Music Appreciation Composer Study

A phone or speaker for playing music

Paper and drawing/writing supplies

Optional: a kid-friendly biography or website about the composer

Choose a composer to explore. Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and Vivaldi are great starting points because their music is varied and accessible.

Share a short, engaging version of their life story. Fun facts hook kids: Mozart composed at age 5, Beethoven wrote masterpieces while deaf.

Listen to the first piece — something energetic. For Mozart, try "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik." Listen with eyes closed, no distractions.

Discuss: "What instruments did you hear? Was it fast or slow? What pictures appeared in your mind while listening?"

Listen to a second piece with a contrasting mood. For Mozart, try the somber "Lacrimosa" from the Requiem.

Compare: "The same person wrote both of these! What makes them so different?" Talk about tempo, mood, instruments, dynamics.

Listen to a third piece and have your child draw, paint, or write what the music makes them imagine or feel.

Kids connect more with composers when they learn the human story: struggles, quirks, achievements. Beethoven's deafness is always riveting.

Don't limit this to classical European composers. Explore Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, or contemporary composers from diverse traditions.

Ask "What do you think this music was written for?" Many pieces were composed for specific occasions — weddings, funerals, celebrations. Context changes how you hear it.

One composer per month creates a year-long music appreciation curriculum with zero cost.

After studying a few composers, your child will start recognizing styles: "That sounds like it could be Beethoven!" That's developing musical literacy.