Critical Listening (Musical Detective) — Sample Activity

This is one activity from a content bank of 600+ classroom-ready music activities. Explore it anytime and unlock them all with Kidstrument.

Kidstrument is made up of activities that are repeated and remixed to offer varied and flexible teaching. Each activity is part of a wider module with many versions.

Overview

Put on your detective hats! In these fun listening tasks, children become Music Detectives. First, they listen carefully to a piece of music. Then – oh no! – a robber sneaks in and steals an instrument!

When the music plays again, children must use their ears to spot which instrument is missing.

Music Tip: Listen for each instrument’s sound and role – does it play the tune, the beat, or a background part?

Teacher Tip: Pause after each version to talk about what the children heard – it builds great listening and discussion skills!

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Contributes to Learning Outcomes

KS1 (Years 1–2)

listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music

KS2 (Years 3–6)

listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory

Here’s what the full programme view looks like

This is the normal lesson view in Kidstrument — the full teacher layout you’ll use in class.

Kidstrument full programme view — Example programme view.