Welcome to Ping and Echo, a daily newsletter that links to one amazing podcast episode that is guaranteed to be a great listen for kids and their families. Each newsletter includes links to articles, videos and activities related to the podcast so you can turn every episode into an adventure.
Today’s podcast is from Song Exploder, a remarkable podcast that features musicians dissecting their songs in great detail. This episode is a little different because it features one outside interview as well, who brings in some historical context (including how we almost lost Bach’s cello suites to history). In this episode, host Hrishikesh Hirway walks through the Prelude from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suite Number 1 in G Major with Yo-Yo Ma, who has recorded the piece three times over the course of his life. Ma reflects on how the song has changed over time, and how the song has changed him. It is a piece of music many kids and adults may have heard before but the podcast helps you understand the power of the music in a new way that will leave all listeners with a different appreciation for it. We’ve paired it with some fun activities and more details about the song below.
Podcast: Song Exploder
Episode: Yo-Yo Ma
Length: 16 minutes
🧐 You Should Know
I’ll always give you a heads up if there is anything in the podcast that might surprise or worry kids. Nothing to worry about here.
💡 Try This
After you listen to the episode you can try to make some music of your own with the links and activities below:
24 hours before sending this email Yo-Yo Ma played this song live on Facebook, you can rewatch it here.
Make up a dance to go along with this song. Here is one example for some inspiration.
How does the song make you feel? Can you write a story that goes along with it? Or draw a picture of what the song makes you think of?
🔎 Explore More
Read up on Yo-Yo Ma and Bach with these links:
That famous cello prelude, deconstructed (this is really great) - Vox
All About Bach for Kids - Classics For Kids
Sesame Street: The Jam Session - Yo-Yo Ma
The name Ping and Echo comes from sonar technology which relies on sending out “pings” and receiving back “echos” to discover the world around you. You can send us pictures of the art and activities created by your kids. Email them to pingandecho@gmail.com and we’ll post all your echos on our Instagram and our Twitter page.
Thanks for lending us your ears and your inbox.
Josh, Toby, and Ruby