11 ‘Awesome’ Composer Study Activities For Kids Of All Ages

Studying about composers doesn’t have to be boring, in fact it can be really fun. 

In this post, I’m going to show you how you can take your kids learning beyond simple completion of pritnables and online unit studies. 

Don’t worry, I have made both those available, to you, but I’m still going to explain how you can take their learning even further and have them begging for more music appreciation lessons in the homeschool. 

Since I like to use examples when explaining things, I’m going to assume that the composer your kids will be learning about is Mozart. 

Hence, I have also included a Mozart printable and also a preview of an online unit about Mozart. 

Ready to get started?

Ok, here we go. 

Field Trip Ideas

• Go to the Austrian cultural centre and learn about the history, geography, culture and other aspects relating to Mozart’s birth country.
• Go to a museum and learn more about the history and the era when Mozart was alive.
• Go to a library and look for books, periodicals, and resources that will teach your kids about Austria, the Classical era in Music, Mozart’s contemporaries (composers of his time) etc.
• Go to an instrument store and attempt to find as many instruments used in Mozart compositions as you can. Then have your kids, touch, feel and play as many of those instruments as possible.
• Look out for opportunities to view a live performance of Mozart’s compositions such as the Don Giovanni etc.

Hands On Activities

• After watching and listening to a variety of Mozart’s compositions, encourage your kids to compose their own tunes using garage band or a similar software or iphone app (remember it doesn’t have to be perfect, creativity is just that, it’s creative).
• Ask your children to create their own version of a ballet, symphony or opera if they are up to it.
• Create a playlist of Mozart’s compositions and play it in the background while homeschooling, until your kids are familiar with the compositions and can recognize them by just listening to parts of the pieces only.
• Create a playlist of Austrian music (by various composers from different eras in music and different genres) and ask your kids to have an informal discussion covering aspects such as the volume, rhythm, beat, how happy or sad or melancholy they feel listening to the different pieces, what they like or dislike about the pieces etc.
• Ask younger kids to create a lapbook, or poster board detailing the life and work of Mozart.

• Encourage older kids to put together a presentation comparing and contrasting the style of Mozart’s compositions with two other composers (one from the Classical era and the other from either the Modern, Baroque or Romantic eras in music).

It is important to remember that you don’t have to do all of the activities that have been listed above. Remember, they are only suggestions. 

Read through the entire list and pick and choose the activities you think are best for your kids, and most importantly be flexible and customize the activities, in a manner that would optimally engage your children based on their learning styles.

Now, that you’ve read through this post, let me know which idea you will implement first. 

Don’t forget to download the printable I have made available with this post.