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Bach FAQ 155

The Cool “Teaching Material Classical Music” ... My Offering with the “Bitter Pills” for Very Conservative Classical Music Fans..

My “Teaching Material Classical Music” was created in summer and fall of 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. My “Teaching Material Classical Music” was also created during the worst forest fires in California in living memory. Under this impression, I “invented” it: for face-to-face teaching, but optimized also for distance learning, hybrid teaching, homeschooling, and any “mix of these.” It is completelypaper-free and can be used by students and teachers, making it absolutely environmentally friendly ... today, but even more so in the years to come. It can even be used in a environmentally friendly way in face-to-face teaching. This is because it is also possible to use all variants as a mix side by side: If even half of your kids – and you too – work paper-free in class, then at least 50 percent of paper can be saved..

My “Teaching Material Classical Music” was also created eight years after I started my Johann Sebastian Bach Project with the website Bach on Bach. I continued it with the website Johann Sebastian Bach for Children. Then I wrote my Bach Biography for Children. The accompanying book. In addition, together with my cousin in the USA – who is also related to Johann Sebastian Bach, of course – Briana Bach-Hertzog and my wife Renate, I came up with my 17 stories from Bach's life for our joint Bach Coloring Book. The three of us creatives brought it to life. Finally, in 2020, my “trilogy of websites” was also created, namely “What is Classical Music?”, “Classical Music for Children,” and ... the “Teaching Material Classical Music.”..

For 40 years, I had a vision of approaching Classical Music. I never put it into practice. Only when I realized that the question “What is Classical Music?” had never been answered correctly, or rather correctly and clearly, did I do so. I found that none of the authors could offer an answer. Because there is no definition. I even came up with the “bold thesis” that there is no Classical Music for children at all. Well, if it has to be, then that doesn’t apply to Peter and the Wolf. And perhaps even more unsuitable for this audience is the Carnival of the Animals. There are a few other works with the word “children” in the title..

Of course, all audiobooks accompanied by Classical Music are also excluded. Finally, I found it: another approach that could be particularly exciting in the future. It leads to Popular Classical Music and my selection of 300 such titles. To my comprehensive overall concept “Teaching Material Classical Music.” It can currently be used in two versions: “light” and, alternatively, XXL..

All considerations showed that a huge portion of the 20-part “Teaching Material Classical Music” is now perfectly suited not only for your kids, but also for young adults and people of all ages: as a first step toward approaching “Popular Classical Music.” After that, there is the opportunity – preferably in this order – to discover and enjoy Classical Music as most Classical Music fans understand the term. It really is no longer “rocket science.” For more on the “bitter pills,” please read my FAQ 156 under the keyword philosophy..

By Peter Bach, Jr..

The “Teaching Material Classical Music”: I would like to accompany you on this page regarding the “Teaching Material Classical Music” with pictures from calendars. With title pages and, again and again, also with inside pages. If a calendar particularly appeals to you, then you can visit the shop right here. We use the small income from this niche offering to finance part of our Classical Music Mission and our Bach for Children Mission. Non-profit..

The best place to find our T-shirts is at “Zazzle.” Click here to visit all five shops..

My “Teaching Material Classical Music ”: Entertainment, Fun, and Deliberately No Pressure to Perform Are My Means to an End. The “aha Effect” Is What Counts..

Yes, I would like to entertain you too. Because if I don't succeed in doing that with you ... how will we know whether we will be successful together with your kids later on? To get to the point – and now seriously – for details about my truly unconventional “Teaching Material Classical Music”, my offer for teachers, in other words my Marketplace for Classical Music, click here. However, if you don't click there now, the next section has a whole host of exciting, interesting, funny, and also completely unknown facts about Classical Music waiting for you. Because “Classical Music” in the classroom can be “packaged” in a really exciting way: interesting, unusual, entertaining, and cool ... simply offer entertainment. So ... for the older kids. How? Well, something like this:..

The “Teaching Material Classical Music ”: There are 20 electronic components (... so nothing on paper) for a cool, musical, and exciting time together. In the third picture above, you can see the box that will later be used for the score. At the same time, it prevents smart kids from sending you the same homework a second time. The fourth motif highlights the correct answers and “provides” you with entertainment for joint correction (... in class). At the bottom center is the certificate for the winner or the winning team or the first three winners or winning teams. To the right is the prize for all your kids in the many years to come. And finally, in position 4, is a thank you to you: Why not take a listen in the shop ... the most beautiful quotes about Johann Sebastian Bach and his life's work. Click here to go to the right page in the shop..

At the top left is the title of the material again, next to it is the winner's certificate. Behind it are the prizes for all your kids in all the years and decades to come (... the Bach Biography for Children as an audio book, for tablets, and as an eBook). Finally, in position 4 is the audio collage for you as a thank you for the many years of our joint mission: to get kids interested in Classical Music in general through popular classical music... and maybe even to inspire them..

Classical Music as Teaching Material: There's Another Way!..

