Tag: music

Music: Instruments and Singing – Infants 2 Arts

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

Our islands are full of music: steelpan in the panyard, tassa at weddings, cuatro at parang time. Let us explore instruments and sing!

Three families of instruments

StringWindPercussion
you pluck, strum or bow strings: cuatro, guitar, violin, harpyou blow air: flute, recorder, trumpet, saxophoneyou hit, shake or scrape: steelpan, tassa, drums, shak-shak, tambourine, scraper
A man playing a steelpan
The steelpan, our national instrument (percussion).
Shanel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A tassa group in red shirts playing drums outdoors
A tassa band (percussion).
Chrisbal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A small four-stringed guitar-like instrument
The cuatro, played at parang time (string).
Jo Dusepo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Textures: thin and thick sounds

One voice or one instrument makes a thin texture. Many voices and instruments together make a thick texture. Try: one person sings, then add a shaker, then a drum, then everybody!

Sing!

Sing folk and action songs in a group and alone: Brown Girl in the Ring, Mary Ann, Jane and Louisa. Sing in tune and with a sweet, pleasing voice – no shouting!

New words to old tunes

Change the words of a song you know. “Brown girl in the ring … she looks like a sugar in a plum” could become “Brown girl in the ring … she looks like a mango on a tree!”

Up and down: melodic contour

A tune moves up and down. When the notes go up, move your hands up. When they go down, move your hands down. Try it in the activity!

TRY ITInstruments

Choose a game.

Let’s practise

Try each one. Then tap Show answer to check.

1. Name the three families of instruments.

Show answer

String, wind, percussion.

2. Is the steelpan string, wind or percussion?

Show answer

Percussion.

3. Name a string instrument played at parang time.

Show answer

The cuatro.

4. What is a thick texture?

Show answer

Many voices and instruments together.

5. How do you show a tune going up?

Show answer

Move your hands (or body) up.

Quick check

1. Is a flute string, wind or percussion?

Show answer

Wind.

2. Name a percussion instrument you can shake.

Show answer

For example a shak-shak (maracas) or tambourine.

3. Name a folk song.

Show answer

For example Brown Girl in the Ring, Mary Ann, Jane and Louisa.

Words to know

Say these words with a grown-up. Can you use each one in a sentence?

instrument · string · wind · percussion · texture · thick · thin · melody · up · down · folk song

Try it at home

  • Make a shak-shak with a bottle and dried peas. Which family is it in?
  • Sing a folk song with your family and make up a new verse.
  • Listen to steelpan, tassa and parang music. Which instruments can you hear?

For parents and teachers

After this lesson, your child should be able to:

  • name and match about 10 instruments by sight and sound
  • sort instruments into string, wind and percussion
  • make thin and thick textures
  • sing folk and action songs in tune
  • make up new words for familiar songs
  • show melodic contour with the body

The up/down tunes are generated on the page. Matching instruments by sound is best done with real instruments or recordings in class; this page covers sight and sorting.

Previous: Music: Beat and Rhythm
Next: Infants 2 lessons (all subjects)

Attributions to media used in this post:

Pan player.jpg – Shanel – CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Trinidad and Tobago Sweet Tassa.jpg – Chrisbal – CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Cuatro venezolano.jpg – Jo Dusepo – CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.

Music: Beat and Rhythm – Infants 2 Arts

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

Music has a beat, like a heartbeat: it keeps going, steady and even. Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds in a song.

Steady beat

Put your hand on your chest and feel your heartbeat. Now clap a steady beat: clap, clap, clap, clap. Try body percussion: pat your knees, clap your hands, click your fingers, stamp your feet. Then try shakers, a tambourine or a biscuit tin drum.

Rhythm patterns

Say and clap: ta ta ti-ti ta (“mango, mango, man-go-tree!”). Ta is one long-ish clap; ti-ti is two quick claps.

Fast, slow, faster, slower

  • Fast music: run on the spot, wiggle.
  • Slow music: walk like an elephant, sway.
  • Getting faster (accelerando): start slow and speed up.
  • Getting slower (ritardando): start fast and slow down.
  • Long sounds: stretch your arms wide; short sounds: tap your fingers.

Write a rhythm your own way

Invent symbols! A 👏 can mean a clap, a 🥁 can mean a drum and an empty box can mean silence (a rest). Line them up and play them back.

TRY ITBeat and rhythm

Choose a game.

Let’s practise

Try each one. Then tap Show answer to check.

1. What is the beat?

Show answer

The steady pulse of music, like a heartbeat.

2. What is rhythm?

Show answer

The pattern of long and short sounds.

3. Name three kinds of body percussion.

Show answer

For example clap, pat, click, stamp.

4. How would you move to slow music?

Show answer

For example walk slowly, sway, move like an elephant.

5. Invent a symbol for a clap and one for a rest.

Show answer

Your own answer, for example 👏 and an empty box.

Quick check

1. Clap “ta ta ti-ti ta”. How many claps?

Show answer

5 claps (ta, ta, ti, ti, ta).

2. What is a rest?

Show answer

A silence in the music.

3. What does getting slower mean?

Show answer

The music starts fast and slows down.

Words to know

Say these words with a grown-up. Can you use each one in a sentence?

beat · rhythm · body percussion · fast · slow · getting faster · getting slower · long · short · rest

Try it at home

  • Keep the beat with a pot and a spoon while someone sings.
  • Write a rhythm with your own symbols and teach it to your family.
  • Listen to a calypso or soca song. Clap the beat. Is it fast or slow?

For parents and teachers

After this lesson, your child should be able to:

  • keep a steady beat with body and untuned percussion
  • play 2–4 simple rhythm patterns
  • move to show long/short, fast/slow, getting faster and slower
  • invent a way to write down a rhythm and play it

The beats are made by the page itself with Web Audio; no recordings are loaded. Tap any button first if a phone does not play sound straight away.

Previous: Drama: Acting Out Stories
Next: Music: Instruments and Singing

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.