The Ultimate How to Teach Music in Homeschool Guide

Homeschooling is life schooling, I say this time and again. Homeschool music appreciation curriculum doesn’t have to look like books and paper.  The best way to teach music in homeschool is to have music playing in your homeschooling.

I think it’s important for homeschoolers to round out a child’s education with a study of the arts. We do this in a variety of ways like, visiting art museums, studying classic composers, enrolling in an art class or music lessons or just viewing or  listening to great works of art. 

This post is made possible by Gentle Guitar and contains sponsored content as well as affiliate advertisement links to third party sites.

In our home music plays often. One of my favorite things to do is to turn on our surround sound, turn on Music Choice on the television and let music play in the background throughout our day. The genres vary depending on my mood, or the mood of the family.  This is just one of the ways that I infuse music learning into our life learning.

But it’s not always easy to pull together a good round-up of ideas for teaching the “extras” in a homeschool setting. So I’ve pulled together the best of the best to share with you. Over the next 5 days I’ll share with you resources and ideas to help you stay on track with teaching music in your homeschool.

Finding Resources for Teaching Music in Homeschool

Sometimes, if you are like me, a music curriculum can become a cumbersome addition to the already full line up of core curriculums to be studied in the homeschool. Sometimes, we homeschool moms want simple, hands on, easy to find, and not labor intensive ways for our kids to study without missing out on some important information and key concepts. This is especially true when it comes to the “extras” in education.

That being said, music doesn’t just have to be an “extra” because it can act as an inspirational tool for young minds. Studies have shown that music and ignite learning in other areas such as math, and writing because rhythm, pattern and cadence are integral to both.

 Since we live in a world that is connected 24/7 to the world-wide web, we have access to a wealth of learning resources right at our fingertips. With the click of a mouse and a few keystrokes we can download, print, listen to, observe and study world-renowned artists, composers, and music theory all from the comfort of our own homes. 

 3 Ways to Teach in Homeschool with Instruments

1- Gentle Guitar

Gentle Guitar is an online one-to-one subscription based class where the student learns to play guitar from a music teacher through a video instruction using Skype. My son gave these lessons a try and you can read here about how easy it is to teach guitar in your homeschool.

The subscription includes all the learning manuals. So with a willing student, a guitar, and a Skype account you’ll be amazed at how easy and how quickly your students will learn to play with Gentle Guitar.

2- Piano Lessons Homeschool Edition

Piano Lessons with Grammy Award-Winning Pianist Will Barrow – Home School Edition from LearnAndMaster.

This video based course will take students through through a comprehensive Piano-Learning system, even if you have no musical skills and no previous experience.

3- Violin Lessons at Home

Have you seen Practice Monkeys? Sarah, a 27+ year experienced violin teacher and fellow homeschool mom created this online course for kids to learn to play violin in their own home.

20 Web Learning Resources for Teaching Music in Homeschool

1. A Guide to Renaissance Instruments
2. Archive.org – Music, Art & Culture
3. Arts Alive
4. Carnegie Hall Listening Adventures
5. Classics for Kids
6. Classical Guitar Ensemble
7. Curiosity Stream
8. Datadragon Music Education
9. Good Music Guide
10. Learn the Instruments
11. Making Music Fun
12. Music Genre List
13. Music Theory
14. New York Philharmonic Kid Zone
15. Quia Shared Activities – Music
16. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Education Programs
17. San Francisco Orchestra Kids
18. The Kennedy Center Arts Edge Educators Lessons
19. Tune In Radio
20. World Music

Don’t Miss This Awesome FREE Resource
for Teaching Music in Homeschool.

Music Ed Magazine – for parents and teachers.

• Music Ed is a quarterly digital magazine. Best of all, it’s a free resource.
• Each issue is packed with the latest research, tips, games, teaching resources and creative ideas to make teaching and learning music easy and enjoyable for everyone.

Apps for Learning Music in Homeschool

Droid

• Beethoven Symphony 9
• Best Music Set
• Chicago Symphony
• Ensemble Composer
• GCSE Music Questions
• Interval Recognition/Ear Training
• Music Rhythm Master
• Music Theory Scale Net
• Music Tutor Sight Read

Droid & iOS

• Staff Wars

iOS

• A Jazzy Day Music Education for Kids
• Beethoven’s 9th Symphony
• Music Flash Class
• Music Theory
• Rhythmic Dictation
• Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

YouTube Videos for Listening to Music in Homeschool

I wanted to break down great music into a variety of genres, but the later genres of Rock & Roll, Modern Country, and Alternative Music choices are so varied in composition that it’s difficult to break down into manageable groupings. So I will simply suggest that you choose for your children the songs that speak most to you, allow them to listen along with you and teach them why those songs have great meaning to you. Here I’m sharing some genres that are good to study along with history, Blues and Folk music are great companions when studying American History, The Classics are good when studying world history and Jazz and Blues are good to listen to when studying about black history, cultural diversity, or just as a way to teach dynamics and rhythm structure in music. 

Bluegrass & Folk Music

1. 16 Greatest Original Bluegrass Hits
2. 100 Fiddle Tunes, Old Time, Bluegrass and American Folk Music Favorites
3. Bluegrass And American Folk Music
4. Flatt & Scruggs – instrumental bluegrass
5. The Best of Bluegrass

Classics

1. Classical Music for Kids
2. The Best of Beethoven
3. The Best of Brahms
4. The Best of Chopin
5. The Best of Debussy
6. The Best of Dvorak
7. The Best of Haydn
8. The Best of Handel
9. The Best of Gershwin
10. The Best of Liszt
11. The Best of Mendelssohn
12. The Best of Mozart
13. The Best of Paginini
14. The Best of Rachmaninoff
15. The Best of Rossini
16. The Best of Schubert
17. The Best of Strauss
18. The Best of Tchaikovsky
19. The Best of Vivaldi
20. The Best of Wagner

Jazz & Blues

1. Billie Holiday
2. Charlie Parker
3. Dizzy Gillespie
4. Thelonius Monk
5. Top 100 Jazz Classics

1. Best of Blues
2. BB King Blues Greatest Hits
3. Delta Blues
4. Louisiana Blues
5. Mississippi Blues

5 Music in Homeschool Posts

1. The Ultimate How to Teach Music in Homeschool Guide
2. Top 10 Music Appreciation Curricula for Homeschoolers
3. Teaching Music in Homeschool with Field Trips 
4. Unit Studies for Teaching Music in Homeschool
5. Learning to Play Music in Homeschool

Whether it’s a practical hands-on approach, cultural study or simply surrounding your family with beautiful music, whatever way you choose to include music in your homeschool studies I’m sure you will find it to be a wonderful “extra” addition to your child’s learning experience.

 Learn More about Teaching Music in Homeschool

• Top 10 Music Appreciation Curricula for Homeschoolers
• Teaching Music in Homeschool with Field Trips 
• Unit Studies for Teaching Music in Homeschool
• Learning to Play Music in Homeschool

This 5-day Homeschool Hopscotch is part of the iHomeschool Network
Homeschool Hopscotch and Ultimate Guides.