Did you know that Bach said that all music not composed for God was simply “devilish noise”? And that he had 20 children? Four of them were famous sons, and a fifth and sixth were also musical. Two of the famous sons were even more famous in their day than their father had been in his. Did you know that the Bachs were not only by far the most famous and at the same time greatest family of musicians on earth – and still are today – but by a wide margin? That Bach is said to have composed over 11,000 pieces of music, according to the most respected Bach expert? And that 1,128 of his works were never lost, but only unknown to the general public? For a full 80 years. You probably didn't know that 66 well-known personalities, from a pope to other famous composers to Albert Einstein, found Bach's music overwhelmingly good. And that around 50 monuments are dedicated to him? Including one each in Shanghai, China, Prague, Czech Republic, Pittsburgh in the USA, Barcelona, Spain and Paris, France..

Did you know that Johann Sebastian Bach was the most gifted organist of all time? Recognized by many experts, he could play a key – even when both hands and feet were “busy” – with a small stick in his mouth..

Not Only Very Exciting Teaching Material, but Also Enjoyable Entertainment..

More of my entertainment for cool teachers: Did you know that Wolferl, as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart was nicknamed, composed a six-part canon called “Lick me on the ass.” (... don't worry, I refrained from asking your kids about it)? That he was reluctant to compose his famous Magic Flute as a commissioned work? Because he hated the sound of flutes. Did you know that he made his first marriage proposal at the age of six and had perfect pitch?..

Back to Classical Music in general: Did you know that the shortest Classical Pieces are no longer than today's typical hits? Namely, between two and five minutes long. And that the longest insignificant Classical Piece is by French composer Erik Satie? It's 18 hours and 40 minutes long! It consists of 180 notes repeated 840 times. The premiere was in New York. Ten pianists were involved! The title: Vexations..

The second longest Classical Work, now by a significant composer: Wagner's opera Der Ring des Nibelungen. It lasts 15 to 17 hours! Depending on the conductor and staging. And did you know that Telemann was the most prolific Classical Composer, perhaps even the most prolific composer ever? He wrote 3,600 works. Did you know that Handel and Bach were born in the same year and both underwent unsuccessful surgery by the same London ophthalmologist for the same condition: cataracts? Bach and Handel lived only 30 minutes travel apart for a long time. But they never met. You probably already knew that there are two “Ave Marias.” And that Schubert's is actually called Ellen's Third Song? The other Ave Maria is by “Bach feat. Gounod”: an early masterpiece by two prominent masters. Of course, you knew that both Mozart and Beethoven were child prodigies, but Bach has only been recognized as such in recent decades..

Three of the greats on the subject of Classical Music. Once again, click here to go directly to the shop with all offers..

Teaching Material “Outside the Box”: Teaching Material for Cool Teachers..

Continuing with the topic of Classical Music as entertainment for you: Did you know that Bach lived to be 65, but Mozart only 35? And that Beethoven composed a work called Elegy on the Death of a Poodle? That Wagner named his dwarf rabbit “Little Son Fips” and his parrot “Little Daughter Papo” and that he often composed while wearing costumes? Did you know that Beethoven's deafness developed over 21 years and that at the age of 48 he was completely deaf for the next eight years? During this period of deafness, he composed his Ninth Symphony. Do you know Mozart's full name? Sure, from above. But did you know that at the age of 14 he was honored by Pope Clement XIV with the Order of the Golden Spur? You probably knew that Mozart was not the inventor of the Mozartkugel. And perhaps you also knew that this sweet was first offered 99 years after Mozart's death. Initially, it was called Mozart-Bonbon. You probably also knew that the Wagner and Liszt families are related. Together, they are the second largest family of famous musicians in the world. Did you know that Hildegard von Bingen and Clara Schumann are the only two famous female Classical Composers? You probably knew that Bach died leaving behind only a very small fortune. Handel, on the other hand, died wealthy. Bach only left Germany with his prince to Karlsbad, but Handel traveled extensively throughout Europe. Did you know that Bach's son Philipp Emanuel Bach was the Berlin Bach and at the same time the Hamburg Bach? And that his second famous son, Johann Christian Bach, was the Milan Bach and at the same time the London Bach?

Please Join in: Accompany Me and My “Teaching Material Classical Music” to Introduce at Least One More Child Per Year to Classical Music..

My Teaching Material Classical Music remains exciting here: Did you know that the opera Nabucco by the Italian composer Verdi was written in Egypt? And that Verdi founded a retirement home for musicians, which still exists today under the name Casa Verdi? You knew that Johann Strauss, the son, was the Waltz King. But did you know that he composed 160 waltzes? And ... that the Russian composer Tchaikovsky was the only famous person who could not “recognize anything special” in Bach's music? Did you know that the first Classical Hit, that is, the first popular Classical Work, is Pachelbel's Canon in D major? I'm not sure you're familiar with the only famous Popular Classical Work by Charpentier: It's the opening fanfare to the European Song Contest on Eurovision..

Did you know that Max Reger believed Bach's work to be “the beginning and end of all music”? Did you know that you can sing Bach's name and play it on an instrument ... but only in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland? In Ansbach, Bavaria, the artist forgot the “ b ” on what is certainly the most modern Bach monument, and so “B-A-C-H” became “H-A-C-H,” a forgivable, charming little slip-up. You knew that Edward Grieg was Norwegian. And Sousa was a composer in the United States. You surely also knew that Haydn composed the German national anthem and Liszt created 1,300 works?! Did you know Puccini's full name: Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini? Surely you also knew that perhaps two asteroids are named after Bach. And that many are named after composers? Did you know that Telemann composed 3,600 works? And did you know which work by Carl Maria von Weber remained unfinished? It is the opera "Rübezahl". Finally, here is another curious fact for you in this section of my website on Classical Music: Vivaldi was also a Roman Catholic priest as a side job..

