100 pieces of music that shaped the world.

What it is: Single-line sacred melodies sung in Latin without instruments.

Why it matters: The foundation of Western music notation and harmony.

Try it together: Turn off the lights, listen for two minutes, and talk about how it feels compared with today’s music.

What it is: A sung play about the soul’s struggle between virtues and the devil.

Why it matters: One of the earliest known musical morality plays, by one of the first composers known by name.

Try it together: Make up a short sung story with a hero and a villain, each with their own melody.

What it is: A choral work for 40 independent voices.

Why it matters: A towering example of how many melodies can weave together.

Try it together: Sing a round like “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and notice how the voices overlap.

What it is: An opera about Orpheus trying to rescue Eurydice from the underworld.

Why it matters: The earliest opera still regularly performed.

Try it together: Act out the Orpheus myth and sing one line each instead of speaking.

What it is: Six suites for solo cello, made up of dance movements.

Why it matters: Largely forgotten until Pablo Casals championed them in the 1900s; now core cello repertoire.

Try it together: Listen to the Prelude of Suite No. 1 and move however the music tells you to.

What it is: Six concertos for varied groups of instruments.

Why it matters: Showcase Bach’s inventive use of instruments and counterpoint.

Try it together: Each pick one instrument to follow through a movement and wave a hand when you hear it.

What it is: Four violin concertos that paint spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Why it matters: Early program music; Vivaldi even published poems describing each scene.

Try it together: Listen to Winter and draw what you hear: chattering teeth, icy rain, a warm fire.

What it is: An oratorio telling the story of Christ, including the famous Hallelujah chorus.

Why it matters: Composed in about three weeks and premiered in Dublin in 1742; performed widely every year.

Try it together: Listen to the Hallelujah chorus and count how many times you hear “Hallelujah.”

What it is: A light serenade for strings.

Why it matters: One of the most recognizable pieces in classical music.

Try it together: Play the opening and see who can hum it back first.

What it is: A symphony whose quiet slow movement is interrupted by a sudden loud chord.

Why it matters: Haydn shaped the symphony as a form, and this joke made it famous.

Try it together: Play it without warning and watch for the jump. Then make your own surprise song with pots and spoons.

What it is: A fairy-tale opera with a magic flute, a bird-catcher and the Queen of the Night.

Why it matters: One of the most performed operas, written for a popular theater.

Try it together: Listen to the Queen of the Night aria and try to hit the high notes together.

What it is: A symphony that opens with the famous short-short-short-long motif.

Why it matters: One of the most famous openings in music, often heard as fate knocking.

Try it together: Clap the four-note rhythm, then build a family song from it.

What it is: A song telling Goethe’s poem of a father riding through the night with his sick son.

Why it matters: Written when Schubert was 18; one singer voices four characters.

Try it together: Listen for how the singer changes voice for each character.

Heads-up: The story ends with the child’s death; preview for younger kids.

What it is: A symphony ending with a chorus singing Schiller’s “Ode to Joy.”

Why it matters: Composed when Beethoven was deaf; its finale is now the anthem of the European Union.

Try it together: Feel music through vibration: put your hands on a speaker playing the finale.

What it is: A symphony telling the story of an artist’s dreams, with a recurring melody for his beloved.

Why it matters: Pioneered the idea of an orchestra telling a story.

Try it together: Make up a melody for each family member and play it when they enter the room.

What it is: A dreamy night piece for solo piano.

Why it matters: Chopin expanded what the piano could express.

Try it together: Listen at bedtime and talk about what the music sounds like it’s dreaming about.

What it is: An opera about love and sacrifice in Paris society.

Why it matters: One of the most performed operas in the world.

Try it together: Listen to the cheerful “Drinking Song” and conduct it with a pencil.

What it is: A thundering orchestral scene of warrior maidens riding through the sky.

Why it matters: Wagner’s use of themes for characters influenced film music.

Try it together: Gallop around the room to it, then talk about which movie moments it reminds you of.

