We're learning about patterns and song form on The Music Box today! From binary to ternary to rondo and more, you’ll be able to identify the forms of some of your favorite music. *** Featured music: Shenanigans: Cross Dance Jörg Demus: The Wild Horseman (Schumann) Frank Sinatra: Fly Me to the Moon Tchaikovsky: March from The Nutcracker Dave Brubeck: Blue Rondo à la Turk *** Donate to support this and future seasons of The Music Box....
If you’ve ever been to the opera, you may have found yourself wondering what’s happening onstage. Sometimes opera plots can be tough to understand, especially if you’re a kid! Today we’ll learn about a couple of operas written specifically for kids: “L’enfant et les sortilèges” by Maurice Ravel, and “Brundibár” by Hans Krása. *** SPECIAL NOTE FOR GROWNUPS: “Brundibár” is best known for being premiered at the Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1943, performed by a cast of interned children. We ...
Today’s episode is a virtual trip to Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, and more, as we explore the work of Latinx musicians and composers. We’ll practice some call and response, we’ll walk on a tightrope, and we’ll learn about how a composer’s background and experiences affect her music. ¡Vámonos! *** Featured music: Juventino Rosas: Sobre las Olas Maria Grever: Cuando Vuelva a tu Lado Leo Brouwer: Babalú Tania León: Alma Sergio Mendes: Fanfarra (Cabua-Le-Le) Arturo Márquez: Danzón #2 *** Donate to suppo...
What do dinosaurs have to do with music? You'll find out when you listen to this episode, as we explore the range of dynamics and accents through the sounds that dinosaurs made. *** Donate to support this and future seasons of The Music Box.
We’re back in the magical Land of Arpeggio, going on a treasure hunt with a group of faun friends! Can you sing the right notes and help them find the treasure? *** Donate to support this and future seasons of The Music Box.
We’ll take a look at how some of our favorite songs have been inspired by stories and books, including how you can make songs out of your favorites stories too! From fairy tales to Maurice Sendak and J.M. Barrie, we’ll take a trip around the library and find the songs that are hidden there. *** Featured music: Whitney Houston: “Impossible” from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” Alex Newell: “Mama Will Provide” from “Once On This Island” New Broadway Cast Recording Carole King: “Chicken So...
We’re kicking off Season 5 with an exploration of music from your favorite video games! From Mario to Final Fantasy, from Zelda to Among Us, we’ll learn about how music shapes and enhances the experience of playing a game. *** Featured music: Nobuo Uematsu: Final Fantasy Prelude 1987 / Final Fantasy XIV, Prelude Koji Kondo: Super Mario Bros. Theme / Super Mario Bros. Star Theme Hajime Wakai: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Riding: Day Hans Zimmer: Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2 Mick Gordon:...
It's the holiday season, and that means holiday music! But you may not know as much about your favorite holiday songs as you think... In our final episode for this season, Miss Faith drops some holiday knowledge. And stay tuned after the show for a special holiday bonus! *** Featured songs: Andy Williams: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year Alvin & the Chipmunks: Frosty the Snowman Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: Eight Days of Hanukkah Wham!: Last Christmas Gene Autry: Rudolph the Red...
Today’s the last installment of our series on music from around the world, where we’ll learn about the music of Nicaragua from Marlon Obando Solano, a native of San Lorenzo, Nicaragua, who now lives in Louisville, Kentucky. You’ll hear about different folk traditions, including dances that tell stories about Nicaragua’s people and history. You’ll also learn a new song about bananas! *** Featured music: La Mora Limpia - Otredad El Solar de Monimbo Nicaraguan Marimba El Gueguense Baile del Toro Hu...
We’re going to the mountains today with musician Cari Norris, who teaches us about the traditional music of the Appalachian region. We’ll hear banjos and dulcimers, fun songs to sing along, and how this music can keep families connected. *** Featured music: Hillary Klug & Jim Wood: Arkansas Traveler Hillary Klug: Fire on the Mountain Jean Ritchie: Killy Kranky Jean Ritchie: Shady Grove *** Donate to support this and future seasons of The Music Box....