Different composers, a different calendar style. Except for the blue background, it is extremely conservative. By the way, these same gentlemen appear in another composers calendar. But without the blue color elements. This makes it even more conservative..

There Is Further Background Information of This Kind on My Teaching Material on the Subject of “Classical Music.”..

If you've enjoyed reading this far, there's more to come: The great Johann Sebastian Bach spent a whole four weeks in prison for “stubbornness.” You probably already knew that. Franz Liszt, on the other hand, “served” a much shorter sentence. But Wagner fled abroad to avoid imprisonment. Schubert is even said to have spent some time “behind bars” together with his friends because of a composition. Beethoven counted out exactly 60 coffee beans for his coffee every morning. He did the same for the coffees that followed during the day. He called wind his “enemy.” Did you know that he moved no less than 68 times?..

It is almost common knowledge that Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Stravinsky are the only Classical Composers whose music is on its way to extraterrestrials. But did you know that Bach “wins” in my “fun ranking” and with the number of his pieces on the golden record in Voyager 1 + 2? Incidentally, this LP is supposed to last 500 million years. At least! In 1952, American composer John Cage composed the piece 4'33", which consists of four and a half minutes of silence. However, it can also be longer or shorter. Can this piece even be classified as Classical Music? On the subject of national anthems: Did you know that the shortest is the Japanese anthem, with four lines? The longest is the Greek anthem, with 158 verses. The Lebanese anthem is also as short as the Japanese one. Actually, all well-known national anthems, for us – of course – especially the German and US anthems, the British, French, perhaps also the Italian, Israeli, and Russian anthems, are Classical Works. Whether termites actually consume wood twice as fast when they listen to heavy metal music, I cannot verify, and... it has nothing to do with Classical Music anyway..

Serious again, to some extent: Franz Schubert's friends called him “Schwammerl” (... little mushroom) because of his height and brown curls. And speaking of curls: So many admirers wanted a lock of Beethoven's hair that he got a dog (“Pimperl”) and used its curls to satisfy his fans ... at least that was better than giving a friend's wife a tuft of goat hair. Which is what he actually did. A genuine lock of Beethoven's hair can be bought today for €39,000. Of course, the price varies..

More curiosities? Gladly: Almost the entire London Symphony Orchestra would have gone down with the Titanic. The musicians changed ships shortly before departure. Rachmaninoff, of all people, was one of the highest-paid Classical Composers. He earned the equivalent of € 6 million (... some 6 million $) in 1930, the year the global economic crisis began. It wasn't “Amadeus” (... Mozart), as Falco sings, who was the superstar and rock idol of his time, but Beethoven! He was the pop star of his era. When Beethoven was buried, half of Vienna's inner city population attended. That was 20,000 people. Children were given the day off school and the military organized the smooth running of the event. Finally, a word of encouragement for your kids who want to learn an instrument. Or who are already doing so: Johann Sebastian Bach from Thuringia said that playing the piano wasn't that difficult: You just had to press the right key at the right moment..

Another conservative painting style ... far too conservative, of course, when compared to the content of my page on “Teaching Material Classical Music.” But... cooler offerings are coming. I promise..

Preparing Teaching Material for teachers on the subject of Classical Music was the latest idea to arise after watching a television report about an internet service provided by teachers for teachers. It led me to consider introducing children to Johann Sebastian Bach (... my wife's and my mission is to spread awareness of Bach's work and life) via the “detour” of getting children excited about Classical Music. And to do this together with teachers in elementary schools, but also in other schools: namely, to make Classical Music cool..

So, in addition to our offerings at my wife's Publishing House, we also wanted to be represented on this impressively large online marketplace for teaching materials. In Germany and in the USA. But because we could easily be overlooked there – there are so many cool offers there – I also created this page on my website “Teaching Material Classical Music.” To be as high up as possible on Google when you search for exactly the “right” keywords. That is ... teaching material, Classic, and Classical Music..

Who are we? One of us is me, the author of this project, Peter Bach, Jr., and the other is my wife Renate with her exciting Calendar Publishing Company Bach 4 You..

This link will take you directly to the Teaching Material in the shop..

My Marketplace for Teachers on the Subject of “classical Music” ... Lots of Teaching Materials Is Free of Charge..

A

There is a complete, particularly detailed definition of the question “What is Classical Music?” on my special website ... for your kids to learn about at home. And for you to use, together with the exciting information above, to put together a full hour of lessons. Or even two..

B

There is my collection of 300 light, popular, well-known, and also Young Popular Classical Works, which is guaranteed to be the best musical option as an introduction to Classical Music for kids, teens, and adults. I researched and commented on them for this very purpose. Very conservative Classical Music lovers are kindly requested to read the notes on my very special philosophy there. Click here and discover these 300 most Popular Classical Works.

 C

You also receive my compilation of one hour of royalty-free music by J.S. Bach as an MP3 file to provide background music for your lessons. Free of charge.