What it is: A playful suite with movements for lions, elephants, swans, fossils and more.

Why it matters: Saint-Saëns only allowed it to be published after his death; now a favorite introduction to the orchestra.

Try it together: Guess the animal before reading the title, then act it out.

What it is: A holiday ballet about a girl, a nutcracker prince and the Land of Sweets.

Why it matters: Introduced the celesta in the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy; now a holiday tradition.

Try it together: Listen for the twinkly celesta, then dance as your favorite sweet.

What it is: A symphony written in America, inspired by its landscapes and music.

Why it matters: Premiered at Carnegie Hall; Neil Armstrong reportedly brought a recording of it on the Apollo 11 Moon mission.

Try it together: Listen to the slow movement and imagine arriving in a new country.

What it is: A lively piano rag with a bouncing, syncopated rhythm.

Why it matters: Made Joplin the “King of Ragtime” and helped pave the way for jazz.

Try it together: Tap the steady beat with one hand and the bouncing melody with the other.

What it is: A soft piano piece evoking moonlight.

Why it matters: Debussy’s shimmering harmonies defined musical Impressionism.

Try it together: Look at Monet’s Impression, Sunrise while listening. How are they alike?

What it is: A ballet with pounding rhythms and clashing harmonies about an ancient ritual.

Why it matters: Its Paris premiere caused a near-riot and changed music forever.

Try it together: Stomp along with the rhythms and talk about why it might have shocked people.

What it is: Seven movements, each depicting a planet’s character.

Why it matters: Mars and Jupiter influenced later film scores.

Try it together: Draw each planet as you hear its movement.

What it is: A blues song of heartbreak sung with power.

Why it matters: Smith, the “Empress of the Blues,” was one of the best-selling singers of the 1920s.

Try it together: Make up a blues verse about something small that went wrong today.

What it is: A piece for piano and orchestra opening with a famous clarinet slide.

Why it matters: Blended jazz and classical music in a new American sound.

Try it together: Listen to the opening clarinet slide, then try sliding your voice up the same way.

What it is: A recording opening with Armstrong’s dazzling trumpet solo.

Why it matters: Showed jazz as an art of individual soloists.

Try it together: Take turns making up a short solo on any instrument or kazoo.

What it is: One melody repeated over a steady snare drum, growing louder for 15 minutes.

Why it matters: A famous experiment in a single, building crescendo.

Try it together: Start whispering a song and get a little louder each time through.

What it is: A story where each character is played by an instrument.

Why it matters: Written to introduce children to the orchestra.

Try it together: Assign instruments to your family members and narrate a story.

What it is: A guitar blues about standing at a crossroads.

Why it matters: Johnson’s recordings deeply influenced rock guitarists.

Try it together: Talk about the legend surrounding him, and how stories grow around musicians.

What it is: A haunting song about lynching in the American South.

Why it matters: One of the most important protest songs in American history.

Try it together: For older kids: read the history of the song and talk about how music can protest injustice.

Heads-up: Describes racial violence; best for older kids with a parent.

What it is: A swinging tune about the New York subway.

Why it matters: Became Ellington’s signature theme.

Try it together: Ride a train or bus and tap the rhythm of the tracks.

What it is: A folk song about the land belonging to everyone.

Why it matters: Became one of America’s best-known folk songs.

Try it together: Write a new verse about your own town.

What it is: A ballet score that includes variations on the Shaker song “Simple Gifts.”

Why it matters: Defined an open, American orchestral sound and won the Pulitzer Prize.

Try it together: Learn to sing “Simple Gifts,” then listen for it in the music.

What it is: A blazing-fast saxophone performance.

Why it matters: Helped launch bebop, a complex, fast style of jazz.

Try it together: Clap along as fast as you can. How long can you keep up?

What it is: A waltz from the father of bluegrass; Elvis later recorded it as a rock song.

Why it matters: Bluegrass took its name from Monroe’s band.

Try it together: Play both versions and compare: how did one song become two styles?

What it is: A spare song full of lonely images.

