Common Sense Media Review
By Lauri C. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Music education pod inspires curiosity in young listeners.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Listen
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
THE MUSIC BOX is a music education podcast with 7 to 25 minute episodes that inspire kids to dive deeper into the history, foundation and cultural impact of music. The podcast hosts are music educators who provide interactive opportunities for listeners to sing, clap, or pat along to explore music concepts. Some episodes educate about music traditions like one featuring Asian composers, while others tell fantastical stories to teach music vocabulary, and others feature interviews with diverse music professionals or interactive music classes in school classrooms. The podcast models positive interactions and celebrates diverse voices. The Louisville Public Media website offers lesson plans and resources for each episode on their website.
Is It Any Good?
This podcast will inspire both kid and adult listeners to pick up an instrument, research an artist, or listen to their favorite music with fresh ears. The Music Box is an excellent music education opportunity for all ages. The more interactive episodes about rhythm and rhyme might be more interesting for preschoolers, while the more complex or historical episodes, like ones interviewing a music therapist or exploring the history of the drum machine, might be better suited for ages seven and up.
Producers at Louisville Public Media do a fantastic job celebrating diverse voices and music traditions. They also offer great resources on their website to go with each episode of The Music Box. This is also an ideal pick for teachers wanting to bring music education into their classroom, or families wanting to enjoy learning about music together.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how The Music Box explores music from all around the world and diverse musicians. Activity idea: find a place in the world you're curious about (maybe start with where your family is from or a country you dream to travel to one day) and research the music that comes from this region. Can you share what you learned with others?
What types of music do you know, and what types of music would you like to explore based on what you learned from this podcast? What interests you about them?
Is there an artist, instrument, idea, profession, or historical event you'd like to learn more about after hearing this episode? Where could you find information about that topic?
Curiosity is a major theme throughout this podcast. Why is this an important character strength?
Podcast Details
- Release date : August 1, 2017
- Genre : Music
- Run time : 13 minutes
- Website : https://www.lpm.org/musicbox
- Hosts : Kiana Del , Fiona Palensky , Faith Murphy , Jecorey Arthur
- Production Company and Network : Louisville Public Media
- Pricing structure : Free
- Topics : Arts ( Music and Sing-Along )
- Character Strengths : Curiosity
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate