About

Why I created this site

Music can be a powerful way to start conversations, create calm moments, introduce children to different cultures and periods of history, and broaden the range of voices pupils encounter.

I wanted to make it easier for teachers to share great music without needing to spend hours searching for suitable pieces, background information or listening ideas. The aim is simple: to help pupils hear more music, discover more composers and develop curiosity about the stories behind the sounds.

The project originally began as a collection of school-day resources, but it has grown into a year-round collection of composers, pieces, biographies and classroom ideas.

Where the idea began

The idea for this project was sparked by a tweet from Michael Tidd back in July 2019:

Has anybody already built up a small repertoire of powerpoints with key music pieces and summaries for use coming into assemblies?

— Michael Tidd (@MichaelT1979) July 8, 2019

That question stayed with me. It made me think about how useful it would be to have a simple, accessible collection of music that could be used regularly in schools – not just for assemblies, but for everyday listening, class discussion and musical discovery.

Music Of The Day grew from that idea.

What you’ll find here

Across the site, you’ll find:

• daily composer pages
• short biographies
• listening links
• classroom discussion ideas
• themed composer collections
• music from different periods, countries and styles
• resources to support KS2 and KS3 music learning

Some composers will be familiar. Others may be new discoveries. That is part of the point.

Choosing the music

I’ve tried to include a wide range of composers, styles, periods and countries. The collection includes well-known figures from classical music, but also film composers, contemporary composers, women composers, composers from different cultural traditions and voices that are sometimes less visible in school music resources.

The collection is not perfect, and I know there will always be gaps. Historical bias means that some composers are much easier to find information and recordings for than others. I have tried to balance familiar names with lesser-known voices, and I’m always open to suggestions for composers, pieces or themed collections that could make the site better.

Using Music Of The Day in school

You might use the site for:

• morning routines
• assemblies
• calm listening
• music starters
• cover lessons
• tutor time
• discussion prompts
• developing pupils’ musical knowledge

There is no single “correct” way to use it. You might play the piece as pupils enter the room, use the biography as a short reading task, ask pupils what they notice, or build a wider lesson around the composer.

The main aim is to make music part of the regular rhythm of school life.

A note on music and copyright

The music featured on the site is not mine. Where possible, I link to publicly available performances and provide educational context around each composer and piece.

The purpose of Music Of The Day is to support learning, listening and musical curiosity. I have taken care to avoid presenting anyone else’s work as my own, and I encourage schools to use the site as a starting point for discovering and discussing music.