Music History: How to

It is a problem I am sure music teachers have all had at one point or another: how do you include music history into a short lesson? You can use all of their lesson time just giving new assignments and listening to the old.

Including music history into a students lessons can take many forms, depending on the teacher's style or the student's learning style. If you have an older student that has access to a computer, you could send them links to articles about the different music periods, composers, or instruments. (Be sure to preview everything you send to you students.) This frees up time in the lesson that would otherwise be taken up with history. Younger students can read short articles that you print off the computer for them. The really young students could color pictures of composers with a little information about the person at the bottom of the page.

During the summer when things are likely to be a little slower, you could give your student an essay or poster board assignment. This lets them be a little more creative when they are less likely to want to practice. Each student could put something together on a different composer and post them in your studio. Then as students wait for their lesson they can look at other students' research projects. Young students can merely answer the questions about a composer. You can assign your older students to do a paper, writing at least two to three paragraphs answering the questions you provide. Below I have included some questions to get you started.

Who is your composer?

When did he/she live?
What period did they compose in?
What country were they from?
What are they famous for?
What is a piece that they wrote?

What instrument(s) did they write for?