D

You will receive a suggestion of four lists/four hours of Popular Classical Works to create a playlist for your students. Alternatively, these four collections can be played in a very analog way, both in class and at home. These four collections are compilations of the most Popular Classical Works in specific segments. They include a. conservative, b. borderline, c. English, and d. very borderline pieces. You decide which “degree of experimentation” suits you best.

I am not allowed to make this music available to you. Not as a compilation, not as a playlist. However, your students are allowed to do so. Officially. Approved by GEMA in Germany and probably the counterparts in many countries (... see section 5 ff.; § 46 UrhG). But only for this lesson. You may only – and really only – use such playlists in your lessons. Not in a school performance. Not to pass on to your colleagues. Not to distribute to your kids. Please check this yourself, because I am not allowed to give legal advice. That is why this section does not constitute legal advice.

E

Take advantage of the curious highlights (... we call them Funny+++ Facts), compiled on a special free website, to “sprinkle” into your lessons. Of course, this works rather less well for eight-year-olds than for teens. And for slightly older kids, some things are not quite so funny or amusing. Some are even exclusively exciting for cool, very tolerant adult Classical Music fans. The plus signs indicate that these are not only funny facts, but also exciting and sometimes sad ones. But once I had “invented” the name for this offering, I wanted to keep it. That's why ... “Funny+++”..

You're absolutely right: The calendar pages above are really very colorful. And definitely not conservative..  

 My “Teaching Material Classical Music” for the Equivalent of a Cool 59 Cents* Per Year..

No, it's not a subscription! It's a nominal fee of €11.90*... a one-time payment ( ! ). But if you use this teaching material for 20 years – if you like it – then that's only 60 cents per year. And what's exciting about the XXL Teaching Material Classical Music is that there is a prize for the best student. When I was little, it was called a class test: it's the audiobook and e-book versions of my Bach Biography for Children. What's more, not only the winner receives it, but all the kids in your class. In all three versions. This year and next year, as well as the following 20 years. Or 30. Or, depending on how young you are, even 40 years. But we ask your colleagues to buy their own “set”... for our mission ... then our joint mission..

Just a quick note before we get to the really cool offer of “Teaching Material Classical Music”: The composers listed above are not intended for conservative, "serious" Classical Music fans, nor for “our little ones.” For teens, however ... it might be just right..

Music T-shirts, Bach T-shirts, music bedding, Bach baseball caps, and certainly hundreds, probably even thousands of gift ideas with music and composer motifs. Click here to visit all the shops of the “Bach 4 You” Publishing House..

My “Teaching Material Classical Music” for Your Classroom Teaching, Distance Education, Blended Learning, and Homeschooling ... or Even a Mix of All These Options!..

So – for the aforementioned small one-time symbolic charge of just $11.90* – — I am offering you my additional, truly comprehensive and educational components of the “Teaching Material Classical Music” in addition to the free part above. All components are designed so that you can work with paper or via the internet and smartphone, laptop, or tablet. And you can even combine these if children are unable to attend lessons or – in an environmentally friendly way – also use electronic devices. With the matching music, this also creates a holistic approach to Classical Music..

The comprehensive version of the “Teaching Material Classical Music” consists of a 45-page homework assignment (1) with easy, entertaining multiple-choice questions. This is then slightly modified to become a 45-page test (2). Finally, your correction document (3) provides one or two interesting facts for 75 percent of all answers to the 150 questions, allowing you to comment on the correct answers..

The concept allows your children to correct their own work in class (... or at home). Each child corrects the work of a classmate ... but without anyone knowing whose work they are evaluating. This collaborative approach to working out the answers means that no grades are given, making it a stress-free experience..

Instead, the student with the highest score will receive an audiobook, eBook, or tablet version of the “Bach Biography for Children,” 172 pages, valued at €19.90* (... audiobook) plus €18.90* (...tablet) plus €9.99* (...ePUB). All other children are also allowed to download one copy of each version free of charge. * It's sort of the same amount in USD..

And this also applies to your school classes in the coming years. As a thank you, we are offering you, as an educator, an exciting and entertaining audio collage. It is the download “The most beautiful quotes about Johann Sebastian Bach.” It features Bach's music and a ten-minute short biography as a 70-minute audio file (... MP3). The biography is narrated by a prominent speaker, and the quotes are narrated even by two professionals. Where else can you find such a marketplace for teachers when it comes to “Teaching Material Classical Music ”?!..

The “Bitter Pills” in My Concept..

Please give my “Teaching Material Classical Music” a try. My approach (... using Popular Classical Music and entertainment to introduce students to Classical Music) leaves all previous and other options open to you as well..

I don't want to introduce kids to Classical Music through Peter and the Wolf, which is undoubtedly very well suited to the subject, or The Carnival of Animals, and certainly not through The Four Seasons, which I consider completely unsuitable. Instead, I want to introduce them to Classical Music through my own life experience with Popular Classical Music. We could try that together..

But I can only succeed if you also get to know this path. And have lots of fun doing so, plus learn lots of exciting things. This unusually silly concept is “my thing” as today's “funny maker*” in the Bach family. It has to be completely different, because we want to introduce more kids to Classical Music together, if you are serious Classical Music lovers. But that's exactly when we want to inspire fish with worms. And not with strawberry tarts. Even if we particularly like strawberry tarts. Fish don't. My “bitter pill No. 1”... * It's not a typo, but a 1:1 translation from old German, spoken in 1700, sort of..

