Toddler Music notes

So, as much as I said ahead of time that I would NOT let it happen in my house, I have to confess that several "Children's Music" CD's have found their way in to the heavy playlist around the house. The not-so-surprising thing is, there is a LOT of really horrible children's music out there. Where is it written that children somehow wont / cant respond to regular music - it has to be bland, overproduced, and vapid (yes, I mean Barney!)

What I have found, though, is that there are gems hidden in this very rough rough. I will set aside the work my group does, since of course I am biased when it comes to our own work. However, I do recommend a series of CD's released by Putomayo, such as World Music for Little Ears, and Singalong with Putomayo. These recordings feature big name musicians, not doing children's music persay, but rather performing good music that children will enjoy. I can actually stand most of it!

The newest discovery is a couple of CD's done by Sandra Boynton, author of many fun, silly children's books. One in particular, Philadelphia Chicken, is made to sound like a Broadway review, with the big names to go with it. My wife and I have fun placing the songs in real Broadway shows, or re-casting the songs.

However, as good as this music is, I dont recommend waking up with one of the songs in your head, as it is GUARANTEED to be lodged there permanently for at least 28 hours. Yes, I have spent an entire day humming a cute little ditty about 15 pets that have all been named Bob (except for Simon James ALexander the Third...) PLEASE someone tell me they know what I am talking about here....