Ultimate Free Guide to Mozart For Your Baby

Ultimate Free Guide to Mozart

This Ultimate Free Guide to Mozart for Your Baby is the first post in a series about composers. Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is the first piece of music that babies listen to in the Suzuki ECE Baby Class.

In the future, posts will explore more composers’ music used in the Baby Class. Then, we will go on to learn about other composers. We will especially learn about the composers’ music found in the Suzuki repertoire.

Why Are These Guides the “Ultimate”?

These posts are called “ultimate guide” because you are busy parents. You don’t have time for Music History 101! But, you just may be curious about who wrote some of that beautiful classical music .

So, each post in the series will introduce a different composer that you should know. Next, there will be one listening recommendation from the composer’s compositions.

Then, there will be a suggested book about the composer.

Ultimate Free Guide to Composers Goals

The goal for this Ultimate Free Guide to Composers is to keep it short and simple. Firstly, the guides will begin with a brief biography of the composer’s life.

I promise it will be short: when the composer was born, the MOST important things about his/her life, and when they died.

Next, the listening recommendation will only be one piece of music written by the composer. Then, you can use it as a springboard for finding more music by that same composer.

Finally, there will be a suggestion for a book to read to your baby about the composer. If there is not one available, a title from the Suzuki ECE book list will be substituted.

How to Use the Ultimate Free Guide to Composers

You can begin this activity fairly quickly. The bio of the composer will be in the post itself. You can read that information to find out about the composer and when they lived.

Next, the music selection may be included as a link in the post. It can also be downloaded from Amazon, iTunes, etc. That way, you and your baby can start to listen to the music right away.

There are a variety of ways to get the suggested book. It may be available at your library. The book will most likely be available on Amazon. Often, you may find included in the post a link to a website that sells the book.

In this time of pandemic, I would suggest buying it at your local bookstore. They can really use your support right now.

Yes, there is some expense involved. However, please think of these purchases as part of your baby’s education. You will be nurturing your baby’s heart and mind as well as your own.

The research shows that music and reading are so vital to the growth of your baby’s brain. They also have other tremendous affects on baby’s life as they grow.

So, now you can start the activities in Ultimate Free Guide to Mozart.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Bio

• Mozart was born January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria
• He grew up in a musical family, as his father was a violinist and orchestra conductor
• By age 4, he began learning to play piano and violin
• He composed his first symphony at age 10 and an opera by age 14
• Mozart worked with his father for the Archbishop of Salzburg
• In 1781, he moved to Vienna, Austria. He composed, taught piano, and performed
• In 1787, Mozart became the court musician to the Emperor of Austria. He composed symphonies, operas, concertos, and music for many occasions
• In 1792, Mozart died of ill health at the age of 35 in Vienna

Mozart’s Music

The Mozart musical selection is Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night-Music). The entire work has four movements. It was written for a string quartet: 2 violins, 1 viola, and 1 cello.

You will be listening to the first movement of the work. It is less than 5 minutes long. However, your baby will get the most benefit from repeated listening.

Keep in mind that babies don’t tire of repetition as adults do. Use this link to listen:

https://youtu.be/f3u5-MkFY5E

Ultimate Free Guide to Mozart “Bonus Activity”

For this activity you will need:

• a small soft ball
• enough floor space to roll the ball back and forth to each other.
• another adult or older sibling

This works best when one parent holds baby. Then, the other parent, adult, or older sibling can help roll the ball back and forth.

Play Eine Kleine Nacht Musik. Gently roll the ball back and forth using the back of your hand. Your baby may not be old enough yet to do this.

However, you are modeling the correct way to do it. As your baby gets older, you can help their little hand roll the ball.

In this activity, your baby will learn the motor skill of rolling the ball. They also will learn self-control of gently rolling the ball and not throwing it.

Baby learns to share when they willingly roll the ball to someone else. They are also tracking the ball with their eyes.

All these things are happening with one simple activity. The best part is that it only takes a few minutes to do.

Read About the Little Boy Amadeus Mozart

Most children’s books about composers are typically written for a third grade reading level or higher. But, I kept searching for board books about Mozart specifically written for babies.

There are a few out there. Then, I came across a website called JamJam Books. Believe it or not, they specifically write and publish board books for babies about composers and music!

My First Mozart follows the activities of the little boy Amadeus. Your little one will enjoy the delightful illustrations. Also, each musical clip is 20-40 seconds long which is just about right for your baby’s attention span.

The incredible part is that the publishers have licensed the music clips from major orchestras around the world. Hence, the the sound quality is far better than the typical synthesized/midi audio of many “sound” books.

Check out JamJam Books. Have a look at their selections. Order My First Mozart to start your baby’s library of books about composers. You can use the following link:

https://jamjambooks.com/collections/frontpage/products/my-first-mozart

Enjoying the Ultimate Guide to Mozart

I sincerely hope that this Ultimate Guide to Mozart will help you bring the joy of Mozart’s music into your home. Play Eine Kleine Nachtmusik for your baby many times everyday. Read the My First Mozart story everyday as well.

Keep the few biographical facts you learned about Mozart in the back of your mind. Then, when your child is old enough to understand, you can share that information with them.

They will already be very familiar with Mozart’s music and young life. You can then read and explore more about his life as they grow.

If you and your baby enjoyed the Mozart “Bonus Activity”, you may be interested in finding a Suzuki ECE Baby Class program in your area.

On the “Beautiful Heart Musical Journey” with you,

Susan

Comment and Share

If you have questions, comments, or would like to share if you did the Mozart “Bonus Activity”, put them in the Comments below. I would love to know if you and your baby enjoyed the activity!

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