We’re using some of our favorite happy songs to power an imaginary train ride, with a lesson in fast and slow tempo. From grave to presto and everything in between, we’ll move our bodies to the beat. *** Featured music: Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey: When You Believe John Lennon: Imagine Cast of The Wiz Live: Brand New Day Nat King Cole: Smile Katrina and the Waves: Walking on Sunshine Flo Rida: Good Feeling Eva Cassidy: People Get Ready Judy Garland & Barbra Streisand: Get Happy/Happy ...
Continuing our explorations of music outside the European tradition with our guide Charles Amewudah, a native of Ghana and a drumming teacher. We’ll learn about the different kinds of percussion instruments used in Ghanaian music, and how drumming is part of life in Ghana. *** Aseye Ensemble , the drum group led by Charles Amewudah More information on the Ewe drumming tradition, including images of the instruments A video of dancers with a drum ensemble from the Volta region of Ghana *** Donate ...
We're taking a (virtual) trip to different parts of the world and learning about music from different places! Today, we'll learn about music from Thailand and Iran with multi-instrumentalist and composer Jon Silpayamanant. *** Born in Udon Thani, Thailand, Jon Silpayamanant is an intercultural multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music educator based in the greater Louisville area. As a biracial Thai American with musical families on both sides of the world, he has been navigating musical code s...
Getting along with friends can be a challenge, but we've got the musical solution! We’re returning to the magical land of Arpeggio for today’s adventure. Sing along with the Three Fierce Fairies! *** National Standards incorporated: Exploring and demonstrating music concepts (such as beat and melodic contour) Creating musical ideas (such as answering a musical question for a specific purpose) Understanding the relationship between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and...
It's a time-traveling musical adventure as we learn about beat and rhythm. We’ll put on a pair of magical boots that will help us save the future of music! *** National Standards incorporated: Exploring and demonstrating music concepts (such as beat and melodic contour) Creating musical ideas (such as answering a musical question for a specific purpose) Understanding how a specific music concept (such as beat or melody) is used in music *** Additional resources: Music Lesson: Beat vs Rhythm – Si...
We'll explore the world of dynamics (how loud or soft a sound is) with a big box of fireworks! KA-BOOM! You’ll hear some very special pyrotechnics and learn some special words to describe dynamics. *** National Standards incorporated: Understanding the relationships between music and other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life. Understanding rhythmic and melodic ideas Demonstrating knowledge of musical concepts *** Additional resources: Music Theory for Beginners: Dynamics Dyn...
You'll learn about how math is used to make music! Just like chopping vegetables in half, you can chop notes in half too. *** National Standards incorporated: Understanding the relationships between music and other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life. Understanding rhythmic and melodic ideas Demonstrating knowledge of musical concepts *** Additional resources: Musical Notation – The Quarter Note, the Half Note, and the Whole Note Music Lesson – Steady Beat How to Read Music ...
So many people in our community are grieving and reacting to current events related to the Breonna Taylor case. Out of respect, we’re going to postpone today’s episode until next week. We’d rather direct your attention to what’s happening in our city now. You can follow the news coverage from our sister station WFPL , and we’re putting some links below for how to talk with your family about racialized violence, justice, and equity. And don’t forget, there are lots of past episodes of The Music B...
So many of the composers we usually learn about in school are men -- but that's only telling half the story of who writes the music we love. *** National Standards Incorporated: Analyzing the elements of music (including form) of musical works, relating them to style, mood, and context, and describe how the analysis provides models for personal growth as composer, performer, and/or listener Understanding the relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and ...
It’s our Season 4 premiere! We return to the fantasy world of Arpeggio with a tale of two very different performing groups and how they learn to get along. *** National Standards incorporated: Exploring and demonstrating awareness of music contrasts (such as high/low, loud/soft, same/different) Applying personal and expressive preferences in the evaluation of music Understanding how to perform music with expression *** Additional resources: The Music Show Episode #4: We’re Gonna Sing High, Low, ...
We’re wrapping up our season with a very special story, featuring a magical land full of extraordinary creatures. And you’ll learn a few new things you can do with your voice too! *** National standards incorporated: Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. *** Additional resources: Solfege Hand Signs Solfege Scale with Hand Signs *** Donate to support this and future seasons of The Music Box....