Why it matters: Williams shaped the sound and songwriting of country music.

Try it together: Pick a feeling and list three images that show it, like a lonely train whistle.

What it is: A gritty electric blues.

Why it matters: Inspired the names of the Rolling Stones and Rolling Stone magazine.

Try it together: Talk about how one song can inspire a band name. What would your family band be called?

What it is: A piece in which the performers play nothing for four minutes and 33 seconds.

Why it matters: Made listeners notice the sounds around them as music.

Try it together: Sit silent for four minutes and list every sound you hear.

What it is: Elvis’s first single for Sun Records, a sped-up blues song.

Why it matters: Helped launch rock and roll and Elvis’s career.

Try it together: Compare it with Arthur Crudup’s original blues version.

What it is: A wild, high-energy rock song.

Why it matters: Its energy shaped rock and roll performance.

Try it together: Have a family dance-off to it.

What it is: Extended improvisations on the sitar.

Why it matters: Shankar brought Indian classical music to global audiences and influenced the Beatles.

Try it together: Listen for the drone note that never changes, then hum a melody over a single held note.

What it is: A story song about a country boy who plays guitar.

Why it matters: Its guitar intro is one of rock’s most copied; it was sent into space on the Voyager Golden Record.

Try it together: Talk about what songs you’d send to aliens to represent Earth.

What it is: An album of relaxed, improvised jazz based on scales called modes.

Why it matters: Often cited as the best-selling jazz album of all time.

Try it together: Play only the white keys on a keyboard and improvise. That’s a simple mode.

What it is: A jazz tune in an unusual five-beat rhythm.

Why it matters: Became one of the best-selling jazz singles ever.

Try it together: Count to five over and over while it plays, clapping on one.

What it is: A call-and-response song mixing gospel and blues.

Why it matters: Helped create soul music.

Try it together: Do a call and response: one person sings a line, everyone repeats it.

What it is: A cha-cha-chá built on a hypnotic groove.

Why it matters: Santana’s 1970 rock version made it famous worldwide.

Try it together: Compare Puente’s and Santana’s versions, then learn basic cha-cha steps.

What it is: A song asking questions about peace and freedom.

Why it matters: Became an anthem of the civil rights era.

Try it together: Write a song made only of questions.

What it is: A gentle Brazilian song in Portuguese and English.

Why it matters: Brought bossa nova to the world and won the Grammy for Record of the Year.

Try it together: Learn a few words of Portuguese and find Brazil on a map.

What it is: A catchy pop-soul hit from Detroit.

Why it matters: The first of the Supremes’ twelve No. 1 hits, defining the Motown sound.

Try it together: Learn the hand-clap rhythm and do a simple group dance.

What it is: A long, emotional love song with full orchestra.

Why it matters: Umm Kulthum is one of the most celebrated singers in the Arab world.

Try it together: Listen to a few minutes and talk about how music sounds different around the world.

What it is: A tight, rhythm-driven song emphasizing the first beat.

Why it matters: Helped invent funk.

Try it together: Find “the one,” the first beat, and stomp on it together.

What it is: A rock song built on a famous fuzzy guitar riff.

Why it matters: Its riff became one of rock’s most recognizable.

Try it together: Make up a riff, a short repeated phrase, on any instrument.

What it is: A western theme with whistles and coyote-like calls.

Why it matters: Changed how film music could sound.

Try it together: Make a soundtrack for a home video using your voices.

What it is: An album with layered harmonies and unusual instruments.

Why it matters: Paul McCartney cited it as an inspiration for Sgt. Pepper’s.

Try it together: Find all the unusual sounds you can, like bicycle bells and barking dogs.

What it is: Aretha’s version of an Otis Redding song, adding the spelled-out R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Why it matters: Became an anthem for civil rights and women’s rights.

Try it together: Talk about what respect means in your family.

What it is: A concept album with orchestras, sound effects and many styles.

Why it matters: Changed the album into an art form.

Try it together: Plan an album about your family: name it, list the songs and design the cover.

