Maestro Classics Review
The review I did last week covered art appreciation, this weeks review will cover music appreciation! Art and music appreciation have been something I have been wanting to add in to our homeschooling experience but never really could figure out how to do it in a fun and easy way. When I was given the opportunity to review The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Casey at the Bat (both produced by Maestro Classics ) I jumped at it. I had looked through their site many times and really liked the way that this company taught music appreciation. I had also checked out another one of their CDs from our local library and really enjoyed it.
(Ages 7+ and Families)
$16.98
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice CD was really great. I have heard it many times but never like this. I know that sounds a little corny but I was really amazed at how much I learned not only about the story, the music, and the composer but also how much I learned about listening to classical music.
I thought when I got these I would just let Jayden sit down and listen to them and I would just stay close enough to make sure he was listening. That was my plan at least. I turned on the CDs and started cleaning my kitchen.But within minutes I had completly left the kitchen and sat down to listen too. These CDs were amazing and the narrator’s passion for the music and the story draw you in and hold your attention.
Another really great feature I loved is you get a history lesson along with your music appreciation! You get background information about the composer, the piece of music,and what was going on in history at the time.
I loved that my son and I really learned how to hear the music and each part. For example when the narrator is talking to you about the part of the musical piece that symbolizes the water falling out of the buckets that the broom are dumping, you could really start to not only see it in your mind but hear it too. Amazing!! I have gotten such a real appreciation for this song by using this CD. I highly recommend it!
(Ages 5+ and their families)
$16.98
Casey at Bat was just as great as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. This CD has an amazing way of transporting you right there with Casey. You really feel like you are right there in the stands watching the whole thing. I loved that by the end of the CD , Jayden actually could retell me some of the poem. I could tell he really liked it. After listening and doing some of the activities in the little activity book that comes along with the CD he started talking about baseball and the poem.
I found Casey at Bat on an ebook for his kindle so he could reread it. He read the poem and then listened again to the CD. Just for fun I found two short movies for him to watch on Youtube. They were both Disney- How to play Baseball, and Casey At Bat.
This would be a great CD to listen to for a poetry study, a sports unit study , or of course a baseball unit study. We both loved this one and we would highly recommend it!
We really enjoyed these CDs. Maestro Classics has several more CDs and other resources available. Go check out their site and pick a few up for you and your children to enjoy. We are planning on doing some traveling soon and I am going to go ahead and get a couple more of their CDs so we can listen to them on the road.
I have told you how much we enjoyed both of these CDs now go ahead and check out what my Review Crew friends thought about them too! Just click the link below and it will take you to all of the other reviews!
