Some classical music tells a story with no words at all. The instruments play the characters, and the music follows the plot. This kind of piece is called program music, and it is an easy way into the orchestra for many children. Start with Peter and the Wolf, where a narrator tells the story as the music plays.
Here are twelve story pieces, from shortest to longest.
Twelve pieces that tell a story
1. “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” by Grieg. A boy sneaks into the hall of the troll king. The trolls spot him and chase him out. The music starts soft and slow and ends loud and fast. About two and a half minutes. See the Peer Gynt guide.
2. Danse macabre, by Saint-Saëns. At midnight, skeletons climb out of their graves and dance until the rooster crows. A xylophone plays the bones. About seven minutes.
3. “Spring” from The Four Seasons, by Vivaldi. Birds greet the spring, a brook murmurs, a storm passes, and a goatherd naps while his dog barks. About ten minutes. See the Four Seasons guide.
4. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, by Dukas. A young helper casts a spell on a broom to carry water and cannot make it stop. About ten minutes. See the guide.
5. Night on Bald Mountain, by Mussorgsky. Witches and spirits gather on a mountaintop for a wild night. At dawn, a church bell rings, and they vanish. About eleven minutes.
6. William Tell Overture, by Rossini. Four scenes in a row: a calm dawn, a storm, a shepherd’s tune, and a charge of soldiers on horseback. About twelve minutes.
7. The Moldau, by Smetana. The life of a river. Two small springs join, the river flows past a hunt and a village wedding, crashes through rapids, and rolls on to the city of Prague. About twelve minutes.
8. The Carnival of the Animals, by Saint-Saëns. Not one story, but a parade: a lion, hens, tortoises, an elephant, kangaroos, fish, and a swan. About 25 minutes. See the guide.
9. Peter and the Wolf, by Prokofiev. A boy, a bird, a duck, and a cat face a wolf. Each one has its own instrument, and a narrator tells the tale. About 25 minutes. See the guide.
10. The Nutcracker Suite, by Tchaikovsky. Dances from the ballet about a girl, a nutcracker, and a land of sweets. About 25 minutes. See the guide.
11. Pictures at an Exhibition, by Mussorgsky. A walk through an art show, with ten pictures: a gnome, chicks in their shells, a witch’s hut on hen’s legs, and a great gate. About 35 minutes. See the guide.
12. Scheherazade, by Rimsky-Korsakov. A queen tells her husband a new tale each night. A solo violin is her voice. The stories include a ship at sea and a festival in Baghdad. About 45 minutes. Play the first part alone at first.
How music tells a story
An instrument for each character. In Peter and the Wolf, the bird is a flute and the wolf is three horns.
A tune that comes back. The apprentice’s broom has its own tune. When the tune returns, the broom is back.
Loud and soft. Danger grows louder. Calm grows softer.
Fast and slow. A chase speeds up. Sleep slows down.
High and low. Birds and fairies sit high. Giants, bears, and elephants sit low.
How to listen to a story piece
Tell the story first. A child who knows the plot can follow it by ear.
Listen for one thing. On the first hearing, pick one character or one tune.
Act it out. Give each person a character. Move when your music plays.
Draw it. Fold a page into boxes and draw the scenes in order, or use a listening journal page.
Hear it again. The second and third hearings are where the details show up.
Make up your own
Play a piece with no story, such as a movement of a symphony. Ask your child what is happening. Who is in it? Where are they? What goes wrong, and how does it end? No answer is wrong.
More stories on stage
Ballets and operas tell stories too, with dancers and singers. See Swan Lake music for kids and taking kids to The Nutcracker.
Print and play
Make a game from any of these pieces with the listening bingo maker. Find more story pieces with the piece picker, using the “Tells a story” mood. All the listening guides are listed in classical music listening guides for kids.
More from this guide
This article is part of How to introduce kids to classical music.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.