What it is: A live album recorded for inmates at Folsom Prison.

Why it matters: Revived Cash’s career and showed his empathy for outsiders.

Try it together: Talk about why someone might perform for people others ignore.

Heads-up: Some songs mention crime.

What it is: A mellow song about watching ships go by.

Why it matters: Released after Redding’s death in 1967, it became his only No. 1 hit.

Try it together: Sit by water and whistle the ending.

What it is: An electric guitar version of the national anthem.

Why it matters: A famous moment of the 1960s, using the guitar to suggest sounds of war.

Try it together: Compare it with a traditional version. Talk about how music can carry a message.

What it is: A gospel-influenced song about support in hard times.

Why it matters: One of the best-selling singles of its era.

Try it together: Talk about who is a “bridge” for you when times are hard.

What it is: A concept album about war, poverty and the environment.

Why it matters: Expanded what soul music could say.

Try it together: Pick a problem in the world and talk about what a song about it might say.

What it is: A song that builds from quiet acoustic guitar to a loud finish.

Why it matters: One of the most famous rock songs ever.

Try it together: Notice how it gets louder and faster. Can you make a song that grows the same way?

What it is: A song pleading with a rival not to take her love.

Why it matters: One of country music’s most covered songs.

Try it together: Talk about Dolly Parton’s free book program, the Imagination Library.

What it is: An album about time, money and pressure, with sound effects.

Why it matters: Stayed on the Billboard album chart for decades.

Try it together: Find the clocks and cash registers in the songs.

What it is: An energetic salsa song.

Why it matters: Cruz, the “Queen of Salsa,” helped carry Afro-Cuban music worldwide.

Try it together: Learn a basic salsa step together.

What it is: A six-minute song with opera, ballad and hard rock sections and no chorus.

Why it matters: Broke the rules of pop songwriting and became a classic.

Try it together: Count how many different sections you hear.

What it is: A short, fast, simple rock song.

Why it matters: Helped launch punk rock.

Try it together: Write a song using only three chords or three notes.

What it is: Repeating patterns that shift slowly over an hour.

Why it matters: A landmark of minimalist music.

Try it together: Clap a simple pattern while another person slowly shifts theirs.

What it is: A long Afrobeat song criticizing military obedience.

Why it matters: Fela created Afrobeat; the song provoked a raid on his compound.

Try it together: Find Nigeria on a map and listen for the different instruments in the groove.

What it is: A double album celebrating life, love and community.

Why it matters: Won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Try it together: Listen to “Isn’t She Lovely” and talk about the song’s inspiration: his newborn daughter.

What it is: A heroic orchestral fanfare for the film.

Why it matters: Brought back the grand symphonic movie score.

Try it together: March around to it, then make up a theme for your own hero.

What it is: A song about unity and coming together.

Why it matters: Marley brought reggae to a global audience.

Try it together: Find Jamaica on a map and learn the reggae offbeat by clapping on two and four.

What it is: A song driven entirely by a synthesizer pulse.

Why it matters: Pointed the way to electronic dance music.

Try it together: Find a free online synthesizer and make a repeating pattern.

What it is: A disco hit with a famous strutting beat.

Why it matters: Its tempo is close to the recommended rhythm for chest compressions in CPR.

Try it together: Learn the CPR rhythm with it, and talk about why first aid matters.

What it is: A machine-like electronic track about a train.

Why it matters: Kraftwerk influenced hip-hop, techno and pop; it was sampled in early hip-hop.

Try it together: Record train sounds and make a beat from them.

What it is: A long rap over a disco groove.

Why it matters: The first hip-hop single to reach the U.S. Top 40.

Try it together: Write a clean four-line rhyme about your family.

What it is: A rap describing life in a struggling city neighborhood.

Why it matters: Showed hip-hop could deliver social commentary; added to the National Recording Registry.

Try it together: For older kids: talk about how songs can describe real life.

Heads-up: Some mature themes and language.

What it is: An album of pop, funk and rock hits.

