Creative Kids Music

Someone on a homeschooling message board that I frequent posted a link to a fabulous opera activity at Classical KUSC and we had so much fun and learned so much that despite my current exhausted state I had to share it with you all! 

(Apologies for my lengthy absence; family health issues and a wonderful vacation have kept me occupied for some time now.  Also, apologies for the lengty run-on sentence.....but I'm too tired to go fix it!)

Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel: Learning About Opera
Brahms in 1890s Vienna: Learning About Chamber Music
Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherazade: Learning About Symphonic Music

I sincerely hope that they add more of these activities!!! 

A Child's Introduction to the Orchestra

I'm always on the look-out for free audio books and educational songs to listen to in the car.  Today's little gem is from Arts Reformation: Children's Vinyl Record Series and is titled A Child's Introduction to the Orchestra.  You can find it under the second section (Golden Records) and can download the MP3 (it's a zip file) right to your computer. 

Enjoy!

Music Links

Classics for Kids
Making Music Fun
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
San Francisco Symphony for Kids
New York Philharmonic Kid Zone
Dallas Symphony Orchestra for Kids  Listen by Composer
Berklee Shares free music courses
Susan Paradis' Piano Teacher Resources
Lesson Plans Page: Music
G Major Music Theory free music theory worksheets
Ambleside Online Composer Schedule
Composer Study 101 from Higher Up and Further In blog
Music Appreciation from Dewey's Treehouse blog

Classical Music Composer Study for Second Grade

I explained how I have planned to do Composer Study in a previous post. Now I'll list the actual composers we're studying for second grade and link to the resources we're using.

1. Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (b. 1840)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

2. Antonin Dvorak (b. 1841)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

3. Edvard Grieg (b. 1843)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

4. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (b. 1844)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)
    Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherazade: Learning About Symphonic Music

5. Claude Debussy (b. 1862)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

6. Zoltan Kodaly (b.1882)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

7. Sergei Prokofiev (b. 1891)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

8. George Gershwin (b. 1898)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

9. Aaron Copland (b. 1900)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

Classical Music Composer Study for First Grade

I explained how I have planned to do Composer Study in a previous post. Now I'll list the actual composers we're studying this year and link to the resources we're using.

We're trying to study them chronologically, but I've found it hard to decide exactly how to do that! I've gone mostly by date of birth, but some composers may be slightly out of order because I also tried to keep composers of certain eras together.

I'll update any missing links as soon as possible. We're all sick right now, so if I don't get around to it feel free to remind me!

(Podcasts to Download) Unfortunately this list won't take you directly to the composer, so you'll have to look through the whole list to find the composer that you want.

1. Antonio Vivaldi (b. 1678)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)
    ArtsAlive ~ Vivaldi Activities

2. George Frideric Handel (b. 1685)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

3. Johann Sebastian Bach (b. 1685)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

4. Franz Josef Haydn (b.1736)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

5. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (b. 1756)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)

6. Ludwig van Beethoven (b. 1770)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)
    ArtsAlive ~ Beethoven Activites

7. Franz Schubert (b. 1797)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)
    ArtsAlive ~ Schubert Activities

8. Johannes Brahms (b. 1833)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)
    Brahms in 1890s Vienna: Learning About Chamber Music

9. Modest Mussorgsky (b. 1839)
    (Activity Sheet - pdf) (Listen Online) (My YouTube Playlist)
    NY Philharmonic Kids ~ Orchestration Station

How To Design your Own Composer Study Using Classics For Kids

Classics For Kids is my absolute favorite resource for classical music composer study.

The Activity Sheets are full of great info about the composers, as well as activities.

Combine the Activity Sheets with the Podcasts (there are four podcasts for most of the composers), add a few YouTube videos, and you have a complete composer study!

How To Design your Own Composer Study Using Classics For Kids:
Step 1
~First decide which composers you will be studying for the year. (We will be studying 9 composers this year. There will be more to come on the composers we're studying in another post.)
~Print out the Activity Sheets for each composer selected.

Step 2
~Download all 4 Podcasts per composer.
~Create playlists in iTunes (or your favorite MP3 player software).
~Burn your playlist to a CD.

Step 3
~Visit YouTube and do a search for the composer.
~Select four to eight videos per composer. Try to select videos that contain the entire piece of music. (Note ~ When completing the weeks lessons; if you save more than four videos for a composer, watch two videos some weeks.)
~Add your selected pieces to your Favorites list.
~Create a Playlist for each composer and add the selected videos to it.

Step 4
Composer 1, Week 1
~Listen to the 1st Podcast about your selected composer at least once (more if your child enjoys it.)
~Watch/listen to the 1st YouTube video you saved to your composer Playlist.
~Complete the Activity Sheet to go along with your selected composer.

Composer 1, Week 2
~Listen to the 2nd Podcast about your selected composer at least once.
~Watch/listen to the 2nd YouTube video you saved to your composer Playlist.

Composer 1, Week 3
~Listen to the 3rd Podcast about your selected composer at least once.
~Watch/listen to the 3rd YouTube video you saved to your composer Playlist.

Composer 1, Week 4
~Listen to the 4th Podcast about your selected composer at least once.
~Watch/listen to the 4th YouTube video you saved to your composer Playlist.

Repeat for each composer.

The composers we will be studying for the early elementary years include:

Baroque Period
Antonio Vivaldi
George Frideric Handel
Johann Sebastian Bach

Classical Period
Franz Josef Haydn
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ludwig van Beethoven

Romantic Period
Gioachino Rossini
Frederic Chopin
Johannes Brahms
Modest Mussorgsky
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Antonin Dvorak
Edvard Grieg
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Modern Period
Scott Joplin
Sergei Prokofiev
George Gershwin
Aaron Copland