mommymonster Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Hi Folks, Let's start with the understanding that my knowledge of music and art appreciation is abysmal. And yet, I'd like to teach my DS7 to appreciate both music and art. I will hopefully learn as well. By any chance is there a curriculum that covers both art and music appreciation, at the same time? What I mean is, is there a curriculum that says, "This is what composers were composing during the Impressionist period (I'm thinking Debussy, not sure if there is a recognized "Impressionist" musical period). This is what artists were painting during the Impressionist period..." It would be great if there were associated DVDs, videos, or music cds (or links). Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballardlm Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Sorry I don't have any answers but I am listening in intently : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spetzi Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I thought Harmony Fine Arts did this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Little Einsteins :). JK, I am horrible with fine arts, as well, so I am very interested in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CritterMom Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I had researched this extensively and couldn't find anything that was fitting for our need. I wanted a comprehensive review, so basically my child would know different artist, be able to identify their work, etc. same with music. One thing that we've been doing is I made a list of the people and/or time periods that we wanted to cover (great suggestions in WTM book) and I have her research each person (whether it be an artist, composer, etc) to learn about them personally. Then we review their work. With composers we will listen to their work as well. It's almost following the unschooling method, but it seems to work for us. Also Atelier has something called print kits that have cards for artists and their work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I usually have my child do art while listening to different composers. You can listen to the free radio show (online) classics for kids. http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/composers_atoz.asp . I also like these videos http://www.amazon.com/The-Artists-Specials-DVD-Collectors/dp/B000FBHFH0 and these http://www.amazon.com/The-Composers-Specials-DVD-Collectors/dp/B000FA5ETW/ref=pd_bxgy_mov_text_z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tearose Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 AFAIK, there's no comprehensive music history curriculum. As someone with a background in music (I have a PhD and concentrated in music history), I'd suggest that you focus more on listening, rather than on their biographies. This is the approach that's taken at the college level, and it makes a lot more sense to me. Children aren't taught literature by reading biographies of writers; they read their literature (or appropriate adaptations in the earlier grades). You might start with just differentiating Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, etc--I think that would be more useful than being able to identify a handful of specific pieces. I find that parents are often more intimidated by the less familiar sounds of classical music, but young children are surprisingly receptive (even to more atonal 20th-century music). So my advice would be to set time aside to listen to as much music as you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymonster Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Thanks, everyone for the suggestions and recommendations! Since my son is still young, I think I will start playing more classical music as QPalenik suggested to try to increase familiarity. We can deal with composer studies as he gets older. This is our first year homeschooling, and I don't think I want to freak out about this yet... science, on the other hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 At that age, we used Child-sized Masterpieces for art along with visits to the art museum, and listened to Classical Kids and Beethoven's Wig cds in the car along with free public concerts/listening to a wide variety of music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tearose Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I'd also recommend telling your child as you're listening who composed it, what approximate period it's from, and where it was composed. If you do that enough, he can start to get an ear for the different time periods. If you find he particularly likes a piece or composer, find more pieces by the same composer or pieces from that genre. I'd encourage real recordings over the children's stuff (which is fine if your child really likes it)--your son may surprise you when it comes to what he likes. There's a famous story of Leonard Bernstein conducting a Webern piece (20th-century atonal music--pretty dissonant) for children and their parents. When he asked that those who liked the piece raise their hands, it was mostly the children, rather than the parents, who enjoyed the piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Has anybody tried any of this stuff linked here? http://www.maestroclassics.com/music-and-your-curriculum.aspx It looks like a good collection of unit-study style approaches to a few select composers. I'm thinking I'll give it a try and add to it our local symphony's offerings for kids. I'll also try to include them hearing the music of whichever composer we're studying performed live also. If I had to teach the bare minimum and wanted to teach a timeline of sorts for classical music, this list is not a bad place to start: http://listverse.com/2007/12/13/top-15-most-influential-classical-composers/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tearose Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Has anybody tried any of this stuff linked here? http://www.maestrocl...curriculum.aspx It looks like a good collection of unit-study style approaches to a few select composers. I'm thinking I'll give it a try and add to it our local symphony's offerings for kids. I'll also try to include them hearing the music of whichever composer we're studying performed live also. If I had to teach the bare minimum and wanted to teach a timeline of sorts for classical music, this list is not a bad place to start: http://listverse.com...ical-composers/ Just a note of caution about the second link--I'd be wary of any "top composers" list that didn't include at least Bach and Beethoven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Little Einsteins :). JK, I am horrible with fine arts, as well, so I am very interested in this thread. HA! I just watched them this morning and that was my first thought as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Just a note of caution about the second link--I'd be wary of any "top composers" list that didn't include at least Bach and Beethoven. Yes, absolutely, that's the first post I've made that I wish I had not written. I must be tired from traveling all week. I didn't even notice the list had CPE Bach. Shudder. Seriously, I can't believe there isn't a better curriculum out there, a complete study for homeschoolers of the history of Western music. With a skimming of music theory and analysis as a more in-depth spiral for older kids. It wouldn't be that hard to do this with an actual text used in colleges. I suppose you could use the Norton anthology, but you'd need to pick and choose, and you would need a lot of theory supplements. Gah. Well, a bit more googling reveals the Cornerstone Curriculum, but my hackles are already up with the description of year 5. I do like the chosen composers, though, and the apparent spiral nature. http://www.cornersto...Music.htm#order My search continues! ETA: Plus, I didn't answer the OP's question at all. Apologies all around! (I'm starting another thread on a potentially good music curric to redeem myself.