K E Y S T A G E 2 M U S I C – U N I T 3 – A N I M A L C R A C K E R S W 1

Your task is to create a piece of

descriptive music to describe a MOUSE.

You might like to use HIGH PITCH

sounds and notes of SHORT DURATION like the squeaking
sounds made by mice. Think about how mice move – should the
TEMPO be slow or fast? Use the PENTATONIC SCALE in your
piece using only the following five notes:

Your task is to create a piece of descriptive music to describe a

HIPPOPOTAMUS.
You might like to use LOW PITCH sounds and choose an
appropriate TIMBRE to represent the hippo’s size.
Think about how a hippo moves - should the TEMPO be fast of
slow? Use the PENTATONIC SCALE in
your piece using only the following five
notes:

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K E Y S T A G E 2 M U S I C – U N I T 3 – A N I M A L C R A C K E R S W 1

Your task is to create a piece of descriptive

music to describe a CAT.

Think how you can communicate the cat’s

agility and stealth in your music – should the
TEMPO be fast or slow – or change?
Should the PITCH be high, low or a
mixture of both? Choose a TIMBRE to
suit the cat’s character or sounds that
create the “hissing” of a cat. Use the
CHROMATIC SCALE in your piece – this
uses ALL the notes, black and white.

Your task is to create a piece of descriptive music to describe an

EAGLE.

Think about how an eagle sours though the air swooping and
diving – how would you use PITCH to reflect this? Should the
DURATION of notes be long or short
or a mixture of both? Include some
DRAMATIC CHORDS in your piece,
using the chords on the left, or by
creating your own.

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K E Y S T A G E 2 M U S I C – U N I T 3 – A N I M A L C R A C K E R S W 1

Your task is to create a piece of descriptive

music to describe a DOLPHIN.

The dolphin is intelligent and playing – how could you reflect and
show this in your music? Choose suitable TIMBRES to create
the sounds of water of the sea as the dolphin swims. Use the
notes of the C MAJOR SCALE in your piece to give the music a
happy sound – C, D, E, F, G, A,
B and c’ starting
and ending on C.
Try putting some
chords with your
melody:

Your task is to create a piece of descriptive

music to describe a KANGAROO.

Try to create the “bouncing” of a kangaroo in your music by

including BIG LEAPS between the notes.
Think about how a kangaroo moves – should
the tempo be fast, slow, or a mixture of both?
You might like to create a “bouncing”
OSTINATO rhythm pattern and repeat this at
different times in your piece as the kangaroo
jumps about
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K E Y S T A G E 2 M U S I C – U N I T 3 – A N I M A L C R A C K E R S W 1

Your task is to create a piece of descriptive music to describe a

FROG.

Because the frog can swim and jump, your music will need some
CONTRASTS: some parts will need to
represent swimming and some parts
jumping. Think carefully about how you
will use PITCH, TEMPO and DYNAMICS
to do this and choose contrasting and
different TIMBRES.

Your task is to create a piece of descriptive music to describe a

BEAR.

A bear is very big and very strong! Will you use HIGH or LOW
PITCH? FAST or SLOW TEMPO? LOUD or SOFT DYNAMICS?
Use the notes from a MINOR SCALE
such as these:
and try adding a
DRONE using the
notes D & A

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K E Y S T A G E 2 M U S I C – U N I T 3 – A N I M A L C R A C K E R S W 1

Your task is to create a piece of descriptive

music to describe a COBRA.

Think about how a cobra moves and how dangerous this snake is
and try and capture this in your music. Try to give your music an
Egyptian feel using this scale called a
MAQAM and make sure your melody
begins and ends on the note E.

Your task is to create a piece of descriptive

music to describe a MONKEY.

Try and capture the playful character of the monkey in your

music. Choose sounds and TIMBRES carefully thinking about
using percussion instruments. Use a PENTATONIC SCALE in
your music, common in African music, using the following notes:

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