Then there are many works in my “Top 300 Classical Collection” that you may judge very critically as Classical Music pieces. Of course, there are also pieces of music included that you – depending on how serious you are – do not consider to be Classical Works at all. However, these are marked as “to be enjoyed with caution.” That is the “bitter pill No. 2.”..

Finally, there are my Young Popular Classical Works. They will certainly be vehemently rejected by very conservative Classical Music connoisseurs. But: Come on, give them a chance. And don't reject my entire approach because of them. First of all, my very carefully considered inclusion of such pieces as Young Classic and not recognized by everyone is clearly defined ... for each piece. Secondly, these pieces do not spoil the path to Classical Music as you probably define it. That ... is then the “bitter pill No. 3”.

Yet another calendar style ... Illustrations for my “Teaching Material Classical Music.”..

My Marketplace for Teachers: Teaching Material in the Field of Classical Music ... and ASCAP* Gives the “Green Light”?!..

I'm not allowed to, and I am allowed, too. 1. What I am not allowed to do is put together a collection of cool, easy-listening Popular Classical Works by various composers for you. Many Classical Works are now in the public domain. But those who currently performed them are often still alive and have at least not been dead for 70 years..

But ... I am allowed - 2nd - to make my Bach music collection available for you to download for use in your lessons. Of course ... and for use at home, too. Because I produced these pieces. I myself am not a member of ASCAP ... and Johann Sebastian ... well, he's been dead for a very long time now..

The situation is different – 3rd – if you would like to use the more comprehensive, educational version of my Teaching Material for teachers at elementary schools and other schools: I have compiled four lists for you for this purpose. These contain what are undoubtedly the most popular, unambiguous pieces of Classical Music (... if we don't just consider the works of Haydn, Beethoven, and Mozart to be Classical Music in our sense of the term). Each piece has a link for ultra-fast location on the internet..

You ask four internet-savvy students to each compile an MP3 file with a length of approximately 45 minutes for the upcoming lesson. Click, record, connect to the last piece. Next. A second list suggests more recent Classical Works. However, these are undoubtedly Popular Classical Works. A third list offers only compositions by English-speaking musicians. A fourth will undoubtedly take a lot of effort. Just leave it out..

And why don't I do that for you? Or even better: Why don't I just do it once? And then you'll only get the file from me? My wife, my late father, and I have been working with GEMA (...  the German counterpart to ASCAP) for around 60 years. Excellent, cordial, and according to the rules..

The ASCAP defines such use of music in schools, in lessons, in this specific case: You may play all 300 works free of charge. After that, however, this collection must disappear again. Unless ... you use it again next year for exactly the same purpose and for nothing else! It may not be given to students, not to colleagues, and not used at any other event other than this specific lesson. Please read the details via this link if you are unsure. Ultimately, you are responsible anyway. Not me. Together with my Teaching Material for teachers “on the subject of the Classical Music Marketplace”, the above is not legal advice. But it is my assessment. And I am pretty sure about it..

My Classic Marketplace, My Teaching Material on Classical Music, and 100 Percent of All Teachers Interested in This Approach..

100 percent? Yes... if you deal with the subject of “Classical Music” in class, then you are either a Classical Music fan and very conservative and serious (1). Or you don't like Classical Music (2). Or you are like my wife and me: a fan of Popular Classical Music (3). Either way... mathematically speaking, there is no other option..

The next step is to consider together whether we want to depart from the path of “knowledge transfer” that is customary in schools. And whether we want to cover this goal only “marginally.” In favor of the objective of introducing as many students as possible to the genre of Classical Music in a careful manner. Because that is what our mission is all about..

No composer has more monuments (... memorials) worldwide than Johann Sebastian Bach..

Popular Classical Music Vs. Young Popular Classical Music..

With my Teaching Material Classical Music, you can use my websites in many different ways. Even if you completely disagree with the content: The topic “What is Classical Music?” is dealt with in great detail there. You will find the 300 most Popular Classical Works there, which you can click on directly. You can also read about curiosities on the subject..

Let's “finger-hook”: your opinion against that of an insignificant member of “the famous Bach family of musicians,” that is, me ... and then in a few years, your kids will decide ... each ... for themselves! Incidentally, the questions in the working document “A Path into the World of Classical Music” only very cautiously lead to the goal of Young and Popular Classical Music. The questions are clearly more suited to recognized Popular Classical pieces. And to works that even conservative Classical Music fans (... except for the “... only Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven clique”) can appreciate. Examples of Young Popular Classical Works include pieces by Vangelis, Enya, Morricone, and Webber. Examples of Popular Conservative Classical Music, on the other hand, include Air, Ave Maria, and Für Elise..

Classical Music on the Path to Irrelevance?..

It isn't then, if you are a fan of Classical Music ... and you would help to ensure that the enjoyment of Classical Music does not “go downhill.” But it does! Experts and musicians don't know how to reverse this! However, more and more people are enjoying Popular Classical Music..

