A review of the book The Story Orchestra: The Planets by Jennifer Courtney-Tickle.
Music Book Review: The Story Orchestra – The Planets
Facts About Sonata Form
How much do you know about Sonata Form. Read all about this musical structure here.
Facts About Rondo Form
Want to know more about different musical structures that you could use for your composition? This post is about the Rondo Form musical structure.
Music Book Review: Wild Symphony by Dan Brown
A review of the book Wild Symphony by Dan Brown. Yes THE Dan Brown who wrote The Da Vinci Code. And who is also a composer, as you will see from this lovely book with its interactive music app.
Facts About Binary Form
Want to know more about different musical structures that you could use for your composition? This post is about the Binary Form musical structure.
Facts About Theme and Variations Structure
The first in a new series of Facts About…. posts, this time about different musical structures. This post is about the Theme and Variations musical structure.
Music Book Review: I Want to Be a Musician by Peter J
A review of the book I want to Be a Musician by Peter J, a book about a little girl who, surprisingly wants to be a musician!
January What’s On For Kids In Birmingham
A round up of the music and music-based (so dance and musical theatre too) events on in Birmingham, UK in January 2025.
Music Book Review: Make Some Noise by The Horne Section and Illustrated by Rob Flowers
A review of the brilliant and funny book Make Some Noise written by The Horne Section (including Alex Horne of Taskmaster fame), and illustrated by Rob Flowers. Without a doubt this was my favourite book of 2024, and my son's too.
Music Book Review: FIRST DISCOVERY MUSIC: Claude Debussy by Pierre Babin
A review of the book FIRST DISCOVERY MUSIC: Claude Debussy written by Pierre Babin and illustrated by Charlotte Voake..
Music Book Review: The Story Orchestra – Peter and the Wolf
A review of the book The Story Orchestra: Peter and the Wolf by Jennifer Courtney-Tickle.
Music Book Review: Around The World In 80 Musical Instruments by Nancy Dickman and Sue Downing
A review of the book Around the World in 80 Musical Instruments written by Nancy Dickman and illustrated by Sue Downing.
Music Book Review: Robert Schumann’s Advice to Young Musicians revisited by Steven Isserlis
A review of the book Robert Schumann’s Advice to Young Musicians as revisited by cellist and author Steven Isserlis.
Review of Services for Education Youth Proms 2024
A couple of weeks ago my son performed with the Birmingham Schools Training Brass Band at Symphony Hall in Birmingham. They performed at the Services for Education Youth Proms along with a massed ensemble made up from several schools in the ensemble, a massed choir from a number of Primary Schools in the area, the... Continue Reading →
Music Book Review: Where Are All The Black Female Composers
A review of the fabulous book Where Are All The Black Female Composers by Nathan Holder, featuring the Why Squad of Musical Explorers.
Facts About The Orchestra
In my series of posts about different musical instruments, I have, over time, managed to cover most of the most common instruments that feature in Western music - those instruments that your children are most likely to be learning to play, or to come across in some way during their time in education at least.... Continue Reading →
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.
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.
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!
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.
Composer of the Month – Beethoven and Technology
What musical developments affected the way Beethoven composed music and the way he earned his living.
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.
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
Bluey Season 3 on Disney +
Bluey Season 3 starts on Disney+ on 10 August. It’s full of brilliant music, as well as being a generally great cartoon for children. Read more about why Bluey is the perfect cartoon for introducing your children to Classical music, and helping them develop a love of music.
Facts About the Bassoon
In this post I turn the spotlight onto the bassoon, one of the lowest pitched and largest members of the woodwind family of instruments. What do you know about this unique and fabulous instrument? A lot more than before, if you read this post!
Facts About the Oboe
This month’s featured instrument of the orchestra is a member of the woodwind family: the oboe.
Facts about the flute
How much do you know about the flute? Some interesting facts about my favourite wind instrument (the one I play myself).
Facts about the Trombone
How much do you know about the trombone? Here are some trombone facts to increase your musical general knowledge on this brass instrument.
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