MacBeth's Music Opinion

 (...a small music store)                        

Welcome to my musical page!  Please take the time to browse the selections here.  Most of the links here are Amazon.com links, so when you click on a link, you can hear passages from the recordings.

NEW!  Free sheet music!

I have tried to chose the best recordings at the best prices.  Occasionally, I may recommend a more expensive recording because it is really the best available.  Yes, the artist and quality of the recording do matter!  While all the selections are on CD (unless noted), you may find a cassette version for many from the Amazon page.

Introduction to good music

If your children are very young, start here.  I have included selections of several different types of music, some for fun, and some a bit more serious.  There is no particular order, and when the children are young, the only thing they need to do is listen.  They'll be singing and humming in no time!

Birth-kindergarten:

• Old English Nursery Rhymes by the Broadside Band (wonderful harmonies, cheery melodies, though not always the ones you expect!)

• Lullabies-A Songbook Companion (Traditional, beautiful!)

• Hush Yo Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin team up for this musical treat

Lullaby Series from Ellipsis Arts:

• Cuban

• Brazilian

• Mediterranean

• Latin (Latin American)

• African

• Celtic

"Classical" Selections for the first 5 years (no formal study, just listening):

Bach

• Sacred Music

• Sonatas and Partitas

• Cello Suites (the best performed by the best--Rostropovich)

Beethoven

• Piano Concertos and Triple Concerto

• 9th Symphony

Vivaldi

• 4 Seasons

• Vivaldi : L'estro armonico

Mozart

• Complete Piano Sonatas (enough Mozart to last a while)

Haydn

• Haydn's Surprise, Oxford and Miracle Symphonies

• the Farewell Symphony (book and CD set)

Mahler

• Symphony #1

Tchaikovsky

• Symphony #4

Grieg

• Peer Gynt, etc.

I could go on,  but there would be little left for the older kids!

1st-12 Grades

And for older kids, a wide assortment of composers and instruments will build up a great atmosphere of music in your home.  I am placing the pieces here in no particular order.  the order does not matter, but try and stick with one composer at a time, for several weeks, varying the pieces only.  The children will build up a sense of which composers' styles he prefers, and will soon be able to tell one from the other.  I have divided the composers up more or less by period.  While I am including only western music here, feel free to explore other traditions.

Listening to Instruments:

• Peter and the Wolf

• Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

• Carnival of the Animals

• Instruments of Classical music (10 volume set!  Big bargain!)

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