This great composers note reading worksheet on Scott Joplin. Joplin is called “America’s King of Ragtime.” Joplin was born in Texarkansas, Arkansas. His father was a former slave from North Carolina. His mother was a freeborn African American from Kentucky. Joplin was the second oldest of 6 children. Both of his parents enjoyed making music.  Joplin’s father played the violin and his mother played banjo and sang. Joplin began taking music lessons after school and really enjoyed it. Then his parents separated, and as a teenager Joplin tried playing piano on the weekends at party and restaurants to help support his mother and siblings.   Joplin’s Music Education    One…

This worksheet introduces Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as the next great composer note reading worksheet for beginning violinists and violist. Students will review the notes on the A string and E, F and G on the E string for violin. And viola students will review D string notes, and A, B and C on the A string. Students identify the note name in order to fill in the missing letters to complete words. Then they can read the story about Mozart. It is yet another way to reinforce note names away from the instrument. And at the same time teach them about the lives of the composers. Mozart’s works for violin are a…

Here is a great composers note reading worksheet on Vivaldi. While most of the Baroque composers composed for strings, Vivaldi was prolific. He wrote over 200 concertos for violin. Being a violinist himself we see his great love for the instrument as well as his virtuosic skill in all his compositions. He took orders as a priest and served as a priest for year and a half. But due a health condition he was given a dispensation to not participate in Mass.  Because of his red hair, he was nicknamed “The Red Priest.”  Vivaldi the Teacher-Composer He began to teach violin at Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned girls.  Under Vivaldi’s teaching…

Here is one of the great women composers note reading worksheet! Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel is one of the great composers of the 19th century. Her brother, Felix, was very famous in his lifetime. (Not all composers were famous while they were living.) Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was not recognized as a composer, because she was a woman. But today, we recognize her as one of the great composers. In that time publishing companies did not publish music by women. But, they did publish a few of her pieces, but under her brother’s name! It was not until after she died that they published some of her compositions under her name. Aren’t you glad that women composers get published…