We’ll learn about meters in music, also known as time signatures, using math. You'll be able to hear the difference between 3/4 and 4/4 and understand how to read a time signature. Then… it’s an epic battle between time signatures! Who will win?? *** Featured musical excerpts: The Beatles: Yellow Submarine Dionne Warwick: What the World Needs Now Rodgers & Hammerstein: My Favorite Things from “The Sound of Music” Post Malone: Sunflower Queen: Another One Bites the Dust Pentatonix: Waltz of t...
Artists and musicians can inspire each other's work, even though they use different materials and techniques! We’ll learn about some of the ways that art and music intersects, and we’ll take a turn being inspired ourselves. *** Featured musical excerpts: George Gershwin: An American in Paris, New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein Jane Ira Bloom: Jackson Pollack, from Chasing Paint: Jane Ira Bloom Meets Jackson Pollack John Cage: Sonata V, from Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared P...
This is the final episode in our mini-series about songwriting: we’ll explore how instruments are used to tell stories in sound — most specifically, in movie soundtracks! You’ll be sure to hear a few familiar tunes here, and you’ll never watch movies the same way again. *** Featured musical excerpts: John Williams: Star Wars Main Theme, from “Star Wars” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Hans Zimmer: …To Die For, from “The Lion King” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack John Williams: Hedwig’s The...
This is the second of three episodes on songwriting. This week, we’ll learn about how songs help us celebrate special occasions (hint: it involves cake and candles) and also how songs can make us feel strong in the face of hard times. We’ll hear some examples about songs that bring people together, and we’ll write our own verse to a well-known call-and-response song. *** Featured music: B.B. King: Why I Sing the Blues Aretha Franklin: A Change Is Gonna Come Pete Seeger & the Song Swappers: W...
This is the first of a series of three episodes on songwriting. This week, we’ll learn about how rhyming words can help us tell a story. We’ll start with some songs you already know, and then we’ll write our own song! *** Featured music: W.A. Mozart: Variations on “Ah vous dirais-je, Maman” (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) *** National standards incorporated: Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music** **Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines *** Additional res...
We had a new episode all ready to go for you, but it just doesn’t feel right in this moment. Listen in and we’ll tell you why we’re hitting pause this week. And we’ll be back with you next week with a new episode about how you can write your own songs. *** Resources for discussing current events with your kids: Race Talk: Engaging Young People in Conversations About Race and Racism (Anti-Defamation League) 75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice (Medium) How White Parents Can Use Media ...
We’re wrapping up our roundup of the instrument families with the woodwind instruments this week! We’ll learn how they make sound (with some activities you can do at home) and even learn about a couple of surprise members of the family. *** Featured musical excerpts: Bottle Boys: Call Me Maybe (Carly Rae Jepson cover on bottles) Corrente: Bartolome de Selma y Salaverde Bagpipe Master: Going Home played on bagpipes Roman Andrukhiv: Isn’t She Lovely (Stevie Wonder cover on accordion) *** National ...
We’ll be exploring all the different instruments of the brass family this week. We’ll learn about what defines a brass instruments, the various sounds they make, and all the different kinds of music they play. And we’ll practice blowing into our own imaginary brass instruments — it sounds pretty funny! *** Featured musical excerpts: Hector Berlioz: Damnation of Faust, Hungarian March John Philip Sousa: Sound Off Jeremiah Clarke: The Prince of Denmark’s March (performed by Wynton Marsalis) Wynton...
Percussion instruments are anything you can hit, shake, or scrape — which means they can be a LOT of fun to play! We’ll learn about the two main categories of percussion instruments, we’ll play a game to tell them apart, and there might even be some dancing, too. *** Featured musical excerpts: Djembe solo by Master Drummer M’Bemba Bangoura Get Lucky (Daft Punk) - Steel Pan cove r played by Jonathan Scales Legend of Zelda - Main Theme on marimba Die Glocke :: 12 Pieces for Glockenspiel [Part 1] b...
