A Touch of the Infinite: Studies in Music Appreciation with Charlotte Mason

by Megan Elizabeth Hoyt, Megan Hoyt

A Touch of the Infinite is the Mason educator's comprehensive, one-volume guide to understanding and implementing Mason methods for Music study. Readers will learn how to teach a Composer Study lesson, the basics of Tonic Sol-fa, Folk Song Study, Hymn Study, Instrument Study, and more. Megan Hoyt brings the Mason Method to vivid life for teachers, home educators, and music lovers who are looking for another avenue to pursue beauty, goodness, and delight. She both defines the principles behind the study of music appreciation and at the same time offers practical tips that will help teachers come alongside students to learn and grow, rich in relationships with the composers of the past. Lewis Carroll once said, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." Educators who are eagerly seeking out new knowledge about Charlotte Mason's methods have already noticed they appear to be governed by certain underlying principles. Just as a slow simmer produces the most flavorful soup, careful attention to the principles outlined in this book will help students form sturdy, life-long relationships with the world of sound that is all around them.

Genres: Education, Music, Nonfiction

237 pages, Paperback

Published May 13, 2016

Reviews

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource - includes how to study composers but also hymns, folksongs, sol-fa, etc.! Beautiful writing and very inspiring.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Megan has written such a valuable resource here. As someone with a background in music, I'm often discouraged that I have not made music study a greater focus in our homeschool. It isn't too hard to announce that Bach will be our composer this semester and to press play on a concerto while the kids are drawing or playing. But, even that, some terms, falls by the wayside for various reasons - even though it is so easy. Now, thanks to this book, I have so much more insight into what Miss Mason actually intended for our kids' music education, and I am inspired and excited to delve deep with music this year. Megan did such a wonderful job of laying out a vision that will create such depth of relationship, mastery, and joy between student and subject. There is a great amount of practical advice and how-to written in a warm, inspiring tone. I also loved hearing her personal family anecdotes and tidbits about various composers. The spirit of a Charlotte Mason education pulses vigorously through this book, and there is an abundance of information that will aid me in going so much deeper with our music studies. I am eager for our new school year!

4.5 stars 🌟

[Lauren Fee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book was so much more than I expected it to be! It was both inspiring and exhorting. I am so motivated to not neglect setting the feast of music appreciation before my children in our homeschool. It was a lovely mix of extremely practical how-to's set in the midst of overarching principles of how music lifts you up to indeed touch the infinite, yet paints how in order to do so, work is required. I will definitely re-read and reference this book often throughout my Charlotte Mason homeschooling journey and highly recommend it to other moms looking to grow their family's exposure to music. It is a great launching pad book into other resources as well as a handy reference guide.

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wondrous look at the depth and scope of what Charlotte Mason envisioned for the child's musical education. It is inspiring and a little intimidating at first, but Hoyt does such a good job of helping you see the wondrous work music can have in a child's wide education, you quickly get on board. She does not leave you in the weeds, but guides you through it with clear ways to incorporate it in the life of your child. The resources alone at the back of the book are wonderful and I can't wait to study them in depth. I love that she ties it all in with how your children can see the wondrous works of God through music. It leaves me with much to study and take on myself; dictating music and really learning to sight read. I am once again struck by how much a Charlotte Mason education has no limits to what anyone can learn and that there will always be more to explore and the curiosity is the perfect desire for a WIDE room.

This will be a resource in our house for a long time, I hope. I think this is just as important to read as the Six CM volumes.

[Vanessa Chesebro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mix of philosophy, methodology, and practicality. So many resources in the appendices, and Megan writes beautifully when describing composers and the effect of music on our emotions and souls. I will need to take years to implement all that is offered.

[Ashleigh Rivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me long enough, but not because it wasn't good(I just struggle with reading non fiction!) This book is beautifully written, and gave me more of an appreciation for music and for understanding how to present it to my kids. Even if you don't homeschool or do Charlotte Mason specifically, I would still recommend it.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely introduction to classical music for children and their mothers. I so enjoyed looking up the pieces referenced throughout.

"Every child has the potential to love and enjoy music...The power of music. To jar us. To wound us. To thrill us. To heal us. I believe there will be glorious music in Heaven, and I know the foretaste we've been given here on earth is only a tiny glimpse of the glory to come. And you never know what beautiful experiences are right around the next bend in the road until you take that first step."

