Welcome back to our second episode in the Around the World with Busy Kids Love Music summer series. I absolutely loved researching this episode all about the folk music of India. Don't skip out on the playlist I've put together for you below! There are so many beautiful and fascinating instruments that we'll learn about in today's episode, and I would love for you to SEE them being played and performed in the video clips. If you're new here, here's how Around the World with Busy Kids Love...

Welcome to our THIRD annual summer series, Around the World with Busy Kids Love Music! If you're new around here, here's how it works: With each new episode (new episodes air every 2 weeks), we’ll be traveling to a new country and learning about that particular place’s folk music. As you listen to each episode, you’ll collect a stamp to add to your passport while you work your way around the globe and learn about the incredible artists, cultures and communities that have contributed to folk...

  In our last episode, we learned about the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. You might recall learning that he composed in the Romantic style of music, and especially featured the piano in his work. Today we're going to take a more in-depth at some of his most famous piano compositions, his collection of preludes. While we won't learn about each and every one of them (he wrote one for each major and minor key!), we'll learn about the collection as a whole and some of the ones that are...

As a pianist, I'm thrilled to introduce you to a legendary pianist and composer in today's episode -- the first of 2 in a series -- about Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. Both hearing and playing his piano music gets me all in my feelings, and I think you'll understand what I mean after you listen to some of his very expressive music in our episode today. I hope you enjoy the breathtaking beauty of his lyrical compositions as you learn about the ups and downs of this composer's life! ...

As Broadway month continues, I’m so excited to bring you a very special interview on today’s episode. When I was in New York City last month, I had the honor of interviewing a REAL, ACTUAL person on Broadway! Meg Zervoulis is a music director, conductor, teacher, arranger and accompanist who has a busy career in musical theatre. As you’ll learn from the interview, her time is precious — and she was so kind to meet with me at a recording studio near Times Square during her short dinner break...

Two of my very favorite things are music (duh!) and theatre. So when you combine those two things? Well, let's just say Broadway musicals are way up there for me. And since this month's Broadway month here in the Busy Kids community, our next two episodes will be focused on this favorite thing of mine. Last month, I had the privilege of visiting New York City and researching the history of Broadway, while taking in a few shows myself. (You can check out some highlights from when I visited...

I'm so thrilled to be able to share today's very special episode with you. If you've ever been to Nashville, Tennessee at all, you probably know why it is called "Music City". Walk down the famous Broadway Street of downtown and you'll hear live music beckoning from every restaurant and bar. Everywhere you turn, there are legendary music venues such as Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Old Opry. Modern-day Music Row -- the area around 16th and 17th Avenues South -- is populated with a collection...

Women's History Month is a fantastic time to celebrate and recognize the achievements of women in music, and today we're spotlighting the talented French composer, Lili Boulanger. Boulanger's life was tragically short, but her life experiences are certainly a lesson in never giving up on your dreams. Be sure to check out other episodes from the archives about female composers throughout history: Episode 16: Important Moments for Women in Music History Episode 15: Fanny Mendelssohn ...

On this podcast, we learn about many composers whose names are familiar to you because they are composers who are widely recognized and performed. But there are many great composers whose names are not familiar to us, whose works have been largely lost over time. Today we are going to learn about one such composer. A biracial violin prodigy who inspired one of Beethoven's most famous and passionate pieces, George Bridgetower is mostly known for his famous public rift with the volatile...

Happy Valentine's Day! In celebration of the holiday, we're going to be diving deep into three real-life love stories of composers. The first one is a perfectly lovely, normal romance. The second one is a tragic love triangle. The third one is...well...more of a stalker situation than a love story. But it resulted in a musical masterpiece. This episode is filled with beautiful excerpts from songs that were inspired by these real-life romances. Be sure to check out the playlist below to...

We're finishing up our 3-part series on Austrian composer Franz Schubert. Today we're learning about his most famous art song, Der Erlkönig. What is an art song, you ask? Well I'm going to answer that question in today's episode as we learn the spooky story of this poem (written by Goethe) and how Schubert created the characters of the poem using the instruments of the voice and the piano. Links Mentioned in this Episode: Episode 87: The Life and Music of Franz Schubert Episode 88: Ave...

We're continuing our 3-part series on composer Franz Schubert by studying a piece of his that you might be familiar with, Ave Maria. But chances are, you aren't familiar with the very original text and story of how this piece came to be. We're going to learn all about it in today's episode. And you don't want to miss this episode's beautiful, curated playlist on YouTube, linked at the bottom of this post.     Links Mentioned in this Episode: Episode 87: The Life and Music of Franz...

