Manipulating Sound

About this unit:

Explore a range of web tools for sound and music creation and then learn about sound editing; creating radio adverts and audio books, complete with sound effects and atmospheric music.

National Curriculum Links - Computing KS2

The content of this plan cover the following National Curriculum strands:

select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information

Curriculum Mapping

Why this? What does it build on?

This unit builds on Manipulating Sound (Key stage 1), where students find out what digital sound is, and explore various ways of experimenting with different digital tools to create music and combine sound with other forms of media. In this unit, students progress to using more professional sound editing software and techniques including trimming and combining a number of sound files in layers, adding effects and leveling volume effectively.

This unit also builds upon other multimedia units of work in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 such as Making multimedia stories (Year 1) and Digital imagery: Patterns in nature, where students learn other file handling and media editing skills that complement sound editing.

What comes next?

Students will build upon the techniques used in this unit and broaden their creative digital skills in Creating Instructional videos and Manipulating images (both Year 6). Here they will also have to use layers and editing techniques to combine images, sound and video.

View our full curriculum map

Take a look at our full curriculum map to see how units across all year groups, from Year 1 to Year 6 link.

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Unit Resources

Lesson Slides

Detailed lesson slides for you to use when delivering this unit of work with your class

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Unit Assessment Sheet

Use our simple assessment system to measure your students' success in this unit of work.

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Headphones

Working headphones (1 set per child) are an essential piece of equipment for this unit.

We can recommend these robust and affordable headphones and mic combined if you don’t already have them in your school. Other options are available on the same site but look for those with mic attached.

Microphones

Microphones (1 per child) are also an essential piece of equipment for parts of this unit. These can be stand alone mics or headphones and mic combined.

Other things to check

Check that, when logged on as a student on your network, you have the ability to download and save files from websites (how to do this is described in detail within this plan). If you do not, ask your network technician to allow this. Check that the downloads folder is accessible as some networks are set up to block access to this folder for students (and staff) and it is the default folder that music will be saved to when downloading with Chrome.

Lessons

Lesson 1

Use a variety of music software to experiment with capturing, repeating and sequencing sound patterns.
Understand the difference between digital and analogue sound

Experimenting with sound online

Lesson 2

Use music software to experiment with capturing, repeating and sequencing sound patterns.
Talk about software which allows the creation and manipulation of sound and music.

Isle of Tune

Lesson 3

Locate and use sound files from online sources.
Select, import and edit existing sound files in sound editing software.
Use editing tools to alter recorded sounds for a specific purpose.

Basic Audacity editing skills

Lesson 4

Locate and use sound files from online sources, e.g. Purple Planet, and other multimedia resources.
Select, import and edit existing sound files in sound editing software.
Use editing tools to alter recorded sounds for a specific purpose e.g to alter the mood or atmosphere.

Answerphone excuses

Lesson 5

Use editing tools to alter recorded sounds for a specific purpose e.g to alter the mood or atmosphere.
Understand that many types of sounds can be combined in editing software.
Understand issues relating to copyright when choosing music samples and files and apply to their work.

Audiobooks and Radio Plays 1

Lesson 6

Select, edit, manipulate and combine sound files from a range of sources to create a composition which could be broadcast for a specific purpose and audience
Upload and download projects to other devices and online space, collaborating and communicating with audiences in locations beyond school.

Audiobooks and Radio Plays 2

Suggested Software

Audacity - Available for free download HERE

Full Computing Glossary

Take a look at our full computing glossary, plus key vocabulary for each age group.

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Key computing vocabulary for this unit

Alter - To change the way something looks, sometimes using a computer or other digital tools.

Copyright - Legal protection that a creators have over the things they create.

Digital - Any signals or data that can be expressed by using the digits 0 and 1 (binary code).

Digital content – Any media created, edited or viewed on a computer, such as text (including the hypertext of a web page), images, sound, video (including animation), or virtual environments, and combinations of these (i.e. multimedia).

Digital media - Information that comes to us through the internet, often through a tablet, smartphone, or laptop.

Edit - To change, add or remove elements in a piece of work (usually to improve it).

Evaluation - Making judgements (a computational thinking concept).

Export - The opposite of importing and a computing command that usually means saving or sending a file, or part of a file, to a specific new location. It also often allows changing the file format as it’s saved. For example, a Photoshop image could be exported as a PDF document or different images types (PNG, JPEG etc). You might also export content between apps on an iPad. A piece of music could be exported to iMovie to use as a soundtrack for a video.

Import - A computing command that usually means allowing a user to bring in a file, or part of a file into another application so they can be combined. For example, an image could be imported into presentation slides, or art software to use as a background.

Layer - In sound or video terminology, layering is the stacking of media elements in a project timeline to enable playback of multiple elements simultaneously.

Multimedia - Content that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, video and interactive content.

Narrate - Deliver a spoken commentary to accompany (a film, broadcast, piece of music, etc.)

Online - Using a digital device to visit a website or app that makes use of the internet.

Save - To store a piece of work in a computer’s memory so that it can be recalled at a later time.

Sequence – To place things in an order.

Software – computer programs, including both application software (such as office programs, web browsers, media editors and games) and the computer operating system. The term also applies to ‘apps’ running on mobile devices and to web-based services.

Timeline - a graphical representation of a period of time. Used in video and sound editing to order and arrange the separate elements of a project