Hymn Study Year 1 Resources

This page provides Erin’s resources for Year One of Sacred Music Studies.

Just found this page? Would you like to join us? We learn one hymn or chant each month. Some use it in their homeschool as a free hymn study curriculum, and others simply enjoy growing in their appreciation and knowledge of Catholic sacred music.
 

I’m redid Year 1 during 2020-2021. Each hymn link now goes to a Google doc that you may print (but not sell.)
 

Four Week Basic Schedule:

  • If possible, sing everyday at the start of school, at morning prayers, or another set time of family prayer. If the hymn is sung often enough, memorization will come naturally. Try to memorize as much as you can by the end of the month. Although memorization is one goal of these studies, it is much more important to ENJOY singing the hymn together.
  • Prep – Print out the music; put it in a binder. (See how to make a Family Hymnal further on.) Briefly look over the history of the hymn, tune, composer, lyricist, time period, etc. to get ideas about additional assignments, if desired.
  • Week 1 – Introduce the hymn and its history. Listen to the audio, and sing along. Choose which, if any, additional assignments will be given, and assign. (Ideas are found in the Newsletter.) Flexibility, interest, age, musical ability etc. will determine which type of assignment is best.
  • Weeks 2 – 4 – Complete additional assignment(s) if/as desired. Sing and memorize. Review other hymns. Listen to recordings suggested in the part of the Newsletter called “More Sacred Music to Listen to and Enjoy”.

 

Learn to Read Gregorian Chant

chant coloring book

For Year 1, we are using “A Gregorian Chant Coloring Book for Children and Adults” by Noel Jones. It is free to download. There is also a Teacher’s Edition available to download for free. (It’s the same as the coloring book, but with needed explanations for teachers or older students.)

Assignment: 1-2 pages per week Are your children too young to learn to read chant? Try singing songs from “Stories of the Redemption for Children in Chant”. Free audio is available for each song. Your littles will easily become familiar with numerous Gregorian modes.

 

How to Organize the Music

 

McFarland Family Hymnal

How do you save and organize all the music you can print? By making a family hymnal! It is so simple. Just grab a binder, print out the music you love, and add it to the binder!

Design a cover if you’d like to get fancy.

Add tabs for the different Liturgical Seasons and major feasts: Advent, Christmas, the Holy Name, Lent, Easter, Ascension, Christ the King, Sacred Heart, Precious Blood, Holy Trinity, Holy Ghost, the Saints, Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady, All Souls, General

The hymns we will be learning are in the public domain, so any sheet music in the newsletters is legal to print, unless otherwise noted. (If you see errors, please let me know!)

Like the hymnal cover design I made? Click this link to edit it with your family name! (There is another one with a white background for cheaper printing!)

 

Incorporating Hymn Study into Language Arts

  • Copywork – copy a verse or the chorus
  • Dictation
  • Choose a favorite stanza and enter it in a personal journal
  • Define any new vocabulary words
  • Narration – have your student tell you what the hymn is about in his own words

 

Incorporating Hymn Study into History

  • Read the biographies of the composers and writers
  • Locate birthplaces on a globe
  • What else was happening in the world/country of origin when it was composed?
  • Make a page for your Book of Centuries or add it to a Timeline

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