Music is all around us. It plays in grocery stores, elevators, and while we’re on hold with the insurance company. Alexa can play us any song we ask for at any given time, and we can perfectly curate personal music playlists for every mood or experience.
But even though music is so ubiquitous, we can still be somewhat disconnected from the meaning of the songs, the stories of the composers, and the elements that flow together to create beautiful pieces of music.
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This is one of the reasons Rebecca Manor wrote the new Music Appreciation: A Family Study from Beautiful Feet Books. She says in the introduction:
“This study is designed to rejoin story and song. Connecting the greatest works of the classical tradition with the men and women who wrote them gives us the ability to understand the works, to see their complexity through a new lens, and to enjoy them more. In researching this course, I’ve been endeared to so many of the people featured in this study, and the knowledge of their lives, struggles, and triumphs makes their music even more meaningful to me.”
And as a Christian, Rebecca also sees the many ways music reflects the character of God and can teach us to relish the beauty, joys, and sorrows of this created world.
If you’re looking for a way to bring the whole family together to study and enjoy the history of music together, from ancient times to Mozart, from Beethoven to modern pop, Music Appreciation: a Family Study may be just what your homeschool needs this year!
Value of including music in your homeschool
Being able to listen to and appreciate music of a variety of styles is an invaluable skill. Music connects us with historical moments, inspires us, and provides a means of communicating across cultural divides.
Music education has also been linked to improved cognition, memory, attention, and problem-solving skills. Learning to play an instrument is of course one way to enjoy the benefits of a musical education, but studying music history is also valuable.
Music also helps connect us with a variety of cultures. Exposure to a variety of musical genres helps our children appreciate a wide range of cultural diversity.
You don’t have to know a lot about music yourself in order to provide a quality music education for your children. With helpful open-and-go resources like Music Appreciation: a Family Study you can provide musical learning for every age in your homeschool!
Why family style learning is a great homeschool option
Family style learning, where you combine multiple ages/grades as you study a particular subject, is a great option for many homeschooling families.
It strengthens the relationships in our family, providing a shared family culture and memories. It’s also more efficient, which every mom with limited resources of time, energy, and money knows is a key component of a happy homeschool!
Instead of getting a separate grade-specific textbook for every subject, look for ways to combine learning as a family. Perhaps you can use a Morning Time routine, like our family does, as a way to prioritize the subjects you’re studying together as a family. Perhaps you’ll do independent work in the morning, then come together as a group in the afternoon for read-alouds and shared projects.
Areas of study like history, art, science, and music are especially easy to adapt to the needs of multiple children. Start with a core resource all ages can enjoy together, then customize the supplemental activities based on each child’s needs and abilities. The new Music Appreciation: a Family Study from Beautiful Feet Books is a perfect core homeschool elective resource for early elementary all the way through high school.
What’s Included in Music Appreciation: a Family Study from Beautiful Feet Books
The new music appreciation study from Beautiful Feet Books is perfect for a multi-age approach to the history of music. It is designed to teach your children about Western music from ancient times to contemporary.
In addition to the classical music genre, it also introduces the history of ragtime, jazz, the blues, musical theater, and rock-and-roll.
- Part 1: Ancient Music
- Part 2: Medieval & Renaissance Music
- Part 3: The Baroque Period
- Part 4: The Classical Period
- Part 5: The Romantic Period
- Part 6: Music in the Twentieth Century and On
The primary guide is found in the Book of Composers. You’ll find biographical information on more than 70 composers from ancient to modern times. There are curated Spotify playlists accessible via QR code throughout the text so you can listen while you learn about each composer.
The Resource Packet is an important part of this music appreciation study. It includes composer portraits, instrument diagrams, notebooking pages, and more. You can download it once and print multiple copies for each of your children.
The Teacher Guide includes 54 lessons. It is designed so you can complete one lesson each week, so the curriculum actually will last you at least 2 years in your homeschool. It’s important not to rush through so you can train your ear to listen and recognize each musician’s compositions.
The lessons include the following sections:
- Read and Listen
- Discuss
- Record
- Explore
- Do
- Rabbit Trails (including additional books and supplemental resources)
Pick and choose what is best to focus on with your unique children depending on their age and interest level. Go more deeply and challenge your older children, but keep it simple for the little ones in your home. You don’t have to do every assignment or activity. Do what best fits your family!
You can easily use this Music Appreciation guide on a weekly basis from beginning to end, but I think it could also be a wonderful supplemental resource for your homeschool history curriculum. Just focus on the chapter that corresponds to the time period you’re studying; it’s ok if you use the guide out of order!
Whether you’re looking for a stand alone music appreciation curriculum or a supplement to your history studies, click here to check out Music Appreciation: A Family Study from Beautiful Feet Books!
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Want more homeschool help? Find all my homeschooling art and music resources here.
