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Beethoven was born on December 16th in 1770 … six years before the American Colonies signed the Declaration of Independence. He was a child prodigy and was a musical genius. He lived with a hearing loss that ended in total deafness and yet still wrote astounding symphonies and sonatas!

Beethoven’s deafness did not stop him from playing and writing music. He “felt” the music. Put your hands on a piano while someone is playing it. What do you feel? Play a piece of Beethoven’s music and turn the bass up and the treble down. Put your hands on the speakers. Do you “feel” the music now?

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Suggested Reading:

Beethoven
By Ann Rachlin

Beethoven Lives Upstairs
By Barbara Nichol

Beethoven’s Cat
By Elisabet McHugh

Her Piano Sang
By Barbara Allman

Ludwig van Beethoven: Musical Pioneer
By Carol Greene

Ludwig van Beethoven
By Mike Venezia

Meet the Orchestra
By Ann Hayes

Suggested Activities:

1. Visit the Beethoven Depot. There is a collection of Midi files for Beethoven’s music and lots of information about his life and works.

2. The Magnificent Master also has a great deal of interesting and useful information on the life and times of Beethoven.

3. Here is a music lesson using Beethoven’s 9th Symphony as its base.

4. TeachWithMovies’ guide for using Beethoven Lives Upstairs.

5. Here’s a look at Beethoven’s family tree.

6. Here’s a CNN news article that shows lead poisoning was probably the cause of Beethoven’s illnesses.

7. A short lesson plan for Beethoven Lives Upstairs.

Copyright 2001 Kathryn Martinez. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

About Kathryn Martinez: I'm a SAHM, home schooling mother of 4 children, 1 husband, and a neurotic cat. This is our sixth year of home schooling. I worked for over 10 years at USF in an education and training department. I hope that by sharing my experience with other home schoolers, both the new and the not-so-new and those just considering home schooling, I will pass along all the help that was given to me when I first started out.

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