* PRIMARY: FIRST DISCOVERY MUSIC SERIES: Schubert. Chopin. Purcell. Mozart. Beethoven ABRSM Publishing pound;9.99 each (book with CD). MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES: Brass. Woodwind. Strings. Keyboards. Percussion. By Wendy Lynch. Heinemann pound;8.99 each.
* SECONDARY: TWENTIETH CENTURY MUSIC SERIES. By Malcolm Hayes. 1900-20 New Horizons. 20s and 30s Between the Wars. 40s and 50s From War to Peace. 1960s Age of Rock. 1970s Years of Excess. 80 and 90s Different Paths. Heinemann pound;11.50 each
The First Discovery titles enchantingly tell the story of each composer’s childhood and his music.
The text is economical and accessible to primary age readers. The CDs are audio versions of the books, with extracts from the composers’ works lasting between one and two minutes. There is also a wealth of visual material in the books, from old masters to contemporary performers, and Charlotte Voake’s lightly textured illustrations are lively and humorous. Each page challenges the reader to try something creative, such as making up dance steps or setting a favourite poem to a melody. Aspiring musicians of all ages will relish these books and CDs.
Wendy Lynch’s series is a well-designed introduction to five families of musical instruments. Each book clearly describes how the instruments are made and played, and how sound vibrations are produced. The series also looks at lesser-known members of the family in other parts of the world, and at composers. Colour photographs are used generously to show children and professionals playing the instruments in various settings. Each book ends with sound activities and questions. Clear contents, glossary and index make this series not only valuable for its information, but easy to use.
Malcolm Hayes offers a stimulating overview of developments in European and American music during the 20th century for secondary students. Exciting visual material complements an imaginative text, and a time line links sometimes bizarre but always interesting events in the arts, music, and world history.
A fascinating journey starts with Schoenberg’s explorations of dissonance and intensity, and the rise of jazz, blues and ragtime in America (a map would have been helpful here). The century ends with popular dance music such as house, hip-hop and rap in the West, and the tragic heritage of classical composers Kancheli and Schnittke in post-communist Eastern Europe.
Pemma Spencer Chapman is a former director of Abingdon Music Centre and a music therapist
