The new composer of the month is Edvard Grieg. MANY of the classes are familiar with one of his works, In the Hall of the Mountain King. With the younger students, we use this piece to discuss basic musical terms such as loud/soft and fast/slow. For the second graders, we use this piece to begin our composition work. For some of my older students, we use this piece to discuss various styles of music. In the Hall of the Mountain King, while a classical piece, has been covered by many other musicians, including Duke Ellington, The Who, and even a modern day jam band called Umphrey's McGee. It has been in countless movies,TV shows and even commercials. If you choose to check out this composer on Classics for Kids, you won't hear this particular piece during the composer explanation unless you listen to the entire 5 minute lesson. If you have the time, learn a little more about him and his work. Below you will see links to a few versions of this very famous music.
September's composer of the month on the CLASSICS FOR KIDS link on the APPS page of this website is ZOLTAN KODALY, a Hungarian composer and music educator. Kodaly believed that only quality music was good enough for children, and that EVERYONE deserves to learn about music to become the best musician he or she can be! Because of these beliefs, Kodaly started a movement for better music education which began in Hungary but has since traveled throughout the world. His influence has inspired many a music teacher, including yours truly! While in college I was fortunate enough to study at The Kodaly Institute in Kecskemet, Hungary and then went on to study his methodology at length once I started teaching. Our music classes are largely centered around his teaching philosophies and my thoughts align with his that we "should teach music so that it is a joy to our students." I hope you have a minute to read about Kodaly and listen to the selection created by the website, Classics for Kids.
