Painting or drawing “music” is a fun way to encourage children to creating abstract designs. Many artists, inlcuding the great Russian painter Kandinsky, believe that music and art can express the same feelings and ideas. In fact, Kandinsky often named his paintings “Compositions,” the same name that composers give to pieces of music. The Kandinsky painting on this page is titled “Composition 8.”
To combine music with art, simply play a piece of powerful music for 10 minutes. For the first few minutes, have students sit quietly with eyes closed, listening and imagining the lines and shapes and colors the students quietly listen and “paint the colors and shapes that they hear.” There’s no wrong way to do this. Whatever a child creates is exactly right…his interpretation of the music.
Here are our KidsArt recommendations for ten great pieces of music to inspire abstract designs.
1. J.S. Bach – Brandenberg Concerto No. 1
2. Ravel – Bolero
3. Coltrane – Interstellar Space
4. Wagner – The Ride of the Valkyries
5. Ravi Shankar – any of his traditional Indian music known as Raga Sangeet
6. Borodin – In the Steppes of Central Asia
7. Grofe – The Grand Canyon Suite
8. R. Carlos Nakai – Ancestral Voices or Spirit Horses collections
9. Copland – Appalachian Spring
10. Saint-Sens – Danse Macabre.
For more activities on abstract art and Kandinsky, see the KidsArt booklet Color from the KidsArt on-line store.
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