Teaching history of music

[BuyBuy]

Hello everybody.

I plan to teach music history to my students (I don't think that piano practice is enough to make a good musician, and till now I've only taught music history, harmony and so forth on the go, never with a method).

That's my idea : prepare a lesson every month (one era at a time : I'm working now on medieval music) and study it with a proper support : a lesson on paper to study at home (history, composers at the time, harmonic developments of the era...), a CD where I would have recorded musical examples to illustrate the lesson, and from time to time, a side lesson about useful stuff (history of musical notation, performance, non Western music, sound production and tuning, nodal music...).

What do you guys think ? Does any of you teach that ? And how ? Any book to recommand ? What's your method ? Suggestions, please ?

Thank you.

[chopinetta]

give a little info about each instruments' history, origin... then proceed to  musical eras... give only the most famous composers of an era and give the most common style used in that era... which instrument is widely played that era... etc.

i hope my suggestion is not so stupid...

[MzrtMusic]

I teach my students some music history, but it's generally something that just comes up... I dont' have a "lesson plan..." Like, when we talk about dynamics, I will sometimes explain how dynamics are produced, or explaing about harpsichords and the pianoforte... To get my students to learn about the composers, I have a "rewards" program in place... If they write an essay, or (depending on the age) just tell me about a composer's life, then they can "earn" points... That seems to work pretty well! I also oublish a monthly studio newsletter, and in that, I talk about music history, and instruments, and composers...

Anyway... That's what works pretty well for me!

Love,

Sarah

[tempest-Sonata]

i advice you to teach pure repetoire buy buy
and while teaching so you can insert information about the composer. in this way they are going to apreciate with information they are going to get because of the music that the composer produce.

ok about history after your student will be interested about that composer he/she will find their profile and suddenly they are goint to know that composer.

[khantallis123]

     My suggestion:
For Medieval Music, maybe write about neumes and how to convert them into standard notation(if they are higher level students   Write about the unpleasant for the modern ear Gregorian Chants, but also about the melodic music of the troubadours, troubaritzes, trouveres, bards, minnesingers and minstrels. Give an example using sheet music (some beautiful troubadour melodies are Kalenda Maya and Quand Je Voi Yver Retorner.)

[brogers70]

     My suggestion:
For Medieval Music, maybe write about neumes and how to convert them into standard notation(if they are higher level students   Write about the unpleasant for the modern ear Gregorian Chants, but also about the melodic music of the troubadours, troubaritzes, trouveres, bards, minnesingers and minstrels. Give an example using sheet music (some beautiful troubadour melodies are Kalenda Maya and Quand Je Voi Yver Retorner.)

But don't tell them that Gregorian chants are unpleasant to the modern ear. Let them decide for themselves.  My modern ears like Gregorian chant just fine.

[khantallis123]

One day really makes a difference. Now Gregorian Chant sounds beautiful to me. Maturing in 1 day.

[keypeg]

Don't forget the Internet.  There is a wealth of material out there: period dances, period instruments, documentaries, and more.