What books do you use for composer study?

[A home for their hearts]

I've seen some mentioned before but I'm not having a lot of look with the search feature. I remember their are some older books that cover individual authors but I can't think of the name. Any suggestions?

[ladydusk]

Opal Wheeler Young Composer's series from Zeezok press

[A home for their hearts]

Opal Wheeler Young Composer's series from Zeezok press

 

 

Yes! That's it!

 

I also found this blog it has suggestions for composer study in case anyone is interested.

[8filltheheart]

I have not used all of these but have had them bookmarked for a while. The first link I have used w/my younger children.

 

http://www.gutenberg...ans_(Bookshelf)

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19748/19748-h/19748-h.htm

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13291/13291-h/13291-h.htm

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21056/21056-h/21056-h.htm

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20318/20318-h/20318-h.htm

[ScoutTN]

Mike Venezia's books are also good.

Our library has zillions of books on composers, though sometime I have to really look for the living" ones.

We have enjoyed Anna Harwell Celenza's books and the Classical Kids CDs.

[twoxcell]

Opal Wheeler Young Composer's series from Zeezok press

We have been using these and all of the kids enjoy them. ;)

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Yes! That's it!

 

I also found this blogit has suggestions for composer study in case anyone is interested.

 

Ooh, thank you for that link! We started composer study at the beginning of this past year, and the kids loved it! I stalled out on creating the lessons, though, and I plan to rectify that for the coming year (and for our stalled artist studies too). I can share my skeletal first few weeks of plans if anyone cares to see them, though. We mainly learned about the orchestra and and about classical music in general before my plans ran out and I never made the time to create more!

[skeeterbug]

Story of the Orchestra is a good introduction.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Orchestra-Listen-Instruments-Composers/dp/1579121489/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372201997&sr=8-1&keywords=Story+of+the+orchestra

[A home for their hearts]

 

Ooh, thank you for that link! We started composer study at the beginning of this past year, and the kids loved it! I stalled out on creating the lessons, though, and I plan to rectify that for the coming year (and for our stalled artist studies too). I can share my skeletal first few weeks of plans if anyone cares to see them, though. We mainly learned about the orchestra and and about classical music in general before my plans ran out and I never made the time to create more!

 

 

 

Oh good! I would love to see your plans.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

 

 

Oh good! I would love to see your plans.

 

I used these plans/resources with a 7-year-old and 10-year-old. They LOVED what we did. The Story of the Orchestra (mentioned above), in particular, was very popular, and we spent at least two hours listening to the songs and dancing and discussing emotions and what the sounds made us think of. It actually kicked off a survey of Broadway musicals that went on for months :lol:

 

This is just the first four weeks. We started our year late, and I only managed to sneak in classical music/composer study in bits and pieces, so weeks 5/6/7 were going to be studying Handel and listening to "Messiah," then studying Tchaikovsky and listening to the Nutcracker music. Of course, the holidays came crashing in on us, and I ran out of time to finish and was just going to wing it, and you know how well that tends to go :001_rolleyes:

 

I have a big planning session scheduled with friends for sometime in late July, which is when I hope to finish these lesson plans, so I can update again if it will help anyone.

 

 

 

Week 1:

 

· Introduce classical music in general. What does the student think classical music is? (Frankly, I didn't have a good answer for them; we just discussed . I think I stumbled through a general explanation of time periods, talked about use of traditional orchestral instruments rather than voice/words to evoke feelings and tell the story, etc. I couldn't find a kid-friendly, concise definition anywhere, but since my goal was more appreciation than analysis, I was OK with that.)

· Like art, music is good at making us feel things. Use Levine’s "Story of the Orchestra" CD music to illustrate this. Listen to each musical clip and talk about the way it makes you feel.

· Amazing resources:

· http://www.wgbh.org/kids/kids_classical.cfm (24-hour kids’ classical music, games and more)

· http://www.sphinxkids.org

 

 

Week 2:

· Revisit previous week’s discussion.

· Discuss the orchestra. Can we name some of the instruments that play in an orchestra? Name some of the instrument families? Discuss percussion, string, woodwinds, brass. Why are they named as they are?

