Common Sense Media Review
By Lakshmi Hutchinson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Bite-sized episodes explore how music conveys emotions.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Listen
What's It About?
Each five-minute episode of MUSIC BLOCKS focuses on an emotion and shows how songwriters and musicians have been able to convey this emotion through their music. The hosts select a broad range of examples to demonstrate how feelings are communicated through music. In the episode "Surprise!" listeners hear clips of artists as diverse as Björk, Stravinsky, and The Yoshida Brothers. The hosts explain what it is about each piece that makes us feel the emotion of surprise, whether it's an unexpected change in volume, unusually accented chords, or an added beat. At the end of each episode, listeners are asked how they would convey the emotion, and are invited to share their own playlists or compositions.
Is It Any Good?
The concept of this podcast is excellent, but the very short episode runtime limits how much listeners can really appreciate or understand the music being introduced. In the space of about five minutes, Music Blocks features clips of songs and pieces of music, along with brief explanations of what is happening in the music. There's little time for each piece, so it's easy to miss what was pointed out about the music, or its significance. It would be great if the hosts replayed their selections a few times to better illustrate a concept.
There's a wonderful diversity of music covered; however, the episodes don't go into detail about the different cultures represented. One episode mentions a time of political upheaval in Uruguay, but kids might need further context to appreciate the protest music. Given the target audience of middle and high school, the simple explanations may not be enough for those students with greater music knowledge and access to digital music. Still, the well-chosen playlists are definitely valuable, and the show could be a good jumping off point for an educator who wants to introduce music appreciation in the classroom.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how movie scores, like the ones mentioned in Music Blocks, affect our perception of what's happening on screen. Would movies have the same impact without the music?
Can you think of a song that recently made you feel a strong emotion? What was it about the song that had an effect on you?
Are there things that artists from very different genres of music (like hip hop and opera) do in common to communicate an idea or emotion? And why is communication such an important character strength?
Podcast Details
- Release date : August 12, 2021
- Genre : Music
- Run time : 5 minutes
- Website : https://www.cpr.org/podcast/music-blocks/
- Hosts : Luis Antonio Perez , Rebekah Romberg
- Production Company and Network : Colorado Public Radio
- Pricing structure : Free
- Topics : Arts ( Music and Sing-Along )
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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