When my parents were young, it was James Last and the Swingle Singers, but today it is André Rieu who inspires thousands, or rather tens of thousands, of people. There are also concerts that clearly lean towards Popular Classical Music. But these are not accessible to Classical Music beginners and children without adult accompaniment. However, if you dislike André Rieu as a person, his style, his entertainment, and his entire repertoire, then please click here..

Classical Music connoisseurs and Classical Music enthusiasts have a too narrow “tunnel vision” that prevents them from “transporting” their hobby and musical preferences. What’s more, those who don’t like Classical Music at all are certainly even more unable to do so.

However, I stood exactly between these two “population groups.” And it was truly my lifelong dream to find a way to Classical Music via Popular Classical Music and then to offer it. Now it has become a reality. And you, as a teacher, can use it through my “Classical Music Marketplace as Teaching Material.”..

The Path to the Summit Leads Over “Less Steep Terrain.”..

It's about “ruining” things. You can't keep young people from approaching Wagner's complete works later in life by offering them a selection of Popular Classical works. Or Bach's 1,128 masterpieces. Or... those by Schubert and whatever else their names are. So my project doesn't ruin anything, absolutely nothing..

Conversely, however, “now we might be getting somewhere”: we could (... hopefully) achieve this together. First, we need to remove the apparent “dustiness” of Classical Music from the minds of kids. In other words, the music of composers who are sometimes even decorated with wigs, long dead, and boring. Why do we have to do this? Because very few families today listen to Popular Classical Music at home. Where they do listen to it, we are of course preaching to the choir with our offerings. But maybe not..

Either parents listen to one or two Classical Music stations... or no Classical Music at all ... or just their LP records (... in the past) and collections of masterpieces by only one composer or only one performer. So Classical Music in depth ... so to speak. In the latter case, most kids then find Classical Music off-putting if it is a. too demanding. Or b. when they slowly start listening to current hits by artists such as Rihanna, Swift, Grande, or Gaga through contact with their friends. But now you have the option of making a positive impression with my “Teaching Material Classical Music” and this Classical Music marketplace..

Your teaching of Classical Music – as with almost no other subject – has a decisive influence on whether a child will continue to engage with Classical Music later in life. Or whether, after these lessons with you, they will “draw a line under it,” so to speak. Kids then “tick it off” on their list of things to do..

Need more examples? Gladly. I have tested it not just several times, but many times over and over again:..

Channel Surfing on TV and Radio..

I love channel surfing. On TV. And that's not just mindless “flicking through the channels,” but an acoustic and visual exploration of our modern world. It's comparable to visiting a flea market when you're pursuing this hobby. Or leafing through (... in the past) a model railroad catalog (... if you had model railroading as a hobby). Or browsing for cool new outfits at unbeatable prices today. If there's one important component (... the low price) in finding new clothes. I would never have discovered many, many exciting things without enjoying channel surfing in the evenings. Not even André Rieu, who ultimately triggered the “production” of this offer for teachers. Once again, if you don't like Rieu, please click now and ... here..

And so I “cruise” through the channels, just like I do on the highways. Of course, with the radio’s station search button and my eyes on the road..

What can you find in terms of Classical Music? Whenever I came across Classical Music, it was Classical Music that, after just a minute of compulsive testing (... I had a mission, after all), made me compulsively zap on. It was simply too “hard to digest” Classical Music. Nothing you could hum along to, nothing you had ever found beautiful before. Almost always just the works of composers who had been dead for a long time..

Why is that? Because Classical Music stations, on TV and radio, have to go beyond trivial Popular Classical Music. Otherwise, Classical Music fans will also jump ship. And worse: Whenever I have been present at Classical Music “live,” it has never, ever, ever been Popular Classical Music, except for a funeral with friends. Help me, dear teachers, to gently guide kids toward Classical Music with my “Teaching Material Classical Music” on my Classical Music Marketplace..

You already know the style: This calendar features Bach twelve times. That's why it's only suitable for Bach fans. And why is it so colorful? Because it's designed for young Bach fans. Here again is your option to visit the shop with the 60 music calendars..

I Searched for Four Long Decades!..

Of course not really, and above all, never really intensively. Shazam, an app, can recognize music. But Shazam “can't do Classical Music.” So how do you find out which song you happen to be listening to right now? Or who it's by? So you can “record something together.” Not at all!..

We know that there are quite a few beautiful Classical Music works “out there.” But they are not accessible. The “Best of...” compilations are usually put together without the necessary love, but with the important commercial background. And I was almost "done" with Bach when I bought a “Best of Bach” album. Almost all of the pieces were awful, three were “tolerable,” and I found two to be very beautiful..

Now there is my Classical Music Top 100. And an “instruction manual” on how to proceed after outgrowing your infancy on the path to Classical Music. Whether you stick with these 300 hits. Whether you want to listen to more Popular Classical Music music, then of course decreasing in the enthusiasm scale. Whether you want to “subject yourself” to entire works by Liszt, Strauss, or Wagner. Or whether you come to the conclusion that Lady Gaga and the like are simply better..

Please tell your fellow teachers about my offer on the topic of “What is Classical Music?” and my “Classical Top 100.” We have one small request: Please do not share my and our Teaching Material with colleagues. The opposite applies to my website “Classical Music Top 100” and the list compiled on it, as well as the Bach MP3 music files: The more you recommend them, the more grateful I am to you, dear teachers. Click here to visit the shop..

