The Perfect Introduction to Classical Music

We had so much fun last week with Camille Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals!

If you have been wanting to introduce your kids (or students) to classical music this is seriously the PERFECT way! They will love it!

We listen to music primarily at lunchtime when it’s just the boys and me and we all need a little break from hearing each other’s voices and we call it “musical mealtime.” I typically introduce a piece or a composer on Mondays, which amps up the alliteration- Musical Mealtime Mondays!

Anyway, I digress…

This musical suite is made up of fourteen short movements that each illustrate a different animal and highlight different instruments that help you visualize the animal. Some of the animals are the lion, tortoise, kangaroo, elephant, and there is even a piece about fossils! It’s fabulous!

I was not familiar with very many instruments before doing composer studies with the kids, but we have all gotten better at identifying different ones and these short pieces are entertaining and really enjoyable! Connor was even able to identify the flute in the “Aviary” piece and the double bass in the “Elephants” piece! I was pretty impressed!

We started the week with a book that came with an audio CD and had a poem for each animal written by Jack Prelutsky. Each track includes Prelutsky himself reading the versus and is followed by the music. The illustrator of the Harry Potter series brings each poem to life.

The kids absolutely loved hearing the poems, looking at the pictures, and listening to the music. We would listen to two or three pieces each day two or three times each since they are so short. They would ask to listen again throughout the day, too!

We also watched videos of orchestras playing the different pieces so we could see the instruments highlighted. So fun!

My favorite was the most well-known piece, “The Swan,” Connor’s favorite is a high-energy piece called “The Donkeys of the Wild” and Cooper’s favorite is a light and airy piece depicting the flight of birds called “Aviary.”

Saint-Saens was a French composer. He was a prodigy and has been super interesting to learn about. He performed his first concert at the age of 5 and wrote his first symphonies at 16!

He wrote the Carnival of the Animals to be a humorous work and was afraid that no one would take him seriously as a composer if it was performed so he only allowed “The Swan” to be performed during this lifetime. If you get a chance, listen to this one. The single cello is just beautiful.

I know you and your kids will have so much fun with this! And because the pieces are short you could easily fit one or two pieces in each day, even as a brain break in the classroom. And the added bonus of Prelutsky’s poetry is the cherry on top!

I was super excited to find a Storybook Orchestra for this suite as well! I first discovered these last month when we studied The Nutcracker. The book is a fictional story but includes well-known segments of several of the pieces. In the back they include a short biography of the composer, descriptions of each of the musical pieces and the instruments used, and a glossary of musical terms.

Just gold!

Take my word for it- if you are hesitant about introducing your kids to classical music, start with this!! I promise you won’t regret it!