Why it matters: The best-selling album of all time; its videos changed music television.

Try it together: Learn a few moves from the famous dance.

What it is: A sweeping rock ballad with a long guitar solo.

Why it matters: Prince blended rock, funk and pop in a new way.

Try it together: Listen to the guitar solo and talk about how instruments can sing.

What it is: A rap remake of a rock song with the original band.

Why it matters: Helped bring hip-hop into the mainstream.

Try it together: Mix two favorite songs’ rhythms into one family remix.

What it is: A protest anthem from the film Do the Right Thing.

Why it matters: A landmark of political hip-hop.

Try it together: For teens: talk about how protest songs differ across generations.

Heads-up: Explicit lyrics; listen to the clean version or preview first.

What it is: A dance song inspired by voguing from ballroom culture.

Why it matters: Brought ballroom dance culture to a wide audience.

Try it together: Strike poses together in a freeze-dance game.

What it is: A song alternating quiet verses and loud choruses.

Why it matters: Brought alternative rock into the mainstream.

Try it together: Notice the quiet-loud-quiet pattern and sing a song that way.

What it is: A heartfelt Tejano song.

Why it matters: Selena, the “Queen of Tejano,” brought Tejano music to a broad audience.

Try it together: Learn a few Spanish words from the song.

What it is: Houston’s version of a Dolly Parton song, with a soaring vocal.

Why it matters: One of the best-selling singles by a woman.

Try it together: Compare Dolly’s and Whitney’s versions. How can one song feel so different?

What it is: A tribute to the rapper’s mother.

Why it matters: Added to the National Recording Registry in 2010.

Try it together: Write a short tribute to someone who raised you.

Heads-up: Explicit lyrics; listen to the clean version or preview first.

What it is: An album about technology and modern life.

Why it matters: Widely cited as one of the most influential albums of the 1990s.

Try it together: Talk about how technology shows up in songs and art.

What it is: Recordings of veteran Cuban musicians.

Why it matters: Brought renewed attention to Cuban music worldwide.

Try it together: Find Cuba on a map and learn a son rhythm with clapping sticks.

What it is: An album about love, identity and growing up.

Why it matters: The first hip-hop album to win the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Try it together: Talk about what you learned growing up that no school taught you.

Heads-up: Explicit lyrics; listen to the clean version or preview first.

What it is: An energetic Latin pop hit.

Why it matters: Sparked a Latin pop boom in the U.S.

Try it together: Have a dance party and learn to count to ten in Spanish.

What it is: An upbeat dance track with a processed vocal.

Why it matters: Helped bring electronic dance music to a mass audience.

Try it together: Use a voice-changer app and sing a line through it.

What it is: A dance-pop song with a famous music video.

Why it matters: Its choreography became a global phenomenon.

Try it together: Learn a few moves from the dance together.

What it is: A stomping breakup song with a powerful vocal.

Why it matters: Won Grammy Record and Song of the Year.

Try it together: Stomp and clap the beat together.

What it is: An album marking Swift’s move from country to pop.

Why it matters: Won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Try it together: Talk about how artists change styles over time, and how you have too.

What it is: A musical telling the story of Alexander Hamilton through hip-hop.

Why it matters: Won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Try it together: Rap a few facts about a historical figure you’re learning about.

Heads-up: Some strong language.

What it is: An album exploring identity, faith and society.

Why it matters: The first non-classical, non-jazz work to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Try it together: For teens: talk about why a Pulitzer for a rap album mattered.

Heads-up: Explicit lyrics; listen to the clean version or preview first.

What it is: An upbeat disco-pop song in English.

Why it matters: The first song by an all-South Korean act to top the Billboard Hot 100.

Try it together: Find South Korea on a map and learn a few words of Korean.

What it is: An album mixing reggaeton, Caribbean and pop styles.

Why it matters: The first all-Spanish album nominated for the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Try it together: For teens: talk about music crossing language barriers.

Heads-up: Explicit lyrics; listen to the clean version or preview first.