Cooper Perry Music Vocabulary Progression - EYFS to Year 6 Expressive Arts and Design

Oct 1, 2026

Cooper Perry Music Vocabulary Progression outlines age-banded musical vocabulary across EYFS and Years 1 to 6. It covers Expressive Arts and Design strands including performing (sing, voice, audience, rehearse), pulse and rhythm (beat, tempo, steady, fast/slow, ostinato, syncopation), pitch and melody (high/low, scale, harmony, chord, chord progression), and texture and structure (start/stop, repeat, verse/chorus, accompaniment, round, binary/ternary). It also includes notation, composition and improvisation, and listening and context vocabulary.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Expressive Arts and Design

Performing

Pulse & Rhythm

Pitch & Melody

Texture & Structure

Notation

Composition & Improvisation

Listening & Context

| Cooper Perry Music Vocabulary Progression | | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Vocabulary | | | | | | | | | EYFS | | | | | | | | | Expressive Arts and Design | | | | Performing sing, voice, action, move, clap, tap
Listening listen, sound, noise, quiet, loud
Rhythm & Pulse beat, rhythm, fast, slow, pattern
Pitch high, low
Responding stop, start, together | | | | | | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 | | Performing | sing, perform, voice, audience, rehearse | sing, perform, voice, audience, rehearse | sing, perform, ensemble, accuracy, expression | | sing, perform, ensemble, control, expression | sing, perform, expression, ensemble, control | sing, perform, expression, ensemble, confidence | | Pulse & Rhythm | pulse, rhythm, beat, steady, fast, slow | pulse, rhythm, beat, tempo, steady | pulse, rhythm, duration, beat, steady, ostinato | | pulse, rhythm, duration,
syncopation, ostinato | pulse, rhythm, tempo, ostinato, syncopation | pulse, rhythm, tempo, duration,
syncopation, ostinato | | Pitch & Melody | pitch, high, low, melody | pitch, melody, high, low | pitch, melody, high, low, scale | | pitch, melody, scale, high, low | melody, pitch, scale, harmony, chord | melody, pitch, scale, harmony, chord progression | | Texture & Structure | start, stop, repeat | verse, chorus, start, stop, repeat | texture, layer, unison, verse, chorus | | texture, layer, accompaniment, verse, chorus | texture, layer, accompaniment, round, binary | texture, layer, accompaniment, round, ternary, structure | | Notation | symbol, simple patterns | symbol, staff, simple notation | notation, staff, symbol, crotchet, minim, rest | notation, staff, time signature, symbol, note, rest | notation, staff, treble clef, symbol, note, rest | notation, staff, treble clef, symbols, tempo markings, dynamics markings | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Composition & Improvisation | compose, improvise, pattern | compose, improvise, pattern, create | compose, improvise, pattern, motif | compose, improvise, motif, variation | compose, improvise, motif, variation, idea | compose, improvise, motif, variation, idea, contrast | | Listening & Context | listen, describe, like, dislike, tuned, untuned | listen, describe, like, dislike, instrument families, tuned, untuned | listen, describe, style, genre, composer, audience | listen, describe, style, genre, tradition, culture, composer | listen, describe, style, genre, composer, era, audience | listen, describe, style, genre, composer, era, influence, audience, effect |

FAQs

What does the progression document cover across EYFS to Year 6?

It covers music vocabulary across performing, pulse & rhythm, pitch & melody, texture & structure, notation, composition & improvisation, and listening & context for EYFS through Years 1 to 6.

How does the document develop pulse and rhythm vocabulary over time?

It begins with basic pulse, rhythm and beat (steady, fast/slow) and later adds tempo, duration, ostinato, and syncopation, with more complexity introduced in later years.

Which topics are included under notation and composition?

Notation vocabulary progresses from symbols and staff/simple notation to time signatures, clefs, note/rest terms, tempo markings and dynamics. Composition & improvisation vocabulary moves from composing and pattern work to motif, variation, ideas and contrast.

Oct 1, 2026

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