DISCLOSURE: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Explore the Composers!

Now that we have been doing reviews for the Homeschool Review Crew for a few years, we are starting to really pick out favorites and repeat companies have a chance to truly win us over. Today we’re talking about a favorite company and their fantastic games. Maestro Mastery - Explore the Composers is the latest educational game from Byron's Games and we were very pleased to try it out!

What We Received:

Maestro Mastery includes a set of instructions, 104 cards featuring 52 composers, 1 music timeline card, and 1 fold-out poster. It is intended for ages 5 and up and requires at least 2 players. Game play is about 30 minutes.

How It Works:

Maestro Mastery is essentially a matching game for music composers, but loaded with learning opportunities. Each card includes the composers name, years living, historical period they are from (which is also color-coded) and a short description of what they are known for. Game play starts with all cards (you’re playing with) turned over face-side down. A player turns over two cards and announces both names. If no match is found, the next player continues in the same way. When a match is made, it is placed in front of the player, grouping them by era. There are two ways to win - most matches or most matches in a particular era. With 52 matches possible, you can always use fewer cards for fewer players or for a shorter play time. If played in this way, it is a basic matching game. However, there are a couple ways to play that increases learning and (in my opinion) fun!

To encourage a better understanding of music, composers, and time periods, there is a listening element that Byron’s Games provides. It is played the same except for whenever a match is made, you find that composer at http://www.Byronsgames.com/maestromastery and listen to a piece of their music. Depending on the composers and the length of the music provided, this could extend the playing time as well. For Vivaldi, the entire performance of The Four Seasons is provided, which is about 45 minutes long! Another way to play that increases the challenge, especially after students are more familiar with the music, is to play one of the excerpts and have students guess the composer. A slightly easier version is to lay out 3-5 cards, play an excerpt and have students guess the correct composer.

What We Thought:

My 10 and 7 year old children played this, while my 3 year old witnessed it until they wouldn’t let him touch anything anymore! As a game, they were able to play it by themselves with ease, once I explained it. We always played it with listening to the music along side it. If we hadn’t, I think they might have lost interest much easier. Having the music freely accessible on their website, right under each composers picture (that corresponds to their card) is a great idea and great resource for teaching music history. As matching games goes, it’s easy for any age to play, but the content opens up quite a bit of learning to be done. If your child isn’t reading yet, a parent or reading sibling is helpful because some of the pictures look pretty similar.

From a homeschooling perspective where we often include games as enhancements to what we’re already learning, this fits perfectly. It is the type of thing that we will play several times and receive a different education every time. Especially when a parent plays, there are many teachable moments about all aspects of music and history. The games Byron’s games produces are all great additions to homeschool curriculum.

Follow Byron’s Games on Social Media:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/byronsgames
Instagram: https://instagram.com/byronsgames
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/byronsgames
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqc5skcLby7XPMPubub8CRw

The Crew also reviewed The Family Journal from Byron’s Games. Check out other family’s reviews to find out what it’s all about!