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 A friend of a friend wrote this one. It comes highly recommended, it's a bit pricey but it does claim to integrate art & music: http://discoveringmusic.net/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 A friend of a friend wrote this one. It comes highly recommended, it's a bit pricey but it does claim to integrate art & music: http://discoveringmusic.net/ I have this and, yes, it does, but absolutely not what I would use for an elementary-aged student. We're using just the dvds right now for middle school with the plan to go back and do the full program in high school. As it says on the website: "This course presents college-level material tailored for middle-school and high-school students." I could possibly see using the music cds for listening, but then you are no further along than with any other resource for classical music. Overall, the production values on the videos are not what I had hoped, but the information is good. BTW, anyone wanting it should look for a sale through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. It was 40% off last time, IIRC. I see she has one now on America's Musical Heritage. I don't have any information about that one, but would expect it to be aimed at the same level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tearose Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I have this and, yes, it does, but absolutely not what I would use for an elementary-aged student. We're using just the dvds right now for middle school with the plan to go back and do the full program in high school. As it says on the website: "This course presents college-level material tailored for middle-school and high-school students." I could possibly see using the music cds for listening, but then you are no further along than with any other resource for classical music. Overall, the production values on the videos are not what I had hoped, but the information is good. BTW, anyone wanting it should look for a sale through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. It was 40% off last time, IIRC. I see she has one now on America's Musical Heritage. I don't have any information about that one, but would expect it to be aimed at the same level. Another shortcoming that I can see is that it starts at 1600, so it doesn't cover medieval or Renaissance music at all. I feel like to really understand the earlier pieces on the CD list, you need to understand where it's coming from. Also, I think that Naxos recordings are kind of cheap--probably it was cheapest and easiest for licensing purposes, but those recordings are rarely my first choice. I prefer to listen to the best performers (this is subjective, of course), and I often find that they have recording contracts with the more prestigious labels. Looking at the artists in the CD list, they are not the recordings I would recommend if someone asked me for what I thought was the the best recording of Bach's Brandenberg concerti or Schubert's Dichterliebe. Unlike KarenNC, I haven't watched the DVDs, but that's just my impression from looking at the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tearose Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Yes, absolutely, that's the first post I've made that I wish I had not written. I must be tired from traveling all week. I didn't even notice the list had CPE Bach. Shudder. Hey, I have a certain fondness for CPE! He's just not what I'd consider a "top 15" composer :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Another shortcoming that I can see is that it starts at 1600, so it doesn't cover medieval or Renaissance music at all. I feel like to really understand the earlier pieces on the CD list, you need to understand where it's coming from. Also, I think that Naxos recordings are kind of cheap--probably it was cheapest and easiest for licensing purposes, but those recordings are rarely my first choice. I prefer to listen to the best performers (this is subjective, of course), and I often find that they have recording contracts with the more prestigious labels. Looking at the artists in the CD list, they are not the recordings I would recommend if someone asked me for what I thought was the the best recording of Bach's Brandenberg concerti or Schubert's Dichterliebe. Unlike KarenNC, I haven't watched the DVDs, but that's just my impression from looking at the link. Agreed, it's not aiming to cover the entirety of music history (and it doesn't go past 1914 on the other end of things, either). It's as described---300 years of music history. I've seen some of the dvds, but not listened to the cds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lattedrinker Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Okay, I feel better about one of my kids who likes listening to classical music but HATES the composers bios (we've been doing composer studies). If they're focusing more on the actual music at the college level, that's what I;m going to let him do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Also, try to go to a "real" concert regularly. Even at the local high school, elementary school, AND the pros in the local symphony. We live in a small town, and the Vienna Choir Boys stopped thru about 10 years ago. Watch the newspaper for your college's options as well. I'm much more DIY about this. I made a list of 9 famous composers, and the 5 major famlies of musical instruments and each day we would listen to the famous works (and a Venezia biography if the library has it) of one composer. I used to pick out the famous works from our personal CD collection. But this past time (hold your breath), I just searched youtube for them! No scurrying to remember which ones we had! For art, I've got about 25 famous artists (sorted by style), heavy on Impressionists (which are a family favorite). Making sure they can recognize the art prints in our house. Later, we go through the book "Annotated Mona Lisa". Also, we have homemade flashcards for each artist & musician, to facilitate review. Oh . . . and when you visit London and Paris, make sure you stop at the British Museum and the Louvre. :) They actually have online resources, so you can "visit" at home. Just a plug for exploring these topics along with your 7yo. Homeschooling is a wonderful way to deepen your appreciation (and fill in your own gaps) for the fine arts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondchen Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 I may not be saying anything new here, but I'll chime in anyway. I have a master's degree in music, and I share the opinion of others who've said that the best thing is to LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN!! My kids (5, 3 & 1) love to listen to classical music. They have no clue about composers or anything - they've just been exposed to it since they were born (along with other genres) and they dance and sing along and make up words to the melodies and stuff like that, and that's exactly what I want at this age. One of my favorite music quotes is from Igor Stravinsky, who said: "The trouble with music appreciation in general is that people are taught to have too much respect for music. They should be taught to love it instead." DH is an artist, and pretty much all the same principles apply to art. Since we're introducing a few new mandatory subjects for first grade next year as it is, and since my kids are exposed to music and art naturally by DH and me, I'll probably wait until 2nd grade to do a formal music/art appreciation curriculum - which I have no intention of designing myself!! Harmony Fine Arts is something I've started looking at - does anyone have experience with this curriculum?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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