Teaching Your Students about Amy Beach

I believe that we as teachers have the power to change the music history narrative in our studios and classrooms – we can raise this generation of musicians knowing that women can be composers!

There have been some phenomenal composers throughout music history who have composed beautiful music that is truly worthy of our study, and because these composers are women they have been largely forgotten in the traditional music history canon. To a young girl studying music, there is power in knowing that women can be composers and do great things, just like men. If you have ever had a student ask, “where are the women composers?” you are not alone, and I have so many resources that can help you introduce these composers to your students.

Amy Beach is a fantastic first female composer to introduce to your students. Did you know that she was the first American woman to compose a symphony? Your students will be in awe to discover that she started composing at age 4 – and she did it completely in her head, away from the piano! Little Amy heard music in colors – each key had a color that she associated with it. Amy wrote a lot of wonderful music for piano (as well as other instruments and voice), and maybe your students would enjoy learning some of her pieces! She wrote a really delightful waltz that is great to teach students before they are ready to tackle Chopin, her Eskimos pieces are really fun, and your more advanced students may enjoy playing her gorgeous piece Dreaming or her Hermit Thrush at Eve.

So how exactly can you introduce your students to Amy Beach? Here are some ideas:

• Color through her life story with this adorable coloring page. This is fun for a group class, and you could even listen to some of her music while you color!

• Collect composer cards to learn about Amy Beach. These fit perfectly in a trading card sleeve that can go in your student’s piano binder! The cards include her picture, her dates and country, some interesting facts about her life and a list of recommended pieces to listen to. Easy peasy!

• Have your students listen to her piece “Fire-flies” while coloring this coloring page!

• Read about Amy Beach’s life with this easy-to-follow biographical sheet. Students can even use the accompanying worksheet to answer some questions and write down their thoughts as they listen to one of her pieces:

• Read this beautiful children’s book all about Amy Beach’s childhood:

• Decorate a bulletin board with pictures of female composers!

• Read the story in this book about how Amy Beach composed her first pieces at age 4. Then you can play one of those pieces – her “Mamma’s Waltz” – prepare to be amazed!

• Teach your students some music by Amy Beach! Much of it is available on IMSLP; there are also a few books you can purchase of her music. (My Amy Beach resource pack includes a list of recommended piano pieces to teach, in order of difficulty!)

I hope this gives you some ideas! You can find all of my Amy Beach resources in the Shop – there is so much more than I highlighted in this post.

Happy teaching!