homeschool2boys Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I have been trying to write a music curriculum for next year, I have already searched out library sources and found music cds for all of the composers that I want to study for next year. I am slowly getting it all together and I hope to study 9 or 10 composers next year. I did, however, run into a couple problems and have a few questions for anyone who has the answers. The first is Wagner. Upon researching him, I found out he was not such a nice man. His background history goes into a lot of things that I dont want my son knowing about. When you taught Wagner did you skip all the parts about the kind of person he was? I dont know if I should or not, I want him to have a real picture of the composer but with his past I dont know if I should tell him how this man really was. I guess what I am saying is how did you handle teaching about Wagner and his past. Do you think I should wait until the higher grades to study Wagner? The second question is about Strauss. I have only found one video tape and CD about him and his music. I cant seem to find any childrens or should I say juvenile level books about Strauss. I am aiming for books about the 4th or 5th grade level, (maybe a little above that would be OK). Does anyone know of any good books about Strauss? Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUJLBE Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Our favorite CD for classical music and composers is The Story of Classical Music by Darren Henley and read by Marin Alsop. CD 2 in this series has short bios of Wagner and Strauss. For Wagner they are along the lines of "He was not a nice man but he made beautiful music". My son listened when he was 5 and still loves this at 7. They also have Famous Composers CDs series which focus in depth just on the composers. There is quite a lot of overlap between the two formats so if you have to purchase, I would just purchase one or the other. The Famous Composers CDs do not have Wagner or Strauss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschool2boys Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Thanks so much I will buy The Story of Classical Music by Darren Henley and read by Marin Alsop. I like the way it goes into Wagner, not a nice man but good music. It sounds like a good CD to have. I found it on Amazon so I am going to get it. Thanks to you I am almost done tracking down resources, thankfully. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne/Ankara Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Another book you might enjoy is Krull's Lives of the Musicians, which has some background information but not too much "gory detail" for children... we liked it quite a bit. http://www.amazon.com/Lives-Musicians-Times-Neighbors-Thought/dp/0152480102 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I really the like series by the author Anna Harwell Celenza. Each book tells the story of the composer's life and tells about the music on the enclosed CD. I've checked them out from my local library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in GA Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Stories of composers' lives can be a nice addition, but if you're trying to put together a music curriculum, the best thing is lots of exposure to good music, opportunities to sing (and dance or move around), and maybe even private lessons on an instrument. The bios add depth to your history study, but don't actually teach music, per se, and it won't hurt one bit to wait until the logic or rhetoric stage to dig in to the composers' lives. (I have my degree in music education, if that means anything.) ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschool2boys Posted June 19, 2008 Author Share Posted June 19, 2008 Thanks so much for all of your posts. I got so much good information from them. I really liked Krull's Lives of the Musicians, so I will have to buy that book too. I tried to see if they had anything by Anna Harwell Celenza in our Library but no such luck. This is a small town and our Library has much to be desired. I really wish I could find someone who could give private lessons on an instrument around here. I had thought about doing the recorder which is kind of an instrument, because I dont think we have any private tutors in this dinky town. I might take out an add in the paper and see if I can find anyone who gives lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyinNNV Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 As a person with a degree in music I have always (humbly) questioned the emphasis on learning about *composers* rather than musical styles and compositions. I will never forget a particularly memorable moment in one music history class when a prof was detailing Vivaldi's life and winked non-stop while talking about him working at an all girls school. Why learn about these guys' lives? Believe me, Vivaldi is tame compared to some of them! Study the baroque orchestra. What instruments was it comprised of? How did it change over time? Who were the major baroque composers? Listen to one piece from each composer. How are they similar and different? Which baroque composer provided a transition to the classical style. Did Baroque composers compose what they wanted or was their some other force that motivated their style (patrons)? Humbly not wishing to insult, Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country Girl Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 As a person with a degree in music I have always (humbly) questioned the emphasis on learning about *composers* rather than musical styles and compositions. I will never forget a particularly memorable moment in one music history class when a prof was detailing Vivaldi's life and winked non-stop while talking about him working at an all girls school. Why learn about these guys' lives? Believe me, Vivaldi is tame compared to some of them! Study the baroque orchestra. What instruments was it comprised of? How did it change over time? Who were the major baroque composers? Listen to one piece from each composer. How are they similar and different? Which baroque composer provided a transition to the classical style. Did Baroque composers compose what they wanted or was their some other force that motivated their style (patrons)? Humbly not wishing to insult, Holly Holly, Any recommended resources for doing this for someone who doesn't have a clue?:confused: Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtolgd Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 I really wish I could find someone who could give private lessons on an instrument around here. I had thought about doing the recorder which is kind of an instrument, because I dont think we have any private tutors in this dinky town. I might take out an add in the paper and see if I can find anyone who gives lessons. You could also call the area high school band directors...they usually have a list of people in the area who give lessons. HTH. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtolgd Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 As a person with a degree in music I have always (humbly) questioned the emphasis on learning about *composers* rather than musical styles and compositions. I will never forget a particularly memorable moment in one music history class when a prof was detailing Vivaldi's life and winked non-stop while talking about him working at an all girls school. Why learn about these guys' lives? Believe me, Vivaldi is tame compared to some of them! As another mom who studied music education in college, I have to agree for the most part. The lives of most of the composers just aren't something young children need to dive into. However I do think you can introduce kids to the composers with just a few tidbits about them within the context of learning about the music. I used Themes To Remember to do just that with my 2 music classes at co-op this past year. We looked at the picture of the composer, I pointed out a thing or two about them, then we talked about music that they wrote and listeded to it along with some other related activity. This was with kids age 4-9. Developing a familiarity with the music and the composers was my goal there. Of course that accounted for 10 minutes of the hour long class each week, so it was definately not the only thing we were focused on! You can leave out all of the inappropriate bad stuff you don't want your kids to hear yet, and focus on something about those composers that isn't so negative, and discuss them in context with their music. I would like to second http://www.classicsforkids.com also...great site! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlashine Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 http://www.classicsforkids.com/ and it's free :) Thanks so much for this site! My son will have a great time on it from what I see, and I have been hoping to find something like this in my internet travels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyinNNV Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Holly, Any recommended resources for doing this for someone who doesn't have a clue?:confused: Thanks! I'll tell you what I do. YMMV. Others may have different "best practices." IMHO, the best thing to do is have your child study an instrument. In our family it is like learning to read or do math. Both of my kids take private instrument lessons. We also go to a few concerts a year. We also listen to classical music occasionally on the radio. To me, those things combined with daily instrumental practice is enough music for any elementary child. My dd also did some musical-related essays in jr. hi. Interestingly, the essays were not composer related. The really enjoyable one she did was a history of the harp in ancient times. She began a second instrument and has played in orchestra and gone to music camp. This is probably over and above what one needs to do in order to be musically-educated. And let's face it-kids do not have time to do everything. The 3 r's are much more important. I don't have any specific resources to point you to because I don't use any. We just 1. study an instrument 2. go to some concerts 3. listen to classical music occasionally (radio/cd/ipod) HTH Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country Girl Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 I don't have any specific resources to point you to because I don't use any. We just 1. study an instrument 2. go to some concerts 3. listen to classical music occasionally (radio/cd/ipod) HTH Holly Holly, Thanks for letting me know what you do. Out of curiosity, what age do you start them on an instrument? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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