Today, millions of facts are literally at our fingertips—like millions of puzzle pieces scattered before us, often with no clear picture showing how they fit together.
In the ancient world, before the great explosion of information, people saw knowledge differently. Music, art, mathematics, literature, mythology, and architecture were not separate subjects. They belonged to one larger, connected picture.
World In Tune: Music in the Ancient World invites children to journey back in time and explore five remarkable civilizations: Egypt, Sumer/Babylon, China, India, and Greece.
To these ancient peoples, music was far more than entertainment. It was a powerful creative force that brought order, meaning, and harmony to life. In ancient China, for example, the Imperial College of Music stood within the palace grounds, and one of the emperor’s first responsibilities was to establish the proper tuning believed to bring harmony to his reign.
It may sound surprising to us today—but music held a similarly important place in many ancient civilizations.
With music at its heart, World In Tune brings the achievements of the ancient world to life through literature, mythology, art, architecture, history, rhythm, modes, listening, and creating sound. Children begin to see how one idea leads naturally to another—and how the pieces of learning belong together.
Used in classrooms throughout the United States, World In Tune is a flexible, integrative curriculum for grades K–12 and a valuable resource for homeschool families. Because it is built around large, unifying ideas, teachers and parents can easily adapt the material to suit the ages, interests, and abilities of their students.
Spanning approximately 3000 BCE through the beginning of the first millennium CE, World In Tune helps young people experience the ancient world not as a collection of disconnected facts, but as a living, creative whole—with music as their guide.
Sample pages from World In Tune: Music in the Ancient World
Reviews
Anne Brown, Oslo, Norway: ( Anne Brown, soprano, was George Gershwin’s choice to play Bess in his opera “Porgy and Bess”.)
“Forgive me for not writing sooner to thank you for WORLD IN TUNE. It is a fascinating study and all children interested in music should study it. Also, it touches on so many aspects of life which are not usually connected with music. When I read the chapter “In search of the lus”, I was reminded of a piece I read many years ago. In a certain kingdom in China, the leader (King?) sent his Music envoys to each of the different small kingdoms within the great Kingdom, to examine the musical instruments and to check that they were tuned correctly. In the places where they were out of tune, there was war! Not so in the places where the instruments (which were used daily for many purposes) were in tune, — there was no war. And after the correct tuning of warring “nations” the fighting stopped. Interesting, don’t you think? And in line with some of the ideas in your book. … I am very happy to have this book with so many fine ideas.”
Elise Sobol, Music for Special Learners Chairperson, author of “Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners”
“Yesterday my special learners danced hieroglyphics according to your text. They truly enjoyed it although they have no idea how long ago, long ago was. (Smile)”
“Anyway — the more I study your materials and about the ancient civilizations the more fascinated I have become and now it is just a matter of choosing a few of the ideas to give out at the 75 minute session.”