Music Blocks
Bite-sized episodes explore how music conveys emotions.
Parents say
Based on 1 review
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this podcast.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Music Blocks is a music appreciation podcast aimed at middle and high school students. It won the Ambie award for Best Podcast for Kids in March 2022. Listeners hear clips of songs and pieces of music along with discussion of how the sounds, lyrics, vocals, or other elements convey emotions and communicate ideas. There's a wonderful diversity of music covered, even if episodes don't go into detail about the different cultures represented. Some of the topics covered might be upsetting for listeners younger than the target age. The episode about sounds that evoke disgust (which has a content warning at the beginning) includes lyrics about lynching from Billie Holliday's "Strange Fruit" as well as mentions of war and the bombing of Hiroshima. Another episode about fear includes music from the films Halloween and Jaws. The show offers a fun and somewhat educational co-listening experience for older kids and adults.
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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
- Average Run Time: 5 minutes
- Website: https://www.cpr.org/podcast/music-blocks/
- Hosts: Luis Antonio Perez, Rebekah Romberg
- Publisher: Colorado Public Radio
- Pricing structure: Free
- Topics: Music and Sing-Along
- Last updated: January 27, 2023
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