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High and Low Notes: Climb Pitch Hill with Lark

High and Low Notes: Climb Pitch Hill with Lark

Learn to hear high and low notes and tunes that go up or down, then copy pitch patterns and make your own music on Pitch Hill.

  • Ages 5–7
  • About 40 min
  • Easy start
  • Music

Chapter 4: Listening for high and low in music
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What you'll learn

  • What pitch means: how high or low a sound is
  • Loud or quiet sounds can still be high or low
  • Hear when notes go up, go down or stay the same
  • Copy short high and low patterns and match them to dots
  • Which instruments play the high bird and low grandfather in Peter and the Wolf
  • Compose a short tune that climbs up or falls down

Chapter by chapter

  1. High and low sounds: hearing the difference Free to try

    Years 1–2 music · 1

  2. Notes going up, down or staying the same

    Years 1–2 music · 1

  3. Copying and reading high and low patterns

    Years 1–2 music · 1 Years 1–2 music · 2

  4. Listening for high and low in music

    Years 1–2 music · 1

  5. Making music with high and low sounds

    Years 1–2 music · 2

  6. Pitch Hill Show: high and low challenge (10 questions)

See every Arts & Music chapter in the chapter library

What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:

  1. Years 1–2 music: Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
  2. Years 1–2 music: Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music

About this adventure

High and Low Notes is an interactive music game that teaches children aged 5–7 to hear pitch: whether a sound is high or low, and whether notes go up, go down or stay the same. Lark the skylark sings high and Boomer the bear hums low as they guide the player up Pitch Hill.

Children sort everyday sounds into high and low, drag a bird up a pitch pole to hear the sound rise, and climb a note ladder. A key idea is that pitch is not the same as volume: a loud roar can be low and a quiet squeak can be high.

Along the way they copy echo patterns on bells, read simple dot scores where higher dots mean higher notes, and hear the deep double bass that plays the elephant in The Carnival of the Animals. Every sound is played as they tap, so the player is always listening, not reading.

Questions and answers

What is pitch in music, in simple words?

Pitch is how high or low a sound is. A mouse's squeak or a tiny bell has a high pitch, while a big drum, a tuba or a bear's growl has a low pitch.

Is a high sound the same as a loud sound?

No, high and loud are different things. High and low is about pitch, while loud and quiet is about volume, so a loud ship's horn is low and a quiet whistle is still high.

How can I help my child hear notes going up and down?

Move your hand with the sound: lift it as notes climb and lower it as they fall. Humming three notes for your child to guess as up, down or the same is a quick way to practise.

What age is this high and low notes game for?

It is made for children aged 5 to 7 and follows the Key Stage 1 music curriculum, mainly Year 1. Spoken instructions and big buttons mean children who are still learning to read can play.

What does the game include and how long does it take?

It has five chapters and a ten-question listening show, taking about 40 minutes in total. Chapters can be played in any order and in short sittings.

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