Music for kids.. (a thread for anyone with young sproglets)

[Jules]

Following a chat with Jon F last week, when he mentioned that his young kids were big fans of pete's Mr Lucky CD, it got me thinking about music that small kids like, and for that matter why. I'm not talking about disney music and the like, but general music that they have a way of relating to.
My little bloke (see pic, left) is hugely enthusiastic about the Skatelites, Toots and the Maytalls, Buena Vista Social Club and Manu Chao- OK, pretty obvious that this is all to do with rhythm, and in the case of the first two- big, bouncy bass lines. Plus all four are pretty melodic.....
anyone else want to add their scientific observations on playing tunes to small people?

 

[mfox]

both my wife and myself are musicians, my wife a classical player and me the other kind. i have a 3 year old and besides insisting on the usual wheels on the bus , old mcdonald stuff playing in the car,he likes nothing more than a little bit of the classical stuff..he really likes copeland, and can identify just about every instrument in the orchestra along with a mime how the instrument is played (his favorite being the trombone). i also on occasion take miles along to my wifes rehearsals which he likes..2 weeks ago i took him to one where upon the orchestra fell about in fits of laughter, my son had found a vibe beater and was stood behind the conductor , conducting and keeping perfect time..
he can blow my alto quite well, but isn't that interested in jazz. although he can sing fly me to the moon quite well.(better than jamie cullem).
he go's to a workshop called rhythm time every week and has done so since he was 6 months old, he has many instruments to play on from blocks to a recorder, he starts to dance at the sound of any music..

i truly belive that his access to music has helped his confidence, made him apply his mind to match up the sound with the instruments, which in turn has made him think about the mechanics of making the sound, be it the beating of a piano string or the plucking of a guitar string...

 

[Jules]

mfox wrote:
although he can sing fly me to the moon quite well.(better than jamie cullem).

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
My bfellow is approaching Bob Dylan surpassing harmonica skills (not that i'm against Dylan- just the way he b lows a blues harp)

 

[philthd]

my daughter just turned one

the other day she way trying to sing along to "the shape of jazz to come" - which is brave for anyone to attempt

her favourite jazz tune is st thomas

and early sonic youth has been known to help calm her down

and she will beat her tambourine or drums or dance along to almost anything

but she mostly likes female singers with uptempo songs

 

[Bobby G]

I'm ashamed of my 9-year-old grandson Tom. He keeps singing 'Gold' by Spandau Ballet. I don't know where they get it from, honestly.

Cheers, Bob

 

[Jules]

Bobby G wrote:
I'm ashamed of my 9-year-old grandson Tom. He keeps singing 'Gold' by Spandau Ballet. I don't know where they get it from, honestly.

Cheers, Bob

Yish! Needs a good dose of Peter Hammill & Albert Ayler, that child does!!!

 

[fecklesseric]

Both my kids have been exposed to loads of music, but not in a heavy way. They have liked it all in the past, and have a genuine love of music, but they seem to be regressing at the moment:

my 14 year old son has given up sax playing, and is now sulking in his bedroom with Enter Shikari turned up real LOUD.

my 10 year old girl only listens to people who are on X Factor and competes with her brother on who can play their music loudest.

I am convinced that this is a concerted attempt to drive us mad. If we hold out, then I am confident they will return to the light!

Who'd have kids eh?

 

[philthd]

even as someone who used to listen to a smattering of metal in my youth i find enter shakiri painfully mediocre and terrifyingly overrated

which is surely far too goenerous a description for anyone whos ever been on x factor

 

[fecklesseric]

philthD wrote:
even as someone who used to listen to a smattering of metal in my youth

Of course - I guess like a lot of people in the breakfast room, my musical tastes are nothing if not eclectic. Don't mind most of what my kids listen to and actively like a fair bit - we frequently compare notes about popular beat combos. 😉

I think that they deliberately choose to listen to something we don't like in order to exclude us and identify something as exclusively theirs. Part of growing up I s'pose

 

[sharon]

My two tend to like the same sort of thing that we like. They are 10 and 12. Thankfully neither like the sort of popular x factor type thing. My son is particularly keen on REM and red hot chilli peppers and has been since he was quite small. He is an odd one, he can sing an tune he has heard once or twice perfectly and whilst I have gently tried to suggest he starts on an instrument, he won't hear of it.

We all listen to that Sounds of the sixties on Sat mornings and they hear quite a lot of things on that and are amazed that we oldies can sing along.

We have very broad tastes in music from some (older) metal all the way through classical, opera and showtunes, and the children are just subjected to it. I don't think they feel the need to play loud music as they know we probably wouldn't mind 😛 In fact I enjoy a sing around the house (more since I've been playing the sax) and they always tell me to shut up.

Sharon

 

[jonf]

As well as Pete's stuff, my two like anything with a good mix of melody and strong rhythm. What my eldest (five) calls 'bouncy music'. They've been exposed to a wide range of stuff since birth and like a range of stuff, but Pete's is definitely their favourite.

I listen (confession time ) to a lot of indie rock, and the little one, who's three really likes it. The older, more sinsitive one isn't so keen. Oh, God, they're going to be ashamed of their Dad when they're older.

 

[Pete Thomas]

My youngest (7) likes Esquivel, any music on Fifa 07 and daddy. (luckily)

 

[Linky Lee]

My brother likes anything with a strong beat.
Naturally he feels peer pressure and listens to things like 'the crazy frog'. This wouldn't annoy me bar the consistent downloading it onto my desktop.

We took him to classical concerts before he was born and immediately after. He used to love it, dance and talk openly about what he liked.
He's always chosen the trumpet. Now he sleeps through my saxophone playing, don't know how he does it. He used to ask me to play when he was going to bed as I usually was practising around that time.

Hopefully even with my absence, he'll get into some music we can talk about. I enjoy lots of various music so it shouldn't be hard.

He doesn't like signing though, and finds it highly amusing watching me sing around the house, though sometimes he does stare blank faced. Yes I am that good 😛

 

[Bobby G]

Hi Sharon, our Tom (9) is a bit like your son in that he can remember songs after a couple of listens and sing them back well in tune, but doesn't show much interest in playing an instrument, although he's doodled around on my guitar and was very pleased when he got a note out of the alto.

Being my grandson he gets to hear a lot of my daughter Abi's music, such as Nirvana, Radiohead, Supergrass, RHCP etc. I don't think he's over-impressed with my jazz discs though, or other stuff come to that, although he seems to like the 60's pop (gawd bless ya Brian Matthew). Apart from that he seems to be able to recite entire episodes of the Simpsons and Futurama in the character voices after only a couple of viewings, and likes singing the bastardised songs they use on the Simpsons, such as the 'Bee Gees' ah, ah, ah, ah, table five, table five...

Cheers, Bob

 

[fecklesseric]

JonF wrote:
Oh, God, they're going to be ashamed of their Dad when they're older.

Ah yes, but you have those photos of them naked in the bath when they were 2. They SHOULD be terrified!

 

[sharon]

Bob your grandson and my son appear to be the same child right down to the name 😱 . Mine is currently singing bits of "Danny Boy" whilst playing in his room. He also knows all the Simpsons "songs". In fact my kids are always amazed when I point out the songs played properly on the radio. Their favourite being "someone left my cake out in the ....... la la la la la" They didn't realise it was a real (well two) song.

Sharon