Areas of Music
The music programme developed by Anna Maria Marccheroni in collaboration with Maria Montessori herself is excellent and well-rounded and it includes:
singing
audition (listening)
music theory and (ear training)
eurythmics (movement and rhythm)
composition
production of music (playing instruments)
history and literature
The following aspects of music are explored:
pitch
rhythm
intensity
timbre
form
style
Two important Montessori principles are followed:
Isolation of difficulty - various aspects are isolated in order to bring them to the conscious level
Experience as a whole - all aspects are experienced better together
Music History and Literature
Types of Music in Western Classical Music Tradition
These can be described in contrasting pairs:
Vocal - Instrumental
Sacred - Secular
Solo - Ensemble
Absolute - Program (a subset of Instrumental music)
Music can be:
Monophonic (single melodic line characteristic to chants)
Polyphonic (two or more individual melodic parts characteristic to rounds)
Homophonic (single melodic line supported by chords characteristic to pop songs)
Eras in Music History
Antiquity (prehistory to 200CE)
Plainsong/Gregorian Chants (* - 950CE)
Middle Ages (625 - 1450)
Renaissance (1400 - 1600)
Baroque (1600 - 1750)
Classical (1750 - 1820)
Romantic (18th - 19th Century)
Nationalism (19th Century)
Impressionism (late 19th - early 20th Century)
Modern (late 19th - present) which includes: Nationalism, Impressionism, Jazz, 12-tone (Chromaticism), Musicals, Electronic
The Story of Music
This could be transformed into another one of the Great Stories since it brings to life another aspect of humanity alongside Language and Mathematics.