Music History Timeline Project

A long roll of butcher paper or several sheets of paper taped together

Markers, crayons, or colored pencils

Printed pictures or magazine cutouts (optional)

Phone for research and playing music examples from each era

Glue or tape for attaching images

Unroll a long piece of paper or tape several sheets together to create a banner-sized timeline.

Draw a horizontal line from left to right. The far left is ancient history, the far right is today. Mark decades and centuries.

Research together and add 8-10 pivotal moments in music history: ancient percussion instruments (40,000 years ago), Gregorian chant (600s), orchestral classical (1700s), jazz (1920s), rock and roll (1950s), hip-hop (1970s), electronic (1990s), streaming era (2010s).

For each era, write the approximate dates, a 1-2 sentence description, and a key figure or instrument.

Listen to a short example from each era as you add it. Hearing the progression from chant to rock to electronic is mind-blowing.

Draw or glue pictures of iconic instruments, musicians, or album covers for each time period.

Hang the finished timeline on a wall. Reference it whenever you explore new music.

The listening component is what makes this come alive. Reading about jazz is fine. Hearing Louis Armstrong while drawing the jazz section is transformative.

Include non-Western music traditions: Indian ragas, Japanese koto, African drumming, Aboriginal didgeridoo. Music history is global, not just European.

Key connections to highlight: rock came from blues, blues came from African American spirituals, hip-hop came from soul and funk. Show the family tree of genres.

Let your child choose which eras to dive deepest into. If they're fascinated by the invention of the electric guitar, spend more time there.

This project can expand over multiple sessions. Start the timeline in one session and add detail in subsequent ones as you learn more.