[Jennifer Trovato · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great! Really makes teaching music sound like nothing but a joy. She includes a wealth of practical ways to incorporate music appreciate/study/theory/practice into your schooling and makes it sound so doable for everyone. I especially appreciated the appendices which are full of helpful examples of how Charlotte Mason would have divided up music over the years. I love the idea of starting with the habit of attention and listening in the younger years, to composer study and sight reading to instrument lessons to composing. It all blends so seamlessly.
This book is a great encouragement to anyone looking for a beautiful way to spread the feast of music before their children.

[Caristy Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has taken extensive music classes in college and loved music in her school years. I wanted to inspire that love of music in my children and expose them to the many beautiful and different types of music that there is. Megan does an excellent job breaking down music into the different categories and explaining the different composers and musicians in each category. She also explains Charlotte Mason theory in education.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great resource for incorporating music more fully in my homeschool. It was inspiring and helped me to be motivated and excited to do more with our composer study. It's full of a beautiful philosophy towards music and what it can do for our children. So many times I thought to myself, "I never thought of it like that. What a wonderful way of thinking." It's not a strict everyday how-to curriculum, but it gives you the tools and the mindset to make your own.

[Kacey Schreyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring overview of music and passing this wonderful gift from God on to our children!
"Studying music nourishes the mind, the senses. It requires discipline, analysis, patience, and hard effort, but it rewards with joy, passion, a sense of accomplishment, and beauty. We ought to enter its study with humility, as we would enter Heaven for the first time - bearing in mind that we are in the presence of great genius and of the powerful unction of the Holy Spirit."

[Katelynn]

This book was incredibly helpful, insightful, and all around inspiring. I appreciated the numerous Charlotte Mason references from books she used to quoting PNEU articles. I always enjoy a good “why” book and found that here. She covers many music topics; my favorite might be the history included. I am going to keep this close by throughout the year to be able to reference and remind myself the beauty of music that I can hopefully pass to my kids too.

[Kate Boehmke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous resource that I wish I had found sooner. We have been doing music study for several years in our Charlotte Mason homeschool but I have always felt there should be more to our study. This book helped me to fill in those missing pieces. I feel very encouraged and inspired going into next year’s music studies.

[Angelynn Ballew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came highly recommended in the Charlotte Mason community, and it did not disappoint. ❤️ It was inspiring to read Hoyt’s passionate and very practical writing. I am determined to continue our music education!

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring on so many levels! I picked it up to inform my composer study/music appreciation teaching for co-op this year but it ended up feeding my soul. It will become a frequent reference book in my house.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book! Inspiring and also practical. A bit aspirational- not everything is going to appeal and apply the same to every family. But a wonderful help to thinking more carefully about music studies within a CM education.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reference for ideas of how to incorporate more music appreciation into our days.

[July · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots to think about.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must-read for the homeschooling parent! I loved this book. The author has an obvious love for music and for children and gave many wonderful tips, resources and even music suggestions. I read it as a help to better understanding how to teach composer study, but the book touched on so much more! Hymns, folk songs, music lessons, opera, symphony, practically every musical facet of life! Highly recommend.

[Shanshan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very helpful. By the end of it, I was fully prepared to amp up our music studies. Lots of examples and suggestions.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little about my perspective of music before I write about this book . . . Rote practice and plain performances filled my younger years, just enough to lead me to list "music education" as my chosen course of college study, nearly 40 years ago. Never did the degree get thoroughly tried, though; although I knew enough to make sure my own child listened to beautiful music at home and in the concert hall and studied cello, music theory, and choir under the direction of people who meant to take her past rote to artistic expression.
_A Touch of the Infinite_ puts many of my musical thoughts into sentences and paragraphs. It is the college textbook for which I have been longing. One simple reading will not suffice. It will be reread, marked, referred to, and carefully shared (perhaps new copies gifted would be better) as I continue to not only appreciate music, but try to use it in everyday life to minister to others.

[Angie Libert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource for understand music within the Charlotte Mason philosophy. I am inspired to learn more and I am looking forward to exploring the various resources offered.