· Use Those Amazing Musical Instruments to see pictures of the instruments in the families (I didn't love the CD that came with this, but you might).

· Listen to Bernstein Favorites Children's Classics, which includes The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (as well as versions of Peter and the Wolf and other children's classics). Let the kids draw/paint/lay while listening.

· John Lithgow’s "The Remarkable Farkle McBride" is a fun and wacky way of introducing the sounds of each instrument as well (Book: http://www.amazon.com/Remarkable-Farkle-Mcbride-John-Lithgow/dp/0689833407; CD: http://www.amazon.com/Farkle-Friends-John-Lithgow/dp/B000066RLW)

· Play Instrument Match game at http://www.sphinxkids.org

 

 

Week 3

 

· Discuss that there are many, many pieces and styles of classical music, composers, orchestras, ensembles, etc., but that some pieces either were written for kids, and those will be the first pieces we study.

· Read Meet the Great Composers (Book Two): Prokofiev

· Start with "Peter and the Wolf" (a narrated version is also on the Bernstein Favorites CD, or any other version you like. Caution with sensitive kids: The duck gets eaten by the wolf).

· Watch "Peter and the Wolf" short (won an Academy Award for best animated short, produced by WNET/Thirteen: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/peterandwolf/index.html).

· For extra listening, Naxos sells a narrated version of the Cinderella story that is set to Prokofiev’s Cinderella Suites (downloadable here: http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=3685).

 

 

Week 4

 

· Revisit previous week’s discussion about how some classical music was written for children.

· Read some bio information about Camille Saint Saens/"Carnival of the Animals":

· http://www.makingmusicfun.net/htm/f_mmf_music_library/hey-kids-meet-camille-saint-saens.htm

· http://www.allmusic.com/artist/camille-saint-saëns-mn0000688311

· Listen to Jack Prelutsky’s "Carnival of the Animals" CD, with the go-along book. The author reads his poems, which nicely narrate each musical portion. Pause after each poem and discuss what you think the coming piece will sound like based on the animal it represents.

· Listen to "Can You Hear It?" by William Lach for the COTA portions.

[A home for their hearts]

ILiveinFlipFlops, thanks! I just ordered The Story of the Orchestra, and Peter and The Wolf. I also have Meet the Orchestra, and Meet the Great Composers Book 1. I plan on using Classical Kids CD's, and I want to get the musical instrumetns Toob.

 

Thanks for all the great resources!

[skeeterbug]

I didn't know there was a musical instruments toob! How cute! Love toobs.

[nutella08]

There's a whole series of inexpensive CDs with composers' biography set to their music.

 

The Story of Mozart

The Story of Bach

The Story of Beethoven

The Story of Hadyn

The Story of Handel

and more...

[Smiles]

Has anyone used Color the Classics? I was curious about this I have only seen it mentioned once.

[A home for their hearts]

There's a whole series of inexpensive CDs with composers' biography set to their music.

 

The Story of Mozart

The Story of Bach

The Story of Beethoven

The Story of Hadyn

The Story of Handel

and more...

 

 

Thanks for this recommendation. Have you used these? I wonder how they compare to Classical Kids?

[ladydusk]

 

 

Thanks for this recommendation. Have you used these? I wonder how they compare to Classical Kids?

 

 

The information is good and overlays music, but I personally find them dull and usually fall asleep compared with the fun stories from Classical Kids. Sometimes we listen to them while we eat.

[nutella08]

Thanks for this recommendation. Have you used these? I wonder how they compare to Classical Kids?

 

Yes, we used these and my kids enjoyed them. The Classical Kids CDs were more engaging & higher production quality (we borrowed it from the library) but only covered a couple of the major composers. The Story of ____ in Words and Music offered a much wider selection of composers. DC & I learned a lot from them. DH found it annoying to listen to narration over classical music. YMMV

[A home for their hearts]

I used these plans/resources with a 7-year-old and 10-year-old. They LOVED what we did. The Story of the Orchestra (mentioned above), in particular, was very popular, and we spent at least two hours listening to the songs and dancing and discussing emotions and what the sounds made us think of. It actually kicked off a survey of Broadway musicals that went on for months :lol:

 

This is just the first four weeks. We started our year late, and I only managed to sneak in classical music/composer study in bits and pieces, so weeks 5/6/7 were going to be studying Handel and listening to "Messiah," then studying Tchaikovsky and listening to the Nutcracker music. Of course, the holidays came crashing in on us, and I ran out of time to finish and was just going to wing it, and you know how well that tends to go :001_rolleyes:

 

I have a big planning session scheduled with friends for sometime in late July, which is when I hope to finish these lesson plans, so I can update again if it will help anyone.

