Reviewing the fabulous book I Am Nefertiti written by Annemarie Anang and illustrated by Natelle Quek.
Music Book Review: I Am Nefertiti by Annemarie Anang
July and August What’s On For Kids In Birmingham
A roundup of the music-based events happening in Birmingham and Solihull in July and August 2023.
Composer of the Month: Finding Inspiration as a Composer; Holst’s The Planets Suite
Where do composers find their inspiration? I look at this question briefly together with the inspiration behind one of Gustav Holst’s most famous pieces of music, The Planets Suite.
Facts About The Double Bass
In January I wrote about the different families of musical instruments, or ways of categorising musical instruments. You can read my post by clicking here: Facts about Families of Musical Instruments I have spent the first few months of this year looking at the different instruments of the string family. I have already written about the... Continue Reading →
Composer of the Month – Gustav Holst- Factfile
Composer of the Month Factfile Date of birth: 21 September 1874. Place of birth: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK. Parents names: Adolph von Holst (professional musician) and Clara Cox. Siblings: Gustav Holst had one brother, Emil, who became known as Ernest Cossart. He also had two half brothers, Matthias and Evelyn from his father’s second marriage after... Continue Reading →
The Enchanted Pig by Jonathan Dove at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
On Saturday night I went to see The Enchanted Pig by Jonathan Dove in The Bradshaw Hall of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. I should say, at the outset of this review, that I was invited to come to see the opera, and that I was gifted the tickets. The review is, however, entirely my own and... Continue Reading →
Hitting a milestone!
If you are a regular reader of this blog firstly thank you, and secondly, you will have noticed a distinct lack of blog posts for the last 3 weeks. There is a reason for that. And the reason is that I was on holiday with the family. This wasn’t just any holiday for us. It... Continue Reading →
Music Book Review: Why Beethoven Threw The Stew by Steven Isserlis
A review of this fantastic and fun book about music history and the lives of 6 Composers of Classical Music.
May What’s On For Kids In Birmingham
A roundup of the music based events happening in Birmingham (and adding a few from Warwick Arts Centre too) in May 2023.
Facts About The Viola
What is a viola? What do you call people who play the viola? Which famous composers also played the viola? Read on for the answers to these questions and more.
Music Book Review: The Story Orchestra -The Magic Flute
A review of a book from the fantastic Story Orchestra series- The Magic Flute based on Mozart’s opera of the same name. A great and fun, sound book for kids!
April What’s On For Kids In Birmingham
A roundup of the music based events happening in Birmingham (and adding a few from Warwick Arts Centre too) in April 2023.
Composer of the Month – Nina Simone – Activism in Music
A discussion about how Nina Simone used her music to be an activist in the Civil Rights movement.
Facts About The Cello
How much do you know about the cello? What is the cello and how do you play it? What is the largest number of cellos to play all together at once? The answers to these questions and more can be found in this post.
March What’s On For Kids In Birmingham
A roundup of the music based events happening in Birmingham (and adding a few from Warwick Arts Centre too) in March and the first half of April 2023.
Composer of the Month – What to listen to: Beethoven
Do you want to listen to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, but you're not sure where to start? Here is a suggested playlist to get you started.
Facts About The Violin
Looking at the violin, what is a violin, how do you play it? Where does the violin originate from and more.
Composer of the Month – Beethoven and Technology
What musical developments affected the way Beethoven composed music and the way he earned his living.
Composer of the Month – Beethoven – Factfile
This post gives you a fact file for February 2023's Composer of the Month - Ludwig van Beethoven.
February What’s On For Kids In Birmingham
A round up of some of the music-based shows and events for children and families in and around Birmingham in February 2023.
Why Learn Music Theory?
Why should your child learn music theory? Here are a few ways that it would help them enormously to make their own music, to learn at least the basics of music theory.
Composer of the Month – What to listen to: Mozart
Do you want to listen to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but you're not sure where to start? Here is a suggested playlist to get you started.
Composer of the Month – The Mozart Effect
What is The Mozart Effect? Does listening to Mozart actually make you smarter? And should I make my child listen to nothing but Mozart to help them with their school work?
Facts about Families of Musical Instruments
When people talk about a musical instrument belonging to a 'family" of instruments, what do they mean? And which instruments belong in those different families? Read on for the answers to these questions.
Composer of the Month – Mozart – Factfile
This post gives you some a little fact file for January 2023's Composer of the Month - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
What’s On For Kids In Birmingham this Christmas?
Looking for a Christmas show or concert to take your children to in 2022? These events in and around Birmingham still have tickets available.
Facts About The French Horn
What do you know about the most mellow of the brass instruments? Find out more about the French Horn in this post.
Why you can’t tell if your child enjoys playing a musical instrument by whether or not they practice by themselves.
If your child is having lessons on a musical instrument but does not practice, are you wondering whether they even like playing? Then this post is for you.
Music with Mr Gray
Meet Mr Gray, the primary music teacher behind the fantastic YouTube channel Music with Mr Gray.
Usborne Musical Books’ The Planets Illustrated by Morgan Huff & Written by Fiona Watt
A review of the sound book The Planets from Usborne Musical Books
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