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Marvelous Monday- ART AND MUSIC
By Kendra | May 25, 2009
Right off the bat this week I think I should tell you that I have my BA in Music (Voice) and I have absolutely no artistic ability other than walking around art museums.
This means two things:
1. Although I have high standards for music curricula in our home, I’m not very good at implementing them. I think I just live music with my kids, and the formal let’s-sit-down-and-talk-about-music teaching of it goes by the wayside.
2. I am the opposite with art curricula. I have used quite a few things with varying degrees of success, and I think I’ve given my kids an appreciation of a wide variety of art in a more formal way than I have with music. The older ones can recognize historical context, several notable artists, and important art works to a level at which I think is appropriate.
Those two caveats in place, let’s talk about music curriculum:
Purchase compilations of classical works and listen to them. Read the liner notes and tell your children, “This is Bach”. As you become familiar with each piece, you will soon find yourselves able to recall pieces as you hear them in the store, on the radio, or in movies and commercials.
A fun series to familiarize yourself with individual works are the books by Anna Harwell Calenza, such as The Farewell Symphony, The Heroic Symphony, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. The books are nicely illustrated, each telling the story behind the piece and each containing a CD of the piece as well. Very nice.
If you want to familiarize yourselves with classical composers, you can check out any number of Mike Venezia’s books in the series Getting to Know the Worlds Greatest Composers. The books are written on a kindergarten- 3rd grade level, and cover the greats: Mozart (my favorite), Bach, Beethoven, and many more. I don’t think these books are the ultimate resource, but they seem to be the best that’s available at the present time. Many libraries carry them, so check there first if you’re not sure you want to invest in them all.
When I was in college studying music, I had the driest, most uninteresting music history teacher humanly possible. What a pity. Now that I am past that part of my education, I have discovered that music history is indeed exciting and interesting, for art and music truly are a reflection of what is going on in our culture at any given time. Just to make sure we’re on the same page, I’m talking about the history of Western Music; Eastern, indigenous, and tribal music is quite another subject altogether.
My favorite stand-alone resource for music history is a series of books by David W. Barber, the first of which is called Bach, Beethoven, and the Boys. These are extremely light-hearted books needing some editing as appropriate for the ages you’re teaching. Great for Circle Time, great for a fun summer read-aloud. I realize they aren’t the Norton Anthology, but they are memorable.
Do you have a child who is interested in taking voice lessons, but you’re either not prepared to incur the cost (voice lessons can definitely be a luxury item) or don’t know where to turn? I highly recommend Singing for the Stars by vocal coach extraordinaire, Seth Riggs. My personal interest is vocal physiology, with a particular emphasis on good vocal technique. Mr. Riggs teaches healthy singing, and he does so across the genre spectrum: everything from pop like Michael Jackson to the demands of opera.
As for music theory, most music students will be given a workbook to use by their instrumental teacher. If your child is learning at home, however, and you are looking for a straightforward approach to theory, I’d recommend the Theory Time series.
And now for art…
Years ago we participated in a lovely little once-a-month co-op in which a mom used the Meet the Masters curriculum. It has been a long time and my memory regarding specifics is fuzzy, but I know I loved it. In a nutshell, the program highlights one artist at a time from the point of view of the artist. The students are introduced to several of the artist’s works, then have the opportunity to try their hand at a work in the style of each particular masterpiece. If you’re interested, you can read all about their downloadable curriculum on the Meet the Masters FAQ page.
We’ve also really loved Discovering Great Artists, which also teaches a bit about each artist and their style, then presents a project in the style of the artist. These are accessible projects, things that can be achieved even by an art-impaired mom like me.
There are many art resources on our shelves, most of which I’ve picked up from library sales and used bookstores. Look for discarded books on different painting and drawing techniques, as well as books with a generous amount of pictures. Books such as Sister Wendy’s 1000 Masterpieces, Art Fraud Detective, and the Eyewitness series.
Then give your kids great tools, such as Prismacolor pencils (you can get a good price on these at Michaels by using the weekly 40% off coupon) and Lakeshore Learning scented clay (it’s yummy!)
Need project ideas? My favorite sites/blogs are:
We also love the Art With a Purpose series, which I wrote about once before… good for early elementary and very affordable. And since I’m being really lazy now, read about Creativity Express, which I’ve also written about here before.
