Musical Education in a Charlotte Mason Homeschool
I’m not one to brag but I was the woodwind captain of my marching band and the band Vice President my senior year. I’ve also been to a couple concerts, so I guess you can say I like music, right?
““Hearing should tell us a a great many interesting things, but the great and perfect joy which we owe to him is music.” ”
In a Charlotte Mason homeschool you may find moms speaking of various things, particularly in the world of musical education. Charlotte Mason believed in providing children with a broad and liberal education, and music played a crucial role in shaping young hearts and minds. Let's explore the different components of musical education within the Charlotte Mason homeschool.
1. Living Books and Musical Narration: Charlotte Mason advocated for the use of "living books" – engaging and well-written books that bring subjects to life. This philosophy extends to musical education, where the focus is on exposing children to the great composers and their stories.
We love using these Living Books:
-Opal Wheeler
-The Extraordinary Music of Mr. Ives: The True Story of a Famous American Composer
- Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra by Andrea Davis Pinkney
-Becoming Bach by Tom Leonard
-Story of the Orchestra
-Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma by Joanna Ho
““Use every chance you get of hearing music {I do not mean only tunes, though these are very nice}, and ask whose music has been played, and, by degrees, you will find out that one composer has one sort of thing to say to you, and another speaks other things; these messages of the musicians cannot be put into words, so there is no way of hearing them if we do not train our ear to listen. A great help towards learning to hear music is to know the notes, to be able to tell with one’s eyes shut any note or chord that is struck on the piano or sung with the voice.”
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2. Composer Study: Composer study is an important part of musical education. Mason believed that children should be exposed to the works of great composers, allowing them to develop a personal relationship with the art form. In her words, "It is a pity if the children do not know the great composers from Haydn to Wagner; it is a pity if they do not know some of Mozart’s sonatas, Mendelssohn’s ‘Songs without Words,’ some of Schubert’s and Schumann’s songs."
The Process of doing Composer Study:
Each term, choose a composer or genre of music to focus on with your child. Choosing the composer is entirely at your freedom. While some composers may have more picture books or resources available, you truly don’t need those things. Type up a simple biography, share a picture, and listen to their music. Don't worry about music theory, learning the instruments, or narrating. Just allowing your child to hear the music will help prepare them for composer study later. Prepare a Spotify list of 12 songs and take the time to listen to one song a week. Charlotte Mason believed children would do well if they had the opportunity to see a live performance. Many places will produce a school friendly orchestra show at a discounted price. This may be a wonderful experience for your child.
Composer Study Resources:
-Ambleside Online
-Delightfully Feasting Composer Study
-Simply Charlotte Mason: Music Study With the Masters
Composers to Consider Studying:
-Duke Ellington
-YoYo Mah
-Florence Price
-Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
-Clara Schumann
3. Solfa and Singing: Solfa, or solfège: if you can potentially imagine singing “do, a deer” with your child, you’re already halfway to singing solfa. Mason encouraged the use of solfa to teach children to sing in tune and understand musical intervals. Singing is not merely an extracurricular activity but an integral part of the curriculum. As Mason expressed, "We teach music through our singing." The act of singing fosters a deep connection between the child and the art of music.
In our home we outsource Solfa and combine it with learning piano through the use of Hoffman Academy. Hoffman is an online piano lesson program that has served our family well for the last 2 years.
Resources for Solfa:
-Hoffman Academy Piano
-Sing Solfa
4. Hymn Study: Hymn study holds a special place in Charlotte Mason's approach to musical education. Mason believed that hymns provided a powerful means of spiritual and moral development. She stated, "The greatest hymns are not only good poetry but good theology. A child who gets his poetry, his music, and his religion from the same hymn book will have his notions of all three well-ordered."Hymns and religious songs connect us to the people of faith who have gone before us. When we sing songs from our faith, we can remember the people who sang the songs during times of celebration or trial. Every month we choose a hymn that we practice singing once a day during morning time.
Resources for Hymn Study:
-Little House Learning Co Habits and Hymns
-Heritage Mom Heritage Hymns
-Delightfully Feasting: Delighting in Hymns
““Let the young people hear good music as often as possible, and that under instruction. It is a pity we like our music, as our pictures and our poetry, mixed, so that there are few opportunities of going through, as a listener, a course of the works of a single composer. But this is to be aimed at for the young people; let them study occasionally the works of a single great master until they have received some of his teaching, and know his style.”
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5. Folk Songs: The Charlotte Mason approach emphasizes making learning enjoyable and meaningful and one way do to that is by adding in folk songs. Singing folk songs can be a joyful and interactive way for children to connect with history, culture, and language.Folk songs expose children to different vocabulary, expressions, and linguistic patterns which helps their language development. Charlotte Mason believed in the importance of shaping a child's character through exposure to noble ideas and cultural influences. Folk songs often convey stories, values, and traditions that can contribute to the moral and emotional development of a child. Honestly, singing folk songs is just a lot of fun. We choose one song a month to focus on and sing it once a day. Often these songs come up over and over, particularly on hikes. This is another area where you can have the freedom to choose songs from various cultures, your own heritage, or practice a second language.
Resources for Folk Songs:
-Ambleside Online
-Little World Wanderers Morning Time (12 folk songs included)
-Delightfully Feasting: Sea Shanty
-Music in our home: Folk Song A Week
As you add in these components in your homeschool, remember these encouraging words from Charlotte Mason herself: "The question is not,—how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education—but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?"
In our homes musical education is not just a subject; it's a symphony that weaves together literature, nature, and the great composers. As you guide your children through the enchanting world of music, remember that every note played and sung contributes to the harmonious education of the whole child. Just as we do with everything else, spread the feast and trust that your child will feel full and nourished in their musical education.
““She [The mother] must ask herself seriously, Why must the children learn at all? What should they learn? And, How should they learn it? If she take the trouble to find a definite and thoughtful answer to each of these three queries, she will be in a position to direct her children’s studies”.”
Mother Culture Book To Read:
-A Touch of the Infinite: Studies in Music Appreciation with Charlotte Mason by Megan Elizabeth Hoyt
