Teacher, Teacher Playlist

Michael Zwiebach on September 12, 2013

Lots of musicians through the ages have devoted attention to teaching: Our familiar “do-re-mi” solmization of Western music’s scales was invented by an 11th-century monk, Guido of Arezzo, to teach unfamiliar music to his choirs. And when the publishing market for home music and sheet music took off, followed by 19th and 20th-century interest in child development, the taps were opened for music that teaches music. Here are some of the highlights of that outpouring.

  • 1. “Musette” from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (J.S. Bach). Yo-Yo Ma, cello, Bobby McFerrin, vocal.
    Even if you only count his children who survived early childhood, J.S. Bach had lots of experience with them. He was immensely proud of his family’s musical abilities, and he wrote and collected these short pieces for their domestic music-making, dedicating the volume to his second wife.
  • 2. “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music (Rodgers and Hammerstein). Julie Andrews, soundtrack for the movie.
    In the list of songs that need no introduction, this is probably right behind “Happy Birthday.”
  • 3. and 4. “An Important Event” and “Dreaming”, from Kinderszenen (Children’s Scenes)(Schumann). Martha Argerich, piano.
    Schumann’s piano music can be ferociously difficult. Except for these pieces, which he intentionally made easier, to allow young and amateur pianists to handle them. Naturally, the set contains several of his most popular pieces.
  • 5. “Dance in Bulgarian Rhythm” from Mikrokosmos by Bela Bartok. Jeno Jando, piano.
    Bela Bartok was quite a serious educator and his Mikrokosmos goes from beginner to quite advanced. The six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm are from the last book — if you can handle these, you’ve pretty much graduated.
  • 6. Excerpt from Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev.
    Introducing the orchestra and what it can do has become a popular pastime for composers. This piece made Prokofiev’s name, among five-year-olds.
  • 7. Fugue from A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten. New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein. From the soundtrack to Moonrise Kingdom
    Britten was always inspired by childhood experience and boys’ voices in his compositions. Here he uses his brilliant orchestral and contrapuntal skills in variations on a theme by 17th-century English composer Henry Purcell.