Book Reviews: Listen & Celebrate

Listen & Celebrate by Nathan Holder and Helen MacGregor is a brand new resource for educators who are looking for a fresh take on music activities in the classroom for primary level. The book includes a selection of 15 pieces from an array of eras, cultures and genres by both female and male composers. Interesting questions and tools are provided to support active listening for an immersive experience. Holder and MacGregor are highly respected figures within music education; we are in safe hands with such brilliant minds coming together to create this unique resource.

The book is beautifully laid out and easy to digest, supported by eye-catching and quirky illustrations. There are graphic scores that accompany the pieces, offering a fun and visual element to the book while keeping music notation accessible. The graphic scores are depicted in several ways, from blocks of different heights that correlate to pitch, to illustrations of animals and even the use of numbers. It is a marvellous touch and an ingenious way of bringing music to life through a book, encouraging immersive learning.

The active listening section is effective, with children being invited to identify sounds, rhythms and any particular tunes. A notable listening activity is one that asks the children what they think about music and its meaning; this felt particularly poignant with Carole King's Beautiful. Before listening to the track, the children are invited to think about what the word ‘beautiful’ means to them in terms of people, nature, art and music. This adds dimension and depth to the music as they're listening to the track – a brilliant way of encouraging active listening.

After the active listening section, there are composing activities and assessment ideas. The progression section allows creative and organic ways in which learning can be developed and adapted, for example through dance routines.

What is particularly special about this book is the variety of music displayed though just 15 carefully chosen pieces, allowing exploration and celebration though modelling a breadth of styles. These include afrobeat, jazz, minimalism, Caribbean, Latin pop, klasik (classical music from Afghanistan), European classical, Spanish flamenco, North Indian classical music, Japanese music and more.

Differentiating between styles of music is never easy but Listen & Celebrate challenges preconceptions about how people might have previously labelled music through a Western-centric eye, for example, employing terms such as ‘ethnic’ or ‘world’ music. Instead of placing Western music on a pedestal, this book celebrates all the pieces in their own right, devoid of hierarchy. Background information about composers, a concise glossary, and further listening suggestions provide context for the reader to home in on the more specific stylistic features of music from all around the world, moving away from cultural generalisations.

There could not have been a more appropriate title for this book. It reminds us of the importance of keeping our eyes and ears open to composers of all backgrounds. In this, we find variety and richness that encourages us to listen further, so that we too can celebrate.