Second Grade General Music
Ludwig van Beethoven is a famous composer who was born in Germany in 1770. Beethoven was deaf, but that did not stop him from writing beautiful music!
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You can learn more about Beethoven and listen to his music by visiting Classics for Kids or checking out the videos below!
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A composer is someone who writes music.
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December 16th 2020 will be Beethoven's 250th birthday!
Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven Lives Upstairs: Introduction
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In this video, Christoph writes a letter to his uncle to complain about the peculiar composer who is renting out a room in his home. Why does Christoph have a hard time living with Beethoven? Why does Beethoven do the things he does?
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Beethoven Lives Upstairs is a historical fiction. That means that parts of the story are true to history, and others are made up. While Beethoven was a real person, Christoph was not. Beethoven Lives Upstairs is both a book and a movie.
Für Elise Dance
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Bagatelle in A minor was composed in 1810, a few years after Beethoven started to lose his hearing. This piece is best known as Für Elise. Für Elise means "For Elise" in German, as Beethoven wrote this song for a lady called Therese (nicknamed Elise).
Beethoven's Wig
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Did Beethoven really wear a wig? Powdered wigs were considered very stylish in Europe in the 1700s. The bigger and fancier the wig the better! When Beethoven moved to Vienna to try to make it as a big composer, he wore wigs to keep up with the latest fashion. But Beethoven soon realized he didn't want to fit in and abandoned the wig.
Beethoven's 9th Symphony: Ode to Joy
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Beethoven's 9th Symphony was the last symphony Beethoven wrote. This part of the symphony is called "Ode to Joy." The music is about being kind to everyone regardless of our differences. Beethoven uses his 9th symphony to showcase brotherhood and
equality as the way to joy and happiness.
Beethoven's 9th Symphony: Ode to Joy
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Here is the Rotterdams Philharmonic Orchestra performing a virtual version of Ode to Joy. Each musician is playing from their own home, but they are still finding ways to make music together and share their joy with the world!
Kids meet an opera singer
An opera is a musical story that is sung and acted out on stage. Operas have been around for hundreds of years and are performed in many different languages including Italian, French, German, and English. An opera is similar to a musical, but the entire show is sung, so there is singing rather than talking between songs. In this video, kids interview Angel Blue, a professional opera singer who explains what her job is like.
Make up your own verse! Choose an animal and a rhyming action and add it into the song!
