Music Appreciation

I've been aware of Harmony Fine Arts for a while, but I really took a good look at it last week.  If you're looking for a chronological survey of art and Western music, this is a great place to start, especially for the upper grades. 

There are 3 levels of instruction, based on the classical trivium.  Grammar stage for grades 1-4, Logic for grades 5-8, and Rhetoric for high school.  Within each stage is a full year program for each grade level.  The lesson plan for each grade level includes a weekly schedule, resource list, and supplies needed.  Within each lesson, there are 3 levels of depth with which to study, from picture study to a full-on art course (using Artistic Pursuits).  Click here to see a sample page for each grade level.

The best thing I discovered this week is that the high school level music appreciation courses are FREE!  The 4-year course is broken down into 36 weeks for each grade (9-12), and surveys major composers from Palestrina (renaissance) to Bernstein.  The schedule includes a listening schedule, reading assignments, and writing assignments for each section, and would probably lend itself to at least 1/2 credit in music history or music appreciation per year.  Click here to download the PDF files for the courses.

The 12th grade Art Appreciation course is also a free PDF download, but grades 9-11 must be purchased.  They are $9.95 for the print version or $8.95 for the e-book.