Music Appreciation that comes straight to your inbox!
Easily introduce your kids to the magnificent music of the classical music eras with Sound Bites, our daily music appreciation program that comes straight to your inbox!
How it works:
You’ll receive a simple email each weekday that features the music of the day. One click from that email will hop you right over to youtube so you can watch & listen to a video of the featured piece. Easily accessed on your phones, tablets, and computers, you will finally be able to include a consistent music appreciation component to your days, without any planning required.
You can listen during breakfast or lunch, during chores, or perhaps during some quiet drawing time. However you want to implement it, your daily Sound Bites will be ready when you are.
- Carefully curated videos offer a close-up view of instruments, singers, art, nature, and places where the arts happen all over the world!
- Students will naturally see that music is for everyone, thanks to the inclusion of videos depicting musical performances by men and women from all over the world, with different skin tones and nationalities.
- Students will effortlessly become familiar with the best-known musical pieces from each era (We’ve done all the research for you!)
- Sound Bites will be delivered straight to your inbox, making it easy for you to watch and listen on your phone, tablet, or computer!
Better than a collection of CDs, Sound Bites takes full advantage of the interconnectedness that music offers by bringing video into the mix. In this collection your children will get to see instruments being played by skilled musicians, get to observe different sized groupings of players, and various types of singers. The variety of settings in these videos are stunning, and include some of the most gorgeous opera houses and concert halls around the world. Many of the videos include beautiful art, or scenes from nature. In some cases the videos show authentic instruments from the musical era in a way that we rarely get to see today. Some of the music is presented as part of an opera, or in period costume, or includes other historical details or creative items. The video element allows this program to create a much fuller form of music appreciation than simply listening. Instead, you get to see, experience, and become aware of musical performance and presentation in a wide variety of beautiful and inspiring ways!
Many of the selections in Sound Bites are also arranged to coordinate with seasons and holidays, so you’ll get to enjoy music that fits with the rest of your life. This is why I am only accepting enrollment in Sound Bites for a small window of time. (Northern hemisphere seasons are followed.)
Sound Bites: Baroque & Classical
Registration for Jan 2021 semester now CLOSED
Enjoy a semester of done-for-you music appreciation that the whole family will love! You’ll get to know major composers from Vivaldi to Beethoven, some additional lesser-known composers, and the Easter portion of the Messiah.
Sound Bites: Baroque & Classical starts January 4, 2021.
- Sound Bites: Baroque & Classical Era includes works from Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, Haydn, Vivaldi, Bach, and many others.
Sound Bites: Jazz
Registration for January 2021 semester NOW CLOSED
The Jazz era is quintessentially American, and in many ways it paved the way for racial integration and civil rights in the US. This is a wonderful, toe-tapping experience that also gives us glimpses into American history in the 1900s.
- Sound Bites: Jazz will come to you for one semester, and includes:
- Art Tatum
- Benny Goodman
- Bix Beiderbecke
- Cab Calloway
- Charlie Parker
- Count Basie
- Dizzy Gillespie
- Duke Ellington
- Fats Waller
- Fletcher Henderson
- John Coltrane
- Louis Armstrong
- Ornette Coleman
- Ray Charles
- Thelonious Monk
Program starts January 4, 2021.
Want to see some samples of what’s coming for Jazz?
- Fletcher Henderson, the Carolina Stomp, and learning to do the Charleston
- Meet Benny Goodman
- Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite
Sound Bites: Meet the Orchestra $40 NOW CLOSED
Introduce your children to the many instruments of the orchestra in this upcoming version of Sound Bites. This will be an approximately 36 weeks program that will familiarize you with Brass, Woodwind, Percussion, and String Instruments.
Program starts January 4, 2021.
“Thank you! We started with the saxophone videos this morning and soon had an orchestra of straws (I have 4 kids)”
~Julisa
100 Women Composers Through the Ages: $20 NOW CLOSED
Though the historical world of music seems to have been largely dominated by men, women have been making music since the dawn of time.
Take this 20 week chronological journey through the ages to experience the contributions of 100 women composers from the Byzantine era, through the Renaissance, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras, all the way up to contemporary women composers that are still alive and creating music today! Each weekday you’ll get to know a bit about these talented and innovative women from many different times, cultures, and nations, and be introduced to their work with this delightful, straight-to-your-inbox music appreciation program called Sound Bites!
Program starts January 4, 2021.
About Classical Meets Cartoons:
If you’re as old as I am, you probably remember watching fun Saturday morning cartoons like Tom and Jerry, Mickey Mouse, and Bugs Bunny. Those were the days, right?
One of the great things about those cartoons was the use of classical music. What a fun way to connect the younger generation to music that they might otherwise be tempted to think of as “boring.” Ha!