Firstly, because I simply think the term “Classical Music Marketplace” is cool. Secondly, because I can picture you – many teachers – in my mind's eye, passing by my offerings in a colorful square in a lovely setting (... such as the wine-growing region where we live, around Flein near Heilbronn, Germany): There are “stands” offering Johann Sebastian Bach, free of charge (... my various websites) and my wife’s Publishing House. She offers my Biography about Bach for Children, the Bach Coloring Book, and the small publication “Letters to Bach” for adults. At another “stand,” you can listen to music and read and learn exciting things. And finally – and this is very new and fresh – there are the two offerings on the topic of “Teaching Material Classical Music ” for teachers..

One part is completely free of charge, namely the basics: What is Classical Music? It is an extremely detailed page on a special website. And then there is also the XXL offer in terms of “Classical Music in schools”: my “Teaching Material Classical Music.” With 150 light-hearted questions on the topic. A music collection with Bach works is included free of charge in both alternatives, along with additional working documents. Finally, the XXL offer also includes the answers to the questions in the project. And notes on the respective combinations. A compilation of 125 exciting, cool mini-facts relating to most of the questions rounds off the “Marketplace Offer on Classical Music” – the “working document on Classical Music” for teachers. As mentioned, it costs €11.90* in my wife’s Publishing House. Here you can access the relevant section of the shop directly: You can order it there under the third section of text..

In Face-To-Face Teaching, Via Distance Learning, with Electronics in School, and “Both as Well as”: The “Classical Music Workbook” Works in Functions Ways..

My wife Renate enjoys tinkering with electronics. And she loves voluntary, moderate challenges. So, after the Covid pandemic had subsided somewhat in Germany (... not worldwide), we asked ourselves whether we could also offer the “Classical Music Marketplace Working Document” online. Putting a PDF online is no big deal. It's a different story with the option we imposed on ourselves of being able to fill out a PDF electronically, as it is “really easy” to send in this form. We were able to solve it. Without having to hire a programmer. Wow!..

Since the purpose of the whole project is not ambitious in nature, but rather “secretive,” none of the tasks for the kids can be “cheated.”..

Regardless of how the questionnaires are completed, engaging with the subject matter is the unnoticed real purpose of the whole exercise. In the first round, it is homework anyway: Kids who are superficially interested will guess, interested students will google ... perhaps. And for many questions, the answer is already “between the lines.” As part of their homework, your kids should repeatedly click on and "consume" the next Classical Work from the Classical Top 100. Or listen to “Bach in one piece”... from me..

A dreamlike Bach calendar for conservative Bach enthusiasts. It features rare items from past centuries: researched, found, scanned, and presented in the calendar. Click here to visit all “Bach 4 You” Shops..

With My “Teaching Material Classical Music,” Teachers Have Hardly Any Work to Do!..

Excuse me? Hardly any work? With two questionnaires, each containing 150 questions? That's right. The concept is that the first round takes place at home. As homework. Spread out over a period of time that you think your kids can manage: all at once, or divided into three sessions. Or just 25 questions at a time. You collect the completed forms or have them sent to you electronically. And then you just keep them or throw them away..

The second round takes place in the classroom. Alternatively, it can be done at home on a PC, laptop, tablet, or even a smartphone. You will give your children a new document so that they do not use the previous one, as the second document is the same list, with the same questions ... word for word, except for a few minor graphic components. You specify the start time and set a time for the end and for sending the PDFs. In this case, any cheating will go unpunished, because the test serves no purpose. Except for the “secret” goal of introducing your kids to Classical Music..

This is followed by the evaluation and the resolution. And that's completely different! Either by you or alternatively by me. Not at your home! Your kids distribute the points. You can find out more about the second option in the following section..

The evaluation should be entertaining, different, innovative, and exciting. You can either moderate each question and receive two additional relevant documents from me, or you can send your students' PDFs to them. However, each child will receive the completed forms of a classmate..

To do this, assign a number to each name. It is best to start with the numbers 6, 19, or 25, so that no child knows the number 1 if the alphabet begins with 1 = A. Now go through all the questions on the internet or in front of your class. First, clarify which answers are worth 1 point and which are worth 0 points. This works very generously. If necessary, you can also answer questions from the children when they are grading. For each point definition of the correct answer, you can also refer to the exciting content provided in an additional worksheet, if you wish.​.

In the second-to-last ”act,” you add up the points. While the kids naturally only determine together which test scored the most points ... Your kids don't know the name of the classmate they are grading, but you know who No. 22, 100, or 3000 belongs to. The winner is chosen and he or she receives the first prize, namely The Biography About Johann Sebastian Bach for Children as an audio play and an electronic book:..

About the biography: It is the life of the composer with 19 pieces of music by Bach. To ensure that ambition does not detract from enthusiasm in this area, we have set a nominal fee as a minimal contribution: The book may be shared electronically among all students in your class. Officially. It has a value of € 19.90* on its own. As a thank you for supporting our mission, I will provide the teacher with the audiobook “The Most Beautiful Quotes about Johann Sebastian Bach”: This work is too demanding for children. However, for people who are fond of Popular Classical Music, it is a really cool work. It is a treat for Bach lovers and for Classical Music fans as well. And ... is this a cool Marketplace for Classical Music, respectively Classic ... a fresh, young, innovative offer for teachers?..

