Birch Grove

Let's Listen!

 Are you interested in raising a musical child?  A great way to do that is to expose them to a wide range of musical styles.  Try the titles below as a starting point.  They are guaranteed to stir your child’s imagination and open their minds to new sounds.

Click on a title to listen to the music.

The French composer Camille Saint-Saens wrote music that describes thirteen different animals.  We listen and move to some of the animals in kindergarten and first grade. 

Introduction and Royal March of the Lions
The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Forest
Tortoises
Aviary
The Elephant 
Fossils
Kangaroos
The Swan
Aquarium
Finale

Peter and the Wolf

This classic story tells of a little boy named Peter who outsmarts a wolf in the forest.  In Prokofiev’s musical version, each character in the story is represented by a particular instrument.  Here is a shortened version that includes pictures and narration: Peter and the Wolf

Sorcerer’s Apprentice

This imaginative work by Paul Dukas was most famously depicted in Disney’s Fantasia.  Click here to see it.

Nutcracker

The Nutcracker, composed by Tchaikovsky, is a winter classic that contains many kid-friendly pieces of music. 

March of the Toy Soldiers
Tea (Chinese Dance)
Tea (Chinese Dance) - from Disney's Fantasia
Trepak (Russian Dance)
Russian Dance (and other music from the Nutcracker) performed by Marionettes
Waltz of the Flowers
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Pentatonix's version of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Other Classical Pieces

Toccata and Fugue in D minor, by Johann Sebastian Bach
Fur Elise by Beethoven
Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov
William Tell: Finale by Gioachino Rossini
In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg
“Spring” by Vivaldi (if you like this one, be sure to check out the full “Four Seasons”)
Viennese Musical Clock by Zoltan Kodaly
Rondo alla Turca by Mozart
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik: Allegro by Mozart

Patriotic Music

Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa
The Liberty Bell by John Philip Sousa
This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie

Jazz

In the Mood by Glenn Miller (Big band)
Take Five by Dave Brubeck
Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin (ragtime)
When the Saints Go Marching In (Dixieland)
The Entertainer by Scott Joplin

Miscellaneous

Animals of YouTube Sing "Jingle Bells"
Syncopated Clock by Leroy Anderson
The Typewriter by Leroy Anderson (yes, there is an actual typewriter used as an instrument)
The Waltzing Cat by Leroy Anderson (listen for the "meow" played by the violins)
Harry's Wondrous World from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by John Williams
Popcorn by Gershon Kingsley (this is the composer's website, which includes 5-6 different versions of Popcorn, including one by the Muppets!)