How to Teach your Child to Love Classical Music

Researchers are discovering more benefits to listening to and learning to play classical music all the time. Since this music is a bit more difficult than popular music, you can help your child appreciate it by teaching them a bit about it. Researchers have found that the major reason people don't like classical music is that they don't know anything about it, and the more facts people learn about it, the more they like it.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• CDs of classical music, a radio, an internet connection, or library card to check out CDs.
• Internet connection or library card to look up information
• Posterboard, markers, paper, crayons, etc.
• Index cards or cardboard or paper for flash cards

1. Find a source of classical music. This can be a classical music radio station, or an internet radio station, or a site like last.fm or pandora.com, or the library.

2. Listen to the pieces of classical music with your child, and look up information on the composer. Pay attention to things like where the composer lived, the birth and death dates, the other composers he or she knew or was related to.

3. Make some flash cards with facts about the composer's life and play with them while the composer's music is playing.

4. Create a timeline of the different composers on posterboard. Use a different color marker for each period (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern). You can later subdivide periods. Or you can use a different marker for each country.

5. As you listen to the pieces, talk to your child about what she or he hears and what you hear. Hum the melodies with your child and decide if the piece is happy, mysterious, joyful, etc.

6. As your familiarity with classical music grows, try guessing games. Each person gets 30 seconds to try to guess which composer you are listening to. When you get more familiar, try to guess which composition!

Tips & Warnings

• Being actively involved with classical music boosts your brain power--try it!

Resources

• Pandora Internet Radio (USA only)
• Last.fm Internet Radio
• WRR Internet Radio
• Wikipedia (good for looking up information)
• More on the benefits of classical music

[musicappreciate]

on 11/10/2009 Yes, yes, yes! Your ideas are very much in line with my vision for my kids. My son and I appreciate Bach together, and he makes brilliant observations from what he hears. FIVE STARS.

[wordstock]

on 12/22/2008 Very different world that I grew up in. I only knew classical music until I was 9 and got my 1st transistor radio. So, I was very discouraged when my child did not like classical music. However, he recently discovered the old cartoons. They are all done with classical music. Based on the cartoons he likes, I will use your suggestions and pull him in that way. Good article, very helpful. Thanks