 

 

 

Week 1:

 

· Introduce classical music in general. What does the student think classical music is? (Frankly, I didn't have a good answer for them; we just discussed . I think I stumbled through a general explanation of time periods, talked about use of traditional orchestral instruments rather than voice/words to evoke feelings and tell the story, etc. I couldn't find a kid-friendly, concise definition anywhere, but since my goal was more appreciation than analysis, I was OK with that.)

· Like art, music is good at making us feel things. Use Levine’s "Story of the Orchestra" CD music to illustrate this. Listen to each musical clip and talk about the way it makes you feel.

· Amazing resources:

· http://www.wgbh.org/kids/kids_classical.cfm (24-hour kids’ classical music, games and more)

· http://www.sphinxkids.org

 

 

Week 2:

· Revisit previous week’s discussion.

· Discuss the orchestra. Can we name some of the instruments that play in an orchestra? Name some of the instrument families? Discuss percussion, string, woodwinds, brass. Why are they named as they are?

· Use Those Amazing Musical Instruments to see pictures of the instruments in the families (I didn't love the CD that came with this, but you might).

· Listen to Bernstein Favorites Children's Classics, which includes The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (as well as versions of Peter and the Wolf and other children's classics). Let the kids draw/paint/lay while listening.

· John Lithgow’s "The Remarkable Farkle McBride" is a fun and wacky way of introducing the sounds of each instrument as well (Book: http://www.amazon.com/Remarkable-Farkle-Mcbride-John-Lithgow/dp/0689833407; CD: http://www.amazon.com/Farkle-Friends-John-Lithgow/dp/B000066RLW)

· Play Instrument Match game at http://www.sphinxkids.org

 

 

Week 3

 

· Discuss that there are many, many pieces and styles of classical music, composers, orchestras, ensembles, etc., but that some pieces either were written for kids, and those will be the first pieces we study.

· Read Meet the Great Composers (Book Two): Prokofiev

· Start with "Peter and the Wolf" (a narrated version is also on the Bernstein Favorites CD, or any other version you like. Caution with sensitive kids: The duck gets eaten by the wolf).

· Watch "Peter and the Wolf" short (won an Academy Award for best animated short, produced by WNET/Thirteen: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/peterandwolf/index.html).

· For extra listening, Naxos sells a narrated version of the Cinderella story that is set to Prokofiev’s Cinderella Suites (downloadable here: http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=3685).

 

 

Week 4

 

· Revisit previous week’s discussion about how some classical music was written for children.

· Read some bio information about Camille Saint Saens/"Carnival of the Animals":

· http://www.makingmusicfun.net/htm/f_mmf_music_library/hey-kids-meet-camille-saint-saens.htm

· http://www.allmusic.com/artist/camille-saint-saëns-mn0000688311

· Listen to Jack Prelutsky’s "Carnival of the Animals" CD, with the go-along book. The author reads his poems, which nicely narrate each musical portion. Pause after each poem and discuss what you think the coming piece will sound like based on the animal it represents.

· Listen to "Can You Hear It?" by William Lach for the COTA portions.

Just thought I would bump this up and see if you've had time to finish your plans?  I love what you have so far!

[Mandy in TN]

I like the website Classics for Kids. http://www.classicsforkids.com/

 

I usually just go to the composers and look for the one we are studying. If the composer is listed I look to see if there are any radio shows on that composer and a coordinating activity sheet. http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/composers_atoz.asp

 

They also have lesson plans for 7 composers that I have never used, but they look intriguing. http://www.classicsforkids.com/teachers/lessonplans.asp

 

HTH-

Mandy