What is Composer Study?
Use every chance you get of hearing music (I do not mean only tunes, though these are very nice), and ask whose music has been played, and, by degrees, you will find out that one composer has one sort of thing to say to you, and another speaks other things; these messages of the musicians cannot be put into words, so there is no way of hearing them if we do not train our ear to listen.
Charlotte Mason
Composer study is an important part of your child’s educational feast. It leads to a rich, full education.
To inspire a love for music in your home, simply choose a composer (historical or modern) to focus on each semester, playing some of their best music at least once a week. Make this a dedicated time of listening.
When listening, encourage your student to identify the instruments used. This will help them become familiar with the composer’s style.
Composer study is a pause from the hurry of life. Slowing down and narrowing your focus to a single composer will result in absorbing the beautiful contribution of one life. Charlotte Mason encourages choosing one person at a time. The goal is not to be an expert on every influencer, rather, to become familiar with one or two per year.
Helpful resources:
- The Carnival of the Animals
- Classical Kids: Hallelujah Handel
- Bach and the Pipe Organ
- The Essential Herbie Hancock
- The Complete Max Roach
- Birth of the Cool: How Jazz Great Miles Davis Found His Sound
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