Purpose: This unit draws upon the Ancient Civilization of The Egyptians, using places, signs and symbols, wall paintings, pictures, reconstructions, stories, and legends to open up opportunities for the creating, composing, improvising, and performing of pupil’s own music as a response to some of the issues raised and sources examined. The unit explores two key musical concepts/elements: Dynamics and Texture. The unit begins with pupil’s responding to an Egyptian Pyramid Building Scene, creating movement and then sound pictures to describe different groups of characters and workers, which is then sequenced into a class Egyptian Sound Pyramid using changing dynamics and textures to reflect the scene. Pupils sing two Egyptian-themed songs: The Song of Tutankhamun and Camel Driver, both of which use the E Harmonic Minor Scale, giving a traditional ‘Egyptian/Middle Eastern’ mood/feel which is extended into a class performance. Pupils explore traditional ancient Egyptian musical instruments, based upon wall paintings and artefacts, and compare these with modern-day and classroom instruments, using similar timbres and sonorities within their own work to create an intended mood or effect. The unit ends with an investigation into how dance and hand clapping was used as a response to music and an integral part of Egyptian music-making through a fun and enjoyable hand clapping dance to an Egyptian inspired popular song.
 
Outcome: Pupils interpret and realise (pyramid) graphic scores, relating, comparing, contrasting and expressing levels and changes/gradations of dynamics and texture. Pupils identify and perform with the harmonic minor scale linking ancient Egyptian dance and music-making with ‘modern’ trends and traditions and associating how ancient Egypt has inspired great composers and musicians.
 
Key Words, Theory and Musical Knowledge 
Graphic Score (Pyramid Graphic Scores) Texture (Thin/Getting Thinner; Thick/Getting Thicker) Dynamics (Very Soft, Soft, Loud, Very Loud, gradually getting Louder (Crescendo), gradually getting Softer (Decrescendo/Diminuendo) Harmonic Minor Scale (E harmonic minor scale)
 
This fully-resourced KS2 Primary unit comes complete with 6 fully-resourced lesson plans, each containing a Lesson Plan, Worksheet and PowerPoint Presentation with all embedded audio files (also available separately as MP3 and WAV files).  Also included is a unit Knowledge Organisers.