Homeschool Music Appreciation Curriculum for the Whole Family

This homeschool music appreciation curriculum is designed to engage the entire family, while also providing high school music credit!

I love beautiful books! It’s a bonus when the book feels good in your hands! You know what I mean – certain books just have that texture that makes them feel… special!

I received this product free of charge for review purposes and was compensated for my time. All opinions expressed in this post are my own and I was not required to post a positive review of the product.

This page may contain affiliate and/or advertiser links. Please review my disclosure policy.

Well, that was my exact impression when the Book of Composers from Beautiful Feet Books arrived on my doorstep. I opened the package and immediately knew this was a book to treasure! And, that was before I even cracked the spine of the book!

About the Book of Composers:

Once I opened the book and saw all that was included, I was smitten! The book begins with the instruments used in ancient music. While the names of the ancient composers are unknown, their instruments did not disappear entirely.

The book continues on from one of the earliest known composers to showcasing some of today’s most innovative composers!

From Ziryab (born in c. 789) to Lin-Manuel Miranda. Not familiar with Mr. Miranda? I didn’t know who he was either until I realized he wrote one of my kids’ favorite musicals – Hamilton!

I love that the Book of Composers spans such a vast time frame of history.

It also spans a vast selection of musical genres! From classical to opera. From ragtime and rock & roll to jazz and the blues. And much more!

BONUS: There are even curated Spotify playlists for many of the different genres and time periods. Love this!

The book is full of brief biographies of some of the most important composers in history; many of which I’m embarrassed to admit I’d never heard of!

We all know of Tchaikovsky, Mozart, and Beethoven. But, what about Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Clara Wieck Schumann, and Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges?

I love that the book goes well beyond the common, well-known composers and presents readers with biographical information about many lesser-known, but equally noteworthy composers.

Homeschool Music Appreciation Curriculum

In case you can’t tell, I love the Book of Composers! But, did I mention that the book is part of a Music Appreciation Pack? Yep, the folks at Beautiful Feet Books offer the Book of Composers as part of their complete Music Appreciation Curriculum set which includes:

• Book of Composers (the beautiful, hardback book I keep raving over)
• Music Appreciation: A Family Study Teacher Guide   
• Music Appreciation Resource Packet (digital download)    
• Notebook 

The curriculum includes 54 music appreciation lessons. At a rate of one lesson per week, that’s two years’ worth of music appreciation lessons! And, meeting many state music requirements, the course counts as two high school music credits!

Although the Music Appreciation Pack provides high school credit, it is designed to be used by the entire family, ideally from 2^nd through 12^th grade! This allows families to spend more time together while fostering a family culture of learning! Plus, it saves time and money when you’ve got multiple students in a single family! Hello, large homeschool families!

More Music Appreciation Resources

While the Music Appreciation Curriculum is a complete and awesome standalone course, I usually like to put my own spin on things. In case you don’t know, I love making printables to go along with books we read!

As soon as I began flipping through the pages of the Book of Composers, I immediately knew that I’d make corresponding notebooking printables! And, of course, I’ll share them with you once they are complete! Be sure to check back next week!

Learn more about the Music Appreciation Curriculum:

In the meantime, be sure to sign up for the BFB newsletter and visit the Beautiful Feet Books website to learn more about their Music Appreciation Pack! You’ll want to get a copy of the Book of Composers into your hands so you can experience the feel of this special treasure too!

However, you’ll soon realize, as I did, that the real treasure is not in the outer touch; it’s what’s inside!

This post was originally published on August 1, 2024.