The Story of the Orchestra

At our last homeschool meeting the idea of music appreciation was brought up.  I shared briefly about a book that we use in our homeschooling adventure called "The Story of the Orchestra" by Robert Levine with cd.  I cannot say enough good things about this book and cd.  Just today Dustin and I had a good laugh while listening to Brahms "Hungarian Dance" with the boys--Tristan was humming along with his eyes closed while Kaelan drummed out the beat on the table. 
The book is set up to cover the 4 primary eras of music: Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern.  Altogether there are 15 composers covered in this book along with 1 of their most famous or interesting pieces on cd.  Our approach is to spend one entire week on each composer/piece.  The first day of the week we begin by listening to the music selection without knowing anything about it.  Then we talk about who the composer was and the title of the music along with any history or information that the book provides. Each day for the rest of the week we listen to the music, then I ask the boys to name the composer and title of the song along with anything that they found interesting about the piece and then we listen to the piece again.  I am amazed at the things that they pick up on in each piece and how excited they are when it comes to music time each day. 
The second half of the book covers all of the orchestra instruments: string section, woodwind section, brass section, percussion section, and keyboard instruments.  Each of these sections is accompanied by a cd selection showcasing that particular instrument.  The final part of the book covers information about the composer himself.
Dustin and I are overjoyed watching our boys pick up on music and knowledge that they would otherwise not receive in a public school setting.  We love listening to them talk about how Tchaikovsky was crazy and thought his head was going to fall off, or hear them recite "Vivaldi lived in Venice and played the Violin." 
For anyone looking for a good music appreciation book, whether just for fun or for homeschooling, this is truly a great resource.
*To find this book quickly and at a reasonable price I have it stored in my "Riverbend Mommy's Favorites" link on the side of the page.  It is an amazon.com link where you can usually get a better price than in a traditional book store.