The ABC's of a Charlotte Mason Education

C is for Composer Study and Folksongs

Common Place Quarterly

May 23, 2023

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Ah yes! We recognize this from kindergarten and first grade, before the “real” learning began. Folk songs and certain classical pieces still bring a smile of recognition. We have fond memories and tunes still with us, but how much more wealth and joy might we have stored had we been provided a Charlotte Mason Education? For the simple reason that these things are considered an important priority through graduation – we might have been wealthy rather than paupers with mere scraps of remembrances.

The music of a people and a place, the melody of a shared heritage, has been a cornerstone for millennia. Tunes and rhythms form shared bits of culture that have not required an apologetic until modern times.

Once again, we find that Ms. Mason’s recommendations are not new, but rooted. Not strange but familiar. However, in her articulation of them – she has prioritized for us things we may have always had a hunch about.

While we find music and singing throughout Charlotte Mason’s schedules, their uses are varied, and even within a purpose - layered. In an education centered on Ideas, in a philosophy that seeks the germination of those Ideas from the inside out, we must look beyond the usual appraisals of, “singing can improve the mood” or even the academic, “music is good for the brain” for why she felt these things were non-negotiables. For Ms. Mason, education fell into three broad categories: The Knowledge of God, The Knowledge of Man, and the Knowledge of the Universe. For example: Solfa is often classed under The Knowledge of the Universe while Hymns help impart The Knowledge of God, and while it is true that at any good “feast” (a metaphor Charlotte Mason often employed for education) there is a mingling of flavors, these categories can help us understand the Whys behind these subjects. Composer study and folk songs come in under The Knowledge of Man. It is from this placement that they should rise in our estimation and priority.

Composer Study and Folk songs serve as links in a chain of culture and heritage that are vital to our understanding of ourselves and our place. The dignity and weight of classical pieces and the simple, light verses of Folk Songs may seem a mismatched working pair, but there is common purpose and value, even in the silly ones. In both, we find snippets of understandings that come, often unexplained that might never be addressed formally. Intuitive understanding can steal in wrapped in melody.

As we look at the schedules she set for her students– it is fair to wonder if her selections are relevant in a time as diverse as ours. This is where we must remember that hers is a method and not a system. With Ms. Mason we find principles and not prescriptions. Every person has a cultural heritage, and every culture has its music; this is what Ms. Mason points us towards, not a particular list. As a product of Western Culture, she chose pieces that informed who they were, pieces that traced a trail to where they stood. To read ought into that list is a mistake. As in other areas, I believe she would have us look beyond the particulars of her application and understand the principles that informed them. In this we see that far from being outdated, a Charlotte Mason Education truly can function “as an education for all”.

In Ms. Mason’s use of Composer Study and Folk songs, we find that ownership and cultivation of one’s culture is proper and that is not to say that it is superior – but that it is theirs. By its position in the curriculum, we have a reminder that our selections shouldn’t always be just what we like, or what we want to listen to – but that we should have a continual push towards broadness, fueled by the goal of gaining a fuller understanding of “from whence we come”.

Along with providing a breath of fresh air to the day, Composer Study and Folk songs have much to do with identity. The music, art, and stories of a culture ground people in a unique and stabilizing way, giving them a firm platform from which to touch and love the rest of the world.

Understanding this, your list for study may look slightly different than others – and that is as it should be.

Sara Timothy 2023

Author’s Note: Some may feel obligated to try to represent every culture in their singing and so become overwhelmed. On this topic I have two thoughts. First, while we do the occasional foreign folk song, I have noticed that a people’s folk music is often not an accurate representation of who they truly are. Folk songs can sometimes lead to caricatures rather than accurate portraits and so may not serve as the best introduction. On the other hand, I have seen that to recognize and participate with another’s musical heritage is not appropriation but celebration. My purpose in tossing out these extra, seemingly mismatched, thoughts is that I think there is both a rest and a freedom nestled somewhere in their folds. Our world often pushes and demands - but the “the Great Educator of us all” will lead with a still small voice, with peace. Follow that peace as you lead your family.

Common Place Quarterly

C is for Composer Study and Folksongs

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