What's the best children's music?

by: Dr Christobel Llewellyn

It's sometimes confusing for parents to know what's the best choice for children's music. As both a music educator and parent, I found myself browsing through record stores eagerly looking for something both my husband and I, and my children could enjoy. Unfortunately, I didn't find it. Most of the chidlren's music was corporate ie. attached to a tv show. It seemed to be all copies of the same thing. Lots of vocalists singing nursery rhymes, mostly in G or C Major with little variety. Hardly any instrumentation.

Children are magnificent. Any parent knows this. Children's music should play to this magnificence, not down to the common denominator.

I started KINDERJAZZ The Big Swing Band For Little Kids for this reason. You can check it out against the list below on http://www.kinderjazz.com. I wanted children to be exposed to the cream, not the residue. Childhood is when a human's hearing is most acute. It is when we learn our language and this informs much future success in our lives. The best children's music has the following ingredients:

• melody
• rhythm
• interesting key signatures
• variety of styles
• clarity
• be performed by professionals
• harmony - simple or complex
• safe, intelligent and fun lyrics
• educational
  

Don't just walk into a store and buy what you've seen on tv. Music is powerful. Ask any advertising agency. Children's music needs to be the highest quality. What your children listen to will form a memory bank in their brains for the rest of their lives. PLATO said, "To become the right kind of person, you must listen to the right kind of music."