Spring classical music for kids: 12 pieces for the new season

Spring has given composers birdsong, running water, flowers, and bees to write about. These 12 pieces work from the first thaw to the last day of school.

Play one after time outside. Tell your child the title first, and ask what they expect to hear.

Birds

1. “Spring” from The Four Seasons, first movement, by Vivaldi. Three violins trade bird calls near the start. A brook murmurs, and a short thunderstorm passes. Game: point up for the birds and wiggle fingers for the brook. See the Four Seasons listening guide.

2. “The Lark Ascending,” by Vaughan Williams. A solo violin plays the lark. It climbs higher and higher until it is almost out of hearing. Game: raise one hand as the violin rises. Read Vaughan Williams for kids.

3. “On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring,” by Delius. A clarinet plays the cuckoo’s two notes over soft strings. Game: count the cuckoo calls.

4. “The Cuckoo” from The Birds, by Respighi. Respighi took old keyboard pieces about birds and dressed them up for orchestra. The cuckoo call hops from one instrument to another. Game: name the instrument each time.

Water and weather

5. “Scene by the Brook” from Symphony No. 6, by Beethoven. The strings ripple the whole way through. At the end, a flute plays a nightingale, an oboe plays a quail, and a clarinet plays a cuckoo. Beethoven wrote the birds’ names in the score. Game: wait for the three birds.

6. “Voices of Spring,” by Johann Strauss II. A waltz that starts with a swoop and keeps spinning. Game: dance with a scarf. Read Johann Strauss for kids.

Flowers and growing things

7. “Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker, by Tchaikovsky. A harp solo comes near the start, and then the horns bring in the tune. Game: open your hands like a flower at each loud moment.

8. “April: Snowdrop,” by Tchaikovsky. This piano piece comes from his set of 12, with one for each month. The snowdrop is one of the first flowers to come up. Game: find the piece for this month, and play that one too.

9. “To Spring,” by Grieg. A short piano piece. High notes shimmer in the right hand while the tune sings below. Game: tap the shimmer with fingertips. Read Grieg for kids.

10. “Spring Song,” by Mendelssohn. One of his Songs Without Words for piano. The tune skips along over light, quick chords. Game: skip around the room.

Bees and bigger things

11. “Flight of the Bumblebee,” by Rimsky-Korsakov. A little over a minute of buzzing. Game: run in place until the bee lands. Read the Flight of the Bumblebee guide.

12. “Simple Gifts” from Appalachian Spring, by Copland. A clarinet plays an old Shaker tune, and the orchestra passes it around, bigger each time. The title was chosen after the music was finished. Game: count how many times the tune comes back. Read Rodeo and Appalachian Spring.

For older children

The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky is spring at its wildest. It shows an ancient festival, with pounding rhythms and no gentle birds. The first night in Paris in 1913 caused an uproar in the audience. Try the first three minutes. Read Stravinsky for kids.

A week of spring listening

Day	Piece	When to play it
Monday	Vivaldi, “Spring”	Getting dressed
Tuesday	Mendelssohn, “Spring Song”	Breakfast
Wednesday	Rimsky-Korsakov, “Flight of the Bumblebee”	Tidy-up race
Thursday	Beethoven, “Scene by the Brook”	Quiet time
Friday	Vaughan Williams, “The Lark Ascending”	Bedtime

What to ask

• Which instrument is the bird?
• Is the water in this piece fast or slow?
• What color is this music?

Print and play

For March 17, read St. Patrick’s Day music for kids. Fill in the Four Seasons listening page for the Vivaldi. Draw the other pieces on a listening journal page.

For the other seasons, read winter classical music for kids, the summer listening challenge, and fall classical music for kids. For more ways to listen at home, see how to introduce kids to classical music.