Disclaimer: I was compensated for my time in exchange for my honest review. Opinions and viewpoints are my own.
Some studies are designed for our young ones in mind – others for the teens… but every once in a while a curriculum comes along that is edifying for the entire family…
Music Appreciation: A Family Study by Beautiful Feet Books, explores the history and nuisances of an art form that has been around for centuries. Music is the soul of a people and Beautiful Feet Books helps your whole family connect with that soul on an intimate level. Broken down into fifty-four lessons meant to be discovered a week at a time, this course should be taken slowly and thoughtfully in order to cultivate a deep appreciation and love for music.
Music Appreciation: A Family Study has Six parts with coordinating lessons using the book, “Book of Composers” by Rebecca Manor, who is also the curator of this study. In addition to being a gorgeous, full color hardback, “ Book of Composer” is rich with resources spanning many musical eras. For the student, there is a corresponding Resource Packet full of lesson reinforcement and note pages to jot down your own thoughts about the pieces selected. Wondering where to find the music? There are QR codes spread throughout with instructional videos on how to use the Study as well as playlists for the music. You’re guided throughout this musical journey and will come out more enlightened by the end.
You’ll find studies on:
Part 1: Ancient Music – Your family explores the origin of music and some of its instruments from civilizations that pre-date music in its written form. Come full circle with ancient stringed instruments like the oud of Persia which is the ancestor of the modern day guitar.
Part 2: Medieval and Renaissance Music – The Church and oral traditions standardize music around the world and “solfège” emerges. This section looks at composer Guido d’Arezzo among others.
Part 3: The Baroque Period – Opera anyone? This time period sees changes in all art forms but especially music and we start to see famous names we all recognize such as Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach.
Part 4: The Classical Period – The work of the Baroque gets more elegant and refined and we start to learn about the Orchestra. The Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven take center stage.
Part 5: The Romantic Period – It’s all about feelings and music becomes an outlet of expression. Enjoy the violin prowess of Niccolo Paganini, Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria”, and the Mendelssohn siblings’ individual contributions. Favorite composers shine here, such as Chopin, Dvorak, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky.
Part 6: Music in the Twentieth Century and On – The Study brings us up to speed with modern day. Ragtime, The Blues, Jazz, Rock & Roll, Musical Theater, and Contemporary Classical Music define their presence on the musical timeline.
How we’re using Music Appreciation: A Family Study
Our entire family loves many styles of art and music. It’s normal to wake up to very loud Blues and Rock & Roll playing in our home while Daddy prepares breakfast. In my car, you’ll hear the classical notes of Yo-Yo Ma or jazz crooning by Gregory Porter. Cash is a student of both the piano and violin. Music Appreciation: A Family Study, gives my family a chance to share our fascination with music on a new, intellectual level. We not only get to learn about the roots of our favorite composers and pieces, but using the included playlists, we get to reflect deeply on them as well.
First, Cash takes the time to READ AND LISTEN about the composers and to the music. Next, we DISCUSS what we’ve learned and talk about how it made us feel. In our notebooks we RECORD our thoughts using the journaling pages from the Resource Packet. Then we DO something with our lesson plans in the Teacher Guide – make an instrument, write an essay, or even read further using the included Rabbit Trails suggestions.
My favorite parts of the Study was the inclusion of diverse and female composers. Having the biography of Samuel Coleridge Taylor along with an image of an invitation to a performance accompany was a treat, and this Blues lover appreciated the origin story of Muddy Waters stage name. Cash enjoyed Camille Saint-Saens and his Carnival of the Animals which he recognized from our local Symphony’s performance. Daddy pointed out to Cash that W.C. Handy from Florence, Alabama was not only a local celebrity but that a festival still continues in Florence to this day that bears his name.
This Study won’t be a quick one – but that is what makes this and many other resources by Beautiful Feet Books so brilliant – it’s for really learning about a subject and the joy of the process and not just getting through it to the end. Repeat this Study as needed and as your learner gets older revisit it for High School credits in Music Appreciation. Are you ready to begin your musical promenade with Beautiful Feet Books? Check out and get Music Appreciation: A Family Study HERE!
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