Whew! I know there’s more, but it’s a holiday weekend and I have a hammock calling my name. Check out Cheryl’s Marvelous Monday post, too!
Topics: Educating at Home, Home Organization, Resources, Reviews, Training Little Ones | 12 Comments »
May 25th, 2009 at 5:18 am
Sort of on-topic, since its musical:
I’m doing a Hymn Project this summer —just because I want to. You can read more about it at this address on my blog: http://www.semicolonblog.com/?p=5145
But basically, I’m asking you and any of your readers who wold like to participate to send me a list of your ten favorite hymns. List these hymns in your order of preference. So your #1 hymn would be the one you feel is the best, and so on. I will be giving your first choice 10 points, your second choice 9 points, and so on. Submit your list to me at sherryDOTearlyATgmailDOTcom. Write “Hymn Survey” in the subject line.
If you like, you can submit a justification for each hymn. Or you can send me a link to an audio or video version online. Include the name of the hymn’s author or lyricist and the composer of the melody you prefer if at all possible, especially if you think I might be unfamiliar with your particular hymn. At the beginning of June I will tally up the totals, and I will pull from the submitted pieces why one reader or another liked a particular hymn (naming the reader, of course). That way we’ll be able to hear from a whole bunch of people why they love one hymn or another. I will then count down from 100 to 1 on my blog over the course of the summer the top choices of what folks feel the best hymns of all time are.
By the way I’m enjoying your Marvelous Monday posts.
May 25th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Regarding the study of Classical Music…My 14 yr old daughter has just finished using Beautiful Feet’s
History of Classical Music. She loved it!! And she learned so much. It includes a study guide, with some neat activities, a timeline, and CD’s to listen to. Also, 2 coloring books of composers, and additional books to read and study.
As a pianist, she absolutely ate it up!! I am anxious to use this with my younger children in a few yrs.
Dawn in SC
May 25th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
What does your sons shirt say? I can’t figure it out and it’s driving me crazy!
May 25th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Sherry- I’m looking very forward to the results of your hymn study!
Dawn- I love Beautiful Feet stuff and will look at that one this summer. Sounds like it would be a perfect Circle Time thing.
Katie- His shirt says, “Would it bother us more if they used guns?” A ministry called Abort 73 puts them out, and my boys love that they’re great conversation starters when they wear them in public. http://www.abort73.com
May 26th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Wow! I did not realize that you went to Liberty, because I did and had THE MOST BORING Music History professor EVER. We must have had the same one
. I was a Music Ed. major (choral emphasis) and I am also guilty of not teaching as much about music as I would like. But, it is definitely woven through so much of our lives in our house…Thank you so much for all of these great posts!
May 26th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Ha! Kristi, that’s funny. Maybe he traveled between CA and VA?
May 27th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Love the posts Kendra! I need help in the art arena…not my strong suit at all!
Off topic: I just got a brochure for the Modesto homeschool conference in July. I am hoping my husband will take off a half day on Friday so I can go both days. Do you have any suggestions on speakers, and/or booths that I should check out? I would LOVE to check out MOH in person, but didn’t see them on the vendor list.
Tai
May 28th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Thank you, Kendra, for taking the time to review different curriculum and subjects. I did not like our history this school year and was trying to decide whether to use MOH or not. Your post was very helpful. We switched to it mid-year. Also, I’m teaching Art Appreciation to our school group next year and this gives me some good resources of where to start as I put a syllabus together. Thanks for taking the time!
September 4th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Ms. Kendra, I was a music therapy major at a Christian College. I found the below book one year and purchased it as a thank you to one of my profs. I wonder if you’ve heard of it? She loved it so much she began each Monday Class with one. It’s the Spiritual lives of the composers.
http://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Lives-Composers-Patrick-Kavanaugh/dp/0310208068
September 4th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Hi Krissy- Did you know I was a vocal performance major at UOP? The music therapy program there is a good one (or was when I was there), and I am still intrigued by music therapy. Yes, I do have that book but we haven’t used it in Circle Time. Good reminder! I’ll pull it out. Thanks
May 20th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
What ages are appropriate for the “Singing for the Stars” book? My husband and I can’t sing and would love for our kids to learn to carry a tune, but I can’t tell if this would help young kids, or if anything can.
May 20th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Stephanie- I’m of the camp that says older is better when it comes to voice lessons. I really like to start my students no younger than 12 or so.