No, we don't get any commission. And if you plan to repeat the fun with the next bunch of kids next school year, and for the next 20 years, the speaker above will cost you just 39 cents per year. The projector is more expensive, of course... a little. Click here to go to the shop for the penultimate time and find the “Classical Music Teaching Materials” offer..

The Most “Digital” and the Most “Analog” Options for Playlists for You as a Teacher: Everything Works Even Without a Playlist..

The most “digital” option – if there is such a thing – is to set up the playlist from the four Classical Collections (... beyond Bach's works) together with all your students as an additional lesson. Then each child can later compile their own Classical Music playlist – perhaps for life – from my selection of 300 Popular Classical Pieces..

The most “analog” option is not to create a playlist at all. Or have one created. And still set up the same lesson plan. Simply ask a student – one who is internet-savvy and capable of multitasking – to click on the titles individually “from my website” or from the PDF you have provided and play them. One track after another, without any preparation, without saving anything, without effort, without wasting time, and without handing over personal data..

Is there a challenge? Yes, a big one: advertising and volume. For my collection, a DJ or DJane might have to mute and skip the advertising at the beginning. And also adjust the volume. Let me remind you again of my Bach works collection. It is around 45 minutes long, free of advertising, free of copyright fees, and ready to play at no cost..

What Is Classical Music... the Internet Struggles to Explain It..

If you want to dive deep into the subject, for you as an English speaking person, there is a hurdle coming with the starting with the third following paragraph. You might need "DEEPL", a phantastic free transaltion software..

It's actually not easy to explain the concept of “Classical Music” to kids. That's why I created my website What is Classical Music? and my “Teaching Material Classical Music.”..

At Wiki, every child understands it after reading (... nonsense). Because “... it varies depending on the context. In musicology, it refers to European styles of art music from 1730 to 1830 in German-speaking countries. Colloquially, it is the term for all European art music.” Do all children understand that?!..

At Board of Music, too, it is the European tradition of art music. Then serious music and light music differentiate the genres. And Classical Music from Turkey, Arabia, India, and China is not meant. Okay?!?!?!..

The Lexikon der Musik (... Encyclopedia of Music) states that Classical Music describes musical styles that fall within the realm of serious or artistically sophisticated music. The term “Classic,” it says, is “imprecise but generally understandable” and “refers to the works of masters of serious music.” Does that help us? It also says that Classical Music is the music of the educated upper middle class. No, that's not my thing!..

For Ronald Kah, it is primarily wind and string instruments that define Classical Music in the musical styles of the 18th and 19th centuries. However, he believes that this could also be performed with a choir. He also finds that all ( ! ) melodies are composed in a memorable way, are dynamic and rich in contrast, sophisticated, intellectual, and serious, and are mainly instrumental compositions..

Monique Schätti believes that Classical Music is first and foremost “timeless” and “excellent.” She mentions minor masters and third-rate works from the pens of the greats. And Classical Music is heterogeneous. She compares Classical Music to mountains. And she cites André Rieu as the absolute lowest level. I completely disagree with that ... and so do countless Classical Music lovers. She then goes on to say that so-called Classical Music is “a genuinely European phenomenon”. And secondly, a genre of music that “has been recorded in writing since the Middle Ages.” She also discovers, through two “victims,” that you have to be internally slowed down to listen to such music..

For Indiepedia, Classical Music ended in 2000 and “must not be folk music, jazz or experimental music.” As if the division between serious music and popular music wasn’t complicated and wrong enough, this portal also comes up with F music. This is “functional music.” Yes, that's what happens when you try to “force into words” something that cannot be explained..

BR Klassik appears on page 1 on Google, but there is no explanation of what “Classical Music” is. The list is rounded off (... today) by the Goethe-Institut in 10th place on Google: There, a distinction is made between the two terms for Classical Music, which is fine. However, it then refers to “our” Classical Music as “a collective term for music in the concert hall in general.” Hurrah. That's why... there is my website What is Classical Music. That's why ... there is also this, my quirky and strange approach..

Of Course, You Don't Give Your Kids a Note to Take Home!..

This works in kindergarten and daycare: Simply print a message, cut it out, and send it home with the little ones. Of course, this won't work with third graders or even eighth graders. But there is another way: Send an email or WhatsApp message to all the moms and dads. If you are as enthusiastic about our idea as we are, and about my concept of introducing kids to Classical Music in a lasting way, then we are on the same path. Just copy the text below the next image..

Dear parents:

Renate and Peter Bach, Jr. – who are related to the composer – have two missions: One is to gently introduce kids and other interested folks to Popular Classical Music. To do this, they've put together 300 Popular Classical Music tracks that are really different from other Classical Music offerings. But this paves the way for Classical Music in general later on. Now, the couple wants to reach not only educators and teachers, but also the parents of kindergarten, daycare, and school children. The Bachs believe that parents might also really enjoy this selection of Classical Works, even if Classical Music isn't “their thing.” Read more on this special page: at “Bach on Bach.com: Teaching Material Classical Music (FAQ 155)”..

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