Copland for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first

Aaron Copland was an American composer who lived from 1900 to 1990. He wrote ballets about cowboys and pioneers, and he worked folk songs and cowboy tunes into them. Many people think his music sounds like the wide, open land of the American West. The best first piece for a child is “Hoe-Down” from the ballet Rodeo, a barn dance that lasts about three and a half minutes.

Quick facts

• Born: 1900, in Brooklyn, New York, United States
• Died: 1990, in Sleepy Hollow, New York, United States
• Era: Modern
• Played: piano
• Known for: Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, Billy the Kid, and Fanfare for the Common Man

The life in short

Copland was the youngest of five children. His parents had come to the United States from Lithuania, and they ran a department store in Brooklyn. The family lived above the shop. An older sister gave him his first piano lessons.

At 20, he sailed to France to study. His teacher in Paris was Nadia Boulanger, who went on to teach many of the best-known American composers of the century.

He came home in 1924 with a goal. He wanted to write concert music that sounded like America, the way music from Europe sounded like the countries it came from. At first he used jazz. Later he turned to folk songs, hymns, and cowboy tunes.

His three ballets made him famous. Billy the Kid came in 1938 and Rodeo in 1942. Appalachian Spring came in 1944 and won the Pulitzer Prize for music.

Copland also wrote music for films and won an Academy Award for one of his scores. He taught for many summers at a music school in Massachusetts, wrote books that explain music to ordinary listeners, and conducted orchestras around the world.

A title that came last

Copland wrote Appalachian Spring for the dancer Martha Graham. While he worked, he called it “Ballet for Martha.” She chose the title from a poem, after the music was finished. For years, people told Copland that they could hear the mountains in spring in his music. He enjoyed pointing out that he had not known the title when he wrote it.

What the music sounds like

Copland’s music has space in it. The notes of his chords sit far apart, with gaps between them, and the tunes are plain and clear.

His fast music is the opposite. It stomps, kicks, and jumps, with beats that land where a dancer does not expect.

Four pieces to play first

“Hoe-Down,” from Rodeo. The orchestra tunes up like country fiddlers, and then the strings race off into a barn dance. The main tune is an old fiddle tune from Kentucky.

Fanfare for the Common Man. Drums and a gong boom. Then three trumpets call out a slow, bold tune. Horns join, then trombones and tuba. Copland wrote it in 1942 for brass and percussion alone. It lasts about three minutes.

Variations on “Simple Gifts,” from Appalachian Spring. A clarinet plays an old Shaker song, alone and plain. Five variations follow. Each time, more instruments join and the mood changes, until the full orchestra plays it, broad and slow.

“The Cat and the Mouse.” A short piano piece from his student days. The cat creeps and pounces, and the mouse scurries. Ask your child which is which.

Things to do together

Barn dance. Play “Hoe-Down.” Gallop, clap, and swing a partner by the elbow. Freeze each time the music stops short.

Announce someone. A fanfare tells people that something important is about to happen. Play the Fanfare for the Common Man while a family member makes a slow, grand entrance.

Count the turns. In the “Simple Gifts” variations, count how many times the tune comes back. Ask which time was the loudest and which was the fastest.

Find the brass. The Fanfare uses only two families of instruments. Read about them in brass instruments for kids and percussion instruments for kids.

Print and play

Print the Copland fact sheet. It has the story, three pieces, and room to write and draw. Find him on the composer timeline.

Next, meet another American composer of the same years in Florence Price for kids. For all 24 composers by era, see classical composers for kids.