Years ago, when I lived in Montana, I was good friends with a fellow colleague and concert pianist who also happened to be a dog lover. His beloved retriever at that time was named Schubert. When I first met Schubert, I told his pianist owner, "I meet a lot of dogs named Mozart and Beethoven, but I've never met one named Schubert." He told me that Schubert is one of the most under-appreciated composers yet also one of the greatest. I realized that in my years of piano study under many...

One of the things I love about doing this podcast is that I often uncover music that is new-to-me -- a piece or a composer that I never have heard about, despite minoring in music in college and playing classical piano for most of my life. The episode I put together today is an example of one such "new-to-me" piece -- an unexpectedly gentle and surprisingly accessible collection of piano songs by Franz Liszt: Christmas Tree Suite.     Links Mentioned in this Episode: Waitlist for Busy...

If you've been around here awhile, you know that I love all things Nutcracker. It's such a fantastic way to introduce even the littlest ones to the world of classical music. (I even created a whole music camp around it for this reason.) A few episodes ago, we learned about the musical genius of Duke Ellington. Did you know he partnered with another creative genius to put together a super amazing JAZZ version of Tchaikovsky's famous ballet? We're going to learn all about it in today's...

Many countries around the world celebrate a festival or holiday of Thanksgiving. As we celebrate ours this week here in the United States, I put together a podcast episode where we'll learn about three classical songs that focus on thankfulness. Enjoy!     Links Mentioned in this Episode: Episode 12: Beethoven’s Nine Symphonies Music Heard in this Episode: Simple Gifts (Instrumental) Simple Gifts from Appalachian Spring Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastoral": V. Allegretto -...

It’s time to learn about another musical instrument, this time from the woodwind family of instruments. Today’s episode is all about the clarinet. The clarinet is a versatile instrument used in a variety of genres — including a famous piece of music written just for kids!     Links Mentioned in this Episode: Episode 3: The Flute Music Heard in this Episode: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K.622 Clarinet Concerto in B-Flat Major: I. Allegro Prokofiev Peter and...

  Today we're learning about a legendary American composer who made significant contributions to the musical world, Duke Ellington. He has such a vast library of works and was always experimenting with new techniques and styles, and I think you're going to love learning about him and hearing a sampling of his works.     Links Mentioned in this Episode: Save $25 on your Daily Harvest box Music Heard in this Episode: Duke Ellington, "Take the A Train" Duke Ellington - It don't mean a...

We are finishing up our 4-part series on the four major periods of music history in this episode by learning about the era you and I are currently living in -- the Contemporary Era of music. The music of our time is VAST in style. You're going to hear works today from composers who had many different ideas about how to create music. Be sure to check out all the links I've included below to learn more about some of the composers from this period that we've discussed previously on the...

We are moving right along in our series about the 4 major periods of western classical music by learning about the Romantic Era in today's episode. As a pianist, I'm rather partial to the music of this era -- which was a time when many virtuoso pianists composed and performed. The expressive music in today's episode makes for a beautiful and dramatic experience as we learn more about this period of time from 1830-1900. Be sure to check out all the links I've included below to learn more...

We are continuing our series on the four major music periods of Western classical music by learning about...the Classical Era! Confused? We use ‘classical music’ (small C) as an umbrella term for Western instrumental, orchestral and choral (sung) music. But the Classical (big C!) era refers specifically to music that was composed between the years 1750 and 1820. This is the second of the 4 major periods, and many of the most well-known composers of all-time, such as Beethoven and Mozart,...

We're kicking off a brand new, four-part series on the podcast -- all about the four main periods of Western classical music. First up? The Baroque Period! If you like things that are extravagant and fancy, then you will love the music of the Baroque period! You probably are familiar with some of the composers and music of this time in music history, even though you may not have realized that it was part of this era. So what exactly makes a piece of music "baroque"?  We'll learn all about...

We've reached the final destination of our Around the World with Busy Kids Love Music tour! With each new episode (new episodes air every 2 weeks), we’ll be traveling to a new destination and learning about that particular place’s folk music. As you listen to each episode, you’ll collect a stamp to add to your passport while you work your way around the globe and learn about the incredible artists, cultures and communities that have contributed to folk music. Use the links below to download...

We’re nearing the end of our summer series, Around the World with Busy Kids Love Music. With each new episode (new episodes air every 2 weeks), we’ll be traveling to a new destination and learning about that particular place’s folk music. As you listen to each episode, you’ll collect a stamp to add to your passport while you work your way around the globe and learn about the incredible artists, cultures and communities that have contributed to folk music. Use the links below to download your...

Welcome back for our third stop on our world tour — our summer series special called Around the World with Busy Kids Love Music. With each new episode (new episodes air every 2 weeks), we’ll be traveling to a new destination and learning about that particular place’s folk music. As you listen to each episode, you’ll collect a stamp to add to your passport while you work your way around the globe and learn about the incredible artists, cultures and communities that have contributed to folk...