The Ultimate Music Playlist for Kids
The most simple way to foster music appreciation is to immerse yourself in beautiful music!
This sounds easy, right? - Still, however, many parents write to us at SQUILT and wonder where to begin (Well, we do have a blog post about getting started with music appreciation, which is helpful if you want to use our resources and start learning about great music with your kids.).
If you know very little about music, simply EXPOSING your children to different types of music is going to be easy, fun, and fruitful!
In my 30 years of teaching children about music, I've discovered so many pieces that speak to them. Children's ears and minds are so much more open than ours - they are a blank slate and we have the ability to fill that slate with so much beauty and goodness!
Whether we listen to a harp piece by Turlough O'Carolan (who was born before Bach in the 1600s) or Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington collaborating on a piece of jazz, there is something to be gained from all of it. The more children listen the more they discern. The more they discern the more they appreciate. The more they appreciate the better music they crave.
Do you see what a beautiful musical cycle this is?
The Ultimate Music Playlist for Kids
This Spotify playlist includes 124 pieces of music that I KNOW are great for children. Actually, the pieces are great for adults, too - because music does not discriminate by age.
It takes us from the years 1600 through the present, with everything from Baroque classics to Kalimba music from Africa. The playlist is also a compilation of EVERYTHING we have studied in SQUILT LIVE! lessons since the membership began in 2016.
Play this music around the house, in the car, or let your child put on some headphones and listen for a certain amount of time each day.
Look up the history of pieces that interest your child. Find out about the composer or where the music is from. Follow your child's musical interest. They will gravitate towards certain styles.
*Side Note: all of these lessons are available in our archives for PLUS members - so if you love the playlist and want to learn more, simply join us!
This playlist makes is so simple to give your children a gift that will last their ENTIRE lives.
One of my most fond childhood memories is my dad playing records (what are those!?!?) for me - Tchaikovsky, Sousa, Mary Poppins, Neil Diamond, Bach, Chopin, Joplin - it was varied and fun. This exposure, and both of my parents' willingness to learn about music is what put me in the position of being a professional music educator today.
You never know what exposure to something will do for your child.
Happy listening - and I'd love for you to check out either our PDF lessons or our LIVE! lesson membership. We have fun!