Well, this summer you have the opportunity to introduce your kids to these fun old cartoons AND the great musical pieces that go with them!
This 4-week session comes straight to your inbox, sharing cartoon clips that feature classical music, as well as a second video that shows a full length performance of that piece. Short and sweet, this is a perfect way to introduce your younger children to this music in a way they’re sure to enjoy. All you need is your phone, tablet, or computer to watch for a couple minutes from wherever you are, making this a super easy way to insert music appreciation into everyday life.
Classical Meets Cartoons will start on January 4, 2021
REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED
Sound Bites: Romantic & Modern
Registration for 2020-21 School Year Sound Bites: $40 NOW CLOSED
- Sound Bites: Romantic & Modern Era is a full school year program that includes operas and ballets that your kids will love! We’ll watch the Nutcracker at Christmas time, as well as Romeo and Juliet, The Prodigal Son, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Swan Lake, and more! (yes, even your boys will like it). This section of Sound Bites includes works from von Weber, Rossini, Schubert, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Verdi, Strauss II, Brahms, Saint-Saens, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Dvorak, Grieg, Faure, Puccini, Holst, Bartok, Stravinsky, and many more. 36 weeks
Program starts September 7, 2020.
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
FAQs
Can I see a sample?
Sure! Click here to see one of the Sound Bites emails. As you’ll see, they are a very simple format. In some emails I add some information about the composer or piece, or just share something I thought about it. In other emails I simply introduce the piece and that’s all. In cases where there is sung music, I’ve tried to provide English translations/lyrics. For religious pieces (such as The Messiah) I have included the Bible verses/lyrics for that piece.
How long does Sound Bites take each day?
We have pieces are short as a couple minutes, on up to some longer than a half hour. That being said, you do what works for you. Obviously the shorter ones are pretty easy to find time for, but for the longer ones, you can choose to play it in the background while doing other things, or only listen to part of the piece.
The main things I want to encourage you about are:
* Keep it enjoyable for the children. Find a way that works for your ages and stages. Let music be a gift and a joy in your home!
* Some is better than None.
* It doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful.
* Just begin.
I don’t know if I have time to use this.
Sound Bites is ready when you are. The emails should be delivered Monday-Friday around 6am eastern time, but you can watch & listen when it works for you. Weekends, car rides, while eating or doing chores–whatever works for you will work for Sound Bites.
How is this arranged? Is the music presented in chronological order, or by composer?
Yes! Baroque & Classical, Romantic & Modern, and Jazz Sound Bites all follow a chronological order where we learn about one composer at a time. The one exception is that sometimes we also have some special weeks (such as at Christmas or Easter) where we will take a little side trip that coordinates with the season.
Sound Bites: Baroque & Classical does two semester cycles of the greatest composers and works of these time periods. So, you’ll see works by Handel, Haydn, Beethoven, and others both for a series during first semester, then again for another series during second semester.
Sound Bites: Romantic Era generally spends about a week per composer, going in chronological order, with extra weeks spent on ballets or other special performances that need extra time.
Sound Bites: Jazz follows chronological order where we get to know 15 major jazz composers. First semester we will spend a week on each, and then revisit each one again for a week during second semester.
What time period does Sound Bites cover?
Sound Bites: Baroque & Classical includes the Baroque era (1600-1750) and the Classical era (1750-1820.)
Sound Bites: Romantic & Modern Era covers approximately 1800-early 1900s.
Sound Bites: Jazz covers the American jazz era in the 1900s.
Do the links expire?
What if I want to re-use the emails next year?
The links in the emails are to YouTube videos, so they are available when you are, and won’t expire, per se. I’ll actually be receiving my Sound Bites a couple days before everybody else so I can make sure the links are still live, so everything should be working when you get it. For the most part, I selected videos with lots of views that have been around for awhile, which made me think they had an excellent chance of staying right where they are. That being said, I don’t have control over whether or not the owner of the video takes it down, so there is a chance that if you don’t get around to watching the video for a long time, it might not be there any more. I don’t plan to update the links this year beyond making sure they are live when you get them, so if you miss a day and circle back to an older email and the video is no longer available, you can just do a search to find another video of that piece.
Certainly you can save and re-use your emails and enjoy the same music over and over again.
What if a video is no longer available when we receive it?
I’ll be doing my best to avoid that, but if it happens, I’ll be hurrying to send you a replacement as soon as possible.
Do I have to have youtube? Is this music downloadable? Do I have to have wifi or a data plan?
What you need to make this work: Email and access to youtube.
The videos are meant to be enjoyed on youtube. I don’t know nothin’ ’bout birthin’ no babies….wait….yes I do….ahem. What I MEANT is, I have no idea if you can download youtube videos or not, but that isn’t the design of this program.
