Good Learning Co.
SavannahYear 8
← Music
MusicComposing, technology and listening22 min★★ difficulty

Listening with discrimination

Discriminating listening means noticing specific detail — not just whether you like a piece, but why it works the way it does.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Listening and appraising: Listen with increasing discrimination to a wide range of music from great composers and musicians

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Listen with increasing discrimination to a wide range of music from great composers and musicians

Key learning points

  • • What to listen for
  • • A wide range of sources
  • • Comparing and evaluating

This lesson at a glance

  • 22 minutes
  • 14 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

listenincreasingdiscriminationcomposersmusicians

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 14 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 14

Watch first

Listening with discrimination

An English teaching video on this topic from YourClassical MPR. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Listen with increasing discrimination to a wide range of music from great composers and musicians

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 14

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · What to listen for

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 14

Learn

What to listen for

Instead of a vague reaction, listen for specific features: instrumentation, tempo changes, dynamic contrast, repeated themes, and how a piece is structured (such as verse-chorus or theme and variations).

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 14

Learn

A wide range of sources

Discriminating listening across genres and eras — from Baroque composers like Bach, to Romantic composers like Beethoven, to jazz musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, to contemporary artists — builds a broader sense of what music can do.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 14

Quick check

What does 'discriminating' listening mean in music?

6

Reset break

Part 6 of 14

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
7

Quick check

Part 7 of 14

Quick check

Which is an example of a Baroque composer?

8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 14

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Comparing and evaluating

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 14

Learn

Comparing and evaluating

Comparing two performances of the same piece, or two pieces from different eras, sharpens your ear. Ask what choices each musician made and why, rather than simply deciding which you 'like best'.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 14

Quick check

Why compare two performances of the same piece?

11

Challenge round

Part 11 of 14

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

12

Challenge round

Part 12 of 14

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

Instead of a vague reaction, ____ for specific features: instrumentation, tempo changes, dynamic contrast, repeated themes, and how a piece is structured (such as verse-chorus or theme and variations).

13

Mastery quiz

Part 13 of 14

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Listening with discrimination

3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. What does 'discriminating' listening mean in music?

  2. 2. Which is an example of a Baroque composer?

  3. 3. Why compare two performances of the same piece?

14

Lesson round-up

Part 14 of 14

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Article

How a song builds

Most popular songs are built from a small number of sections: an intro, a verse that tells the story, a pre-chorus that raises tension, a chorus that lands the main idea, and a bridge that changes direction before the last chorus.

Writers control energy with texture and range, not just volume. Stripping the drums out for four bars makes the next chorus feel twice as big. Lifting the vocal melody a few notes higher makes the chorus feel like the roof coming off.

Listen for what disappears, not only for what arrives. The quietest bar is often the one doing the most work.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Listen to a song and write down its sections in order, with rough timings.
  2. Describe two moments where the texture changes and what effect each has.
  3. Plan your own 16-bar section, saying which instruments enter and where.

  • Listening notes

    Writing

    Write what you hear: instruments, tempo, mood, and how the piece changes.

    6 sentences

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover

How this is going

  • Not looked at yet

    Listen with increasing discrimination to a wide range of music from great composers and musicians

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