New April Store Update - Listen to the World Around You!
Happy April! This month, the Practice Space store celebrates the beauty of the natural world through music, inspired by Earth Day. Our featured composer avatars highlight musicians who captured nature in sound, from flowing rivers and changing seasons to birdsong and peaceful landscapes. These composers invite your students to listen more closely and discover how music can reflect the world around us.
Each avatar in the Practice Space store can be redeemed using Practice Gems, which students earn by reaching their daily practice goals. It’s a simple and motivating way to connect consistent practice with musical discovery, encouraging students not just to play, but to engage with the stories and inspiration behind the music.
To deepen the experience, we’ve included YouTube links for each composer so students can hear these nature-inspired works in action. We’ve also created a companion activity packet filled with short profiles, fun facts, and interactive materials that you can easily bring into your lessons.
Explore this month’s avatars and help your students connect their music-making to the sounds, scenes, and beauty of the natural world.
Ludwig van Beethoven - Born in 1770 in Bonn, Beethoven was a revolutionary composer inspired by nature. He loved long countryside walks, which shaped works like his “Pastoral” Symphony.
Facts in app:
He began losing his hearing in his late 20s but kept composing masterpieces.
His “Pastoral” Symphony paints storms, birds, and countryside scenes.
He poured cold water over his head to help himself think while composing.
His Symphony No. 9 features the famous “Ode to Joy.”
Watch this performance of Symphony No. 6, the Pastoral Symphony!
Beethoven - Symphony No. 6 (Proms 2012) - YouTube
Antonio Vivaldi - Born in 1678 in Venice, Vivaldi was a Baroque composer and violin virtuoso. He’s best known for The Four Seasons, which musically depicts nature.
Facts in app:
He was nicknamed “The Red Priest” because of his bright red hair.
The Four Seasons includes sounds of birds, storms, and wind.
He wrote over 500 concertos, many for violin.
He taught and composed music at an orphanage.
Watch this performance of Spring (La Primavera) from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Vivaldi Four Seasons: Spring (La Primavera) Full, original. Youssefian & Voices of Music RV 269 4K - YouTube
Bedřich Smetana - Born in 1824 in the Czech Republic, Smetana helped shape his country’s musical identity. His music celebrates Czech landscapes, especially in The Moldau.
Facts in app:
The Moldau follows a river from small springs to a powerful flow.
He became completely deaf but kept composing from memory.
He wrote Má vlast, inspired by Czech history and nature.
The main theme of The Moldau is widely recognizable.
Watch the Czech Philharmonic perform ‘The Moldau!’
Smetana: The Moldau | Czech Philharmonic & Semyon Bychkov - YouTube
Amy Beach - Born in 1867 in the U.S., Amy Beach was a pioneering composer and pianist. She became the first American woman recognized for large-scale classical works.
Facts in app:
She debuted with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at age 16.
Her “Gaelic Symphony” was the first by an American woman.
She performed many works from memory as a child prodigy.
She later toured Europe as a concert pianist.
Watch this performance of ‘By the Still Waters.’
By the Still Waters, Op. 114, by Amy Beach - YouTube
Olivier Messiaen - Born in 1908 in France, Messiaen was an innovative composer inspired by nature, especially birds. His music features vivid color and complex rhythms.
Facts in app:
He wrote Quartet for the End of Time in a WWII prison camp.
He transcribed hundreds of bird songs into his music.
He taught composers like Boulez and Stockhausen.
He created unique scales beyond major and minor.
Watch this performance of ‘Le Merle Noir’ (Blackbird).
Le Merle Noir - Olivier Messiaen (1952) - YouTube
Background Update
Some other fun additions
These all cheer the student on but also talk about tempo and other musical terms!