Wifi/data: You’ll need to use whatever mechanism you normally use for accessing email and youtube.
I have kids with their own email addresses. Do I have to pay to sign each child up for Sound Bites?
No way! One enrollment in Sound Bites covers your whole immediate family. If you have kids with email addresses that you want to receive Sound Bites directly, check the instructions in your Welcome email after you enroll.
Do Whole Shebang members get Sound Bites for free?
You betcha! Whole Shebang members get ALL of our products NOW and ALWAYS, at no additional cost. Yee-haw! If you are a Whole Shebang-er, just send me an email and tell me the email address you want your Sound Bites to come to. I’ll get you set up. Erica@EnrichmentStudies.com
What’s your return/refund policy? If after the first week you are dissatisfied with Sound Bites, contact me for a refund. Erica@EnrichmentStudies.com
Hi Erica,
Thank you….thank you.
~ Regina
Dear Erica,
“Sound Bites is our breakfast activity each morning and my 2 and 3 year olds are LOVING it! Some days they want to see the videos, some days they ask to see it played on the TV (I usually just set my phone on an easel to play), and some days they ask for it to play through our diffuser’s speaker. They’ve asked me to pause it until they’ve finished eating so they can dance, they’ve wiggled in their seats, they’ve compared it to other versions they’ve heard (especially if it was featured on Little Einsteins). I signed up, originally, not expecting a lot of interaction from them. Mostly just wanted to get an idea of the program before implementing more structure in our homeschooling in the coming years. However, regularly they tell me what instruments they see, discuss how pieces make them feel, discuss different features of the piece (even using technical terms-crescendo, allegro, etc). They even tell their father about pieces that really speak to them at night during supper, so much so that he has me forward him the videos at work so he can watch before he gets home so he can join the discussions!
To sum this novella up, thank you for this program! It has added such richness and depth to our homeschool and has taught me to never underestimate my children!
~Tracy”
“We LOVE our Sound Bites, and after 25 years of buying various homeschool stuff and wasting (regretfully) more money than I should have, this…. is one option I feel has been worth every single penny and I don’t want to miss a single day.”
~Regina
“I printed off some pages to use for my high schooler so we can start counting this time for credit, and your check box chart makes it easy to see how much we’re getting done. I have been using the sound bites in the morning when he writes in his journal. Thanks so much for making incorporating classical music into our homeschool day so easy!”
~Annette
“It is so perfect for high school, I just play it in the morning as we are getting ready. Sometimes I talk about the piece, sometimes not.”
~Audra
After registering for Sound Bites, go join Daily Art, too. Get the best of both worlds!
“As a musician who does not have the time to figure this out for my own kids/family, THANK YOU! This is soul-filling for me. I am thankful for you, that you have created these resources, and that you made them affordable!”
~Erin
“I am REALLY enjoying this opportunity for ‘a change of pace’ in our day. It is enriching my life as well as the kiddos! Thank you so much!”
~Dorothy
“I LOVE that we can just ‘listen to school’ purposely or as background. We are already having some great discussions about the music and the emotions and images it evokes. Thank you for making it all the easier to do this.”
~Claudia
“Yes, please enroll us!
I start the school year with a plan to listen to classical music at lunch everyday… and we do for the first couple of weeks. But then, as other subjects require a little more attention here and there, I put music off because it’s “less important” than math or science. And I stop planning for it. This seems like something I can actually do each day with no effort on my part 🙂 Thank you!”
Jeanna
“Thank you so much for all your work to provide useful, flexible resources!”
~Wendy
“When I told my 14-year-old boy that people in Beethoven’s time didn’t
appreciate it, he said, “Why not?!? It’s cool.”
Thank you for this again. It has been a blessing to our family.”
-Heather
“I must tell you that I love your diversity of performers that you use for your sound bites. Truly love seeing so many different ethnicities enjoying and participating in classical music.”
~Robin
My son is three and is autistic- he loves anything with music, the cartoon/classical mashups have been really entertaining for him! Thank you for putting this together and sharing it with us!
~Skye
My daughter (12) asked about seeing the real thing (they LOVE the cartoon) but she got curious about the real opera. So I found a version on Youtube….. and about 45 minutes into it, I moved it onto the tv for larger viewing, because all 6 of the kids were watching it!!!
Thank you!! Watching an Opera! All in Italian!!! and they were figuring out the plot and trying to get it!!!
Want to be notified when Sound Bites registration is open again? Sign up below:
Jan 2021 Sound Bites Registration: Now Closed
Meet the Orchestra (36 weeks) $40
100 Women Composers (20 weeks) $20
Baroque & Classical (1 semester) $20
Jazz (1 semester) $20
Classical Meets Cartoons (4 weeks) $10