MusicChild: Making A Summer Listening List

This is a recent article from Minnesota Public Radio. It's a great idea!

Make a summer listening list

Maybe you are making a summer reading list. Why not make a summer listening list? Connect your listening to summer holidays and events, or pair with favorite summertime activities. Create a listening journal. Track each piece by using this free grid worksheet we've prepared for you. Feel free to draw pictures in the "observation" box if that's more your style (or your child's developmental stage). At the end of the summer, you'll have a wonderful memento of your listening experience. Modify or extend this activity by including live music. Free concerts in the park are a great way to enjoy summer listening as a family.

Samples

Here are sample summer listening lists, paired with special summer themes and events. Some pieces have a direct link to their respective activity or event; others simply suggest a certain mood or atmosphere. Use this distinction in talking about what you hear. Edit, add to, or eliminate pieces based on the age and interests of your child.

Bugs! Flight of the Bumblebee, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov • The Song of the Flea, by Modest Mussorgsky • Les Abeilles, by Francois Couperin • From the Diary of a Fly, Mikrokosmos 6, No. 142 - Ostinato, by Bela Bartok

Flag Day & Fourth of July: Variations on America, by Charles Ives • Feux d'Artifice (Fireworks), by Claude Debussy • Stars and Stripes Forever, by John Philip Sousa

Lake Life: En Bateau, by Claude Debussy • Gymnopedies, by Erik Satie • Ballade for Piano and Orchestra, by Germaine Tailleferre • "Summertime," from Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin • Trout Quintet, by Franz Schubert

Nature: Deep Summer Music, Libby Larsen • Blue Cathedral, by Jennifer Higdon •The Lark Ascending, by Ralph Vaughn Williams • Im Wunderschönen Monat Mai, by Robert Schumann • "The Fairy Garden," from Ma Mère L’oye, by Maurice Ravel • "Peace of the Woods," from Lyric Pieces, by Edvard Grieg

Parades, Carnivals & Fairs: Circus Polka, by Igor Stravinsky • "Mad Tea Party," from Alice in Wonderland, by Unsuk Chin • "Grand March," from Aida, by Giuseppe Verdi • Solace, by Scott Joplin • "Juba Dance," from Symphony No. 1, by Florence Price

Road Trips: Grand Canyon Suite, by Ferde Grofe • The American Scene, by William Grant Still • "Introduction: The Open Prairie," from Billy the Kid, by Aaron Copland

Summer Solstice: Lightscape, by Daniel Godfrey • "Hunter," from Orion, by Kaija Saariaho • Pavane, by Gabriel Faure

Thunderstorms: Piano Sonata No. 17 (The Tempest), by Ludwig van Beethoven •Thunder and Lightning Polka, Johann Strauss II • Presto, from "Summer," fromThe Four Seasons, by Antonio Vivaldi • Rain Spell, by Toru Takemitsu

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Classical 15 coloring book

We've created a coloring book, featuring illustrations by Nancy Carlson, to promote Classical 15, our initiative to give kids at least 15 minutes of classical music every day. Enter our giveaway for a copy of the coloring book now.