design: Character Sounds

Pairs select a story character and create a 4-8 bar motif using percussion or melody instruments. They label elements like rising pitch for excitement. Pairs record and share one key feature.

Design a short musical motif that represents a specific character or emotion in a narrative.

Facilitation Tip

When running Motif Design: Character Sounds, provide a bank of recorded sounds and instruments so students can test motifs immediately, then refine based on what they hear.

What to look for

Students present their short musical motifs representing a character. After each presentation, peers answer: 'What character or emotion did the motif represent for you?' and 'What musical element made you think that?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Project-Based Learning
• 45 min · Small Groups

Story Chain Performance: Group Sequencing

Small groups compose a musical section for sequential story parts, such as chase or resolution. Perform in order as a class, adjusting based on feedback. Discuss overall narrative flow.

Evaluate the effectiveness of different musical elements in telling a story without lyrics.

Facilitation Tip

In Story Chain Performance: Group Sequencing, use a simple conductor cue (raised hand) to stop and restart sections so students hear how small changes in dynamics affect the narrative flow.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How can a composer make you feel scared using only music?' Guide students to discuss specific examples of tempo changes (getting faster), dynamics (getting louder), and instrument choices (e.g., low brass).

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Project-Based Learning
• 25 min · Individual

Evaluation Walk: Peer Feedback

Display student motifs around the room. Individuals or pairs visit three, noting strengths in storytelling elements on sticky notes. Class tallies common feedback themes.

Analyze how a composer uses dynamics and tempo to build suspense in a musical piece that tells a story.

Facilitation Tip

For Evaluation Walk: Peer Feedback, give students sentence starters on cards to focus comments on tempo, dynamics, or timbre rather than personal preference.

What to look for

Play a short excerpt of program music (e.g., from 'Peter and the Wolf'). Ask students to write down one word describing the mood and one musical element (dynamics, tempo, instrument) the composer used to create that mood.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start by modeling your own listening: play a phrase from Peter and the Wolf and think aloud about how you know the wolf is approaching before you see him. Avoid talking about music theory first; let students discover how sounds evoke images. Research shows that when students construct meaning from sound before naming the technique, their later analysis is stronger and more personal.

Students will identify how musical elements create images, design motifs that clearly represent characters, and sequence sounds to tell a coherent story. Success looks like confident explanations linking sound to meaning and thoughtful feedback that names specific musical techniques.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Motif Design: Character Sounds, watch for students who add lyrics or words to explain their motif.

  Stop the group and ask them to remove any words and rely only on sound. Play their motif back without explanation to show how clear it can be without lyrics, then discuss which instruments or rhythms made the character clear.

• During Listening Stations: Narrative Mapping, watch for students who focus only on melody and ignore tempo, dynamics, or timbre.

  Prompt with, 'Listen again—how does the music change when the wolf appears? What do you hear in the bass instruments that wasn’t there before?' Use a visual checklist of musical elements to guide their second listen.

• During Story Chain Performance: Group Sequencing, watch for students who assume program music must sound exactly like a cartoon soundtrack.

  Ask them to rethink modern examples: play a brief excerpt from a video game soundtrack or film score and compare it to Prokofiev. Discuss how composers today use the same principles with different sounds.

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Methods used in this brief

• Project-Based Learning