Start Your Listening

I'd like to start off by telling you I'm a piano teacher. I haven't written too much about that aspect of my life, partly because I didn't know how to tell what. I'm over that now. I'm just going to write what I think are important things about music. You can do with them as you wish. 

There are a million ways to go about listening to classical music but most importantly, you just should. And kids especially should. Here is what I challenge my students and their families to do each summer- listen over lunchtime. The time is short enough to maintain interest and the rest and quiet is nice to have.

What should you listen to? Skies the limit, right? Well, here are some great ones to get started with.

Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf

Saint-Saen's Carnival of the Animals

Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

Copland's Appalachian Springs, Rodeo

Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite

Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue

Not a complete listing, obviously, but it gets appealing music into the kids' ears and they will be more willing to listen to more.

Where to find these? Which album? Which label? Right.

A good starting point is the Naxos label. They are of excellent quality with a very affordable price. You can even go to their website to get a lot more information. 

There is always Amazon, Rhapsody, or Itunes. But make sure you are listening aloud, with your family. And when you download a song or an album, make sure you get the information that goes with it. Who the artist/orchestra/conductor is, the notes/book behind the song/piece/album you are listening to. If you continue to listen, you will want that information to help you make other music choices.

I'm not talking complicated here. I'm talking about getting one album and start your listening little by little. 

FYI: if it has words it is called a song, if it doesn't it is called a piece