Head, Shoulders, Knees, and all that

Don't tear that hair out!

The Orlando Sentinel's blog for Central Florida's Moms and Dads, Parent Place had a nice post a week back (so much for timely blogging from me) about finding kid-friendly music that won't drive parents crazy.  Definitely worth a read, and I'm not just saying that because they said nice things about this blog...really, I'm not.

I should add the caveat here that while I do write about and appreciate artists that the whole family will enjoy, I also write about artists that will likely drive parents a little crazy, including, yes, the Wiggles, Sesame Street, Mister Rogers, and the occasional Barney mention.  And I have contributed to a couple of CDs (over in the left column there) which would fall into the "okay, that's enough dear, now it's time for Mommy and Daddy's music" category.

Personally, my musical tastes are all over the place.  Professionally, I work educating kids from ages 2-12 and kids learning English as a Foreign Language, so I have an interest in music that communicates simply and allows even emerging speakers to participate.  But essentially, I think you can't go wrong exposing your kids to as much music as possible, especially if you are there to enjoy it together.

For parents who may have the occasional urge to pull their hair out after listening to a few too many Barney tunes, I wholeheartedly recommend the strategy suggested by Orlando Sentinal Parent Place Blogger Steven Ford:

I burn songs I like and mix them with Disney tunes or kid sing-along tunes. That way, you might hear Radiohead, then "Wish Upon a Star" then Led Zep and then "Hot Potato" from the Wiggles, etc."

Growing up, my Dad used to make mixed tapes for the long car trips we would take in the summer.  He made Kid's Tapes and Mom's Tapes, and we'd take turns throughout the trip.  Truth is, we probably grew to enjoy the Boz Skaggs, Carly Simon, Lou Rawls, etc. almost as much as Mom probably did...but the Kid's Tapes were ours, and they spoke to us in a way Mom's tapes never could.  We wanted to share in our Mom's love of music, but at that age, developing a sense of our own selves, having our own music was important.  I remember occasionally feeling a little a bit of a thrill when I saw Mom didn't "get" some of the songs on our tapes.  Here's one of the songs we liked, a nice call and response number everyone could enjoy.

Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea by The Four Lads

I'll share more Kids' Songs in the coming weeks. 

On a related note, you can check out what Eric Herman has to say about good kids' music at his recently launched blog.  There's a little bit more on Eric in this post.

Who stole the cookie?

When we were making Super Simple Songs 2, we wanted to include a song version of the popular kids chant/game "Who Took/Stole the Cookie From the Cookie Jar?"  We spent a ton of time on various versions...including one ill-fated attempt at a big bawdy number with me singing in my best (or worst depending how you look at it) Vegas-era Elvis voice.  Finally, Troy put down a very simple but fun and funky beat and we settled on a little chant  that took very little time to actually record.  Naturally, the most basic, least complicated song on a CD full of simple songs was one of  the most popular among our young students.  We should have known.  You can hear a clip at cdBaby.

Here is an adorable video of some kindergarten students in Korea performing their hard-boiled detective story version of "Who Stole the Cookie".  Priceless.  Just a heads up...the queen in the story says "Kiss my hand."

You can read more about the teacher's (director) experiences teaching in Korea here.

For some lesson ideas revolving around "Who took the cookie", try here.

More Stevie...

...this time on the Johnny Cash show, November 11, 1970. It's interesting to me that unlike the Sesame Street clips, this one isn't from a kid's show, but it's arguably a better children's song than the two he played for Big Bird and the gang, at least a better teaching song. This is a tune I could take right into the classroom and have a rip-roaring time with.

Songs like this, with the same basic refrain but a small change each verse, are a blast for young kids (a la Wheels on the Bus, Old McDonald, Five Little Monkeys, etc.) and great for language development, as the repetitive verse allows them to get comfortable with the rhythm of the words and the small changes each verse keep them interested and excited for the next verse, as well as introducing new vocabulary.

Troy has a post up about Sue Schnitzer over at SongStreet. I would LOVE to hear her version of this song.

Sendak

NPR re-broadcast a fascinating interview with the author and illustrator of my favorite children's book, Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak. Sendak's work was also the inspiration for what some call "the finest children's album ever made", Really Rosie (you wouldn't get much of an argument from me...it's great stuff.)

The interview discusses his work on the book Brundibar, based on an opera written and performed by children in the Czech concentration camp, Terezin. It's a great book and a really interesting interview...worth a listen.

P.S. to PatJack...looking at the early editions of Where the Wild Things Are above reminds me of some of the early editions of Potato Pals. May the Pals enjoy such longevity!

What's the catch?

Pop songwriters talk about finding the hook in a song, the hook that gets people wanting to hear the song over and over again.

It's there in good kid's music as well, obviously, just adjusted for audience. And while a good song is always important, the hook in kids music isn't always a melody or chorus.

One thing I've noticed in seeing how kids react to a wide variety of music, and in making music for young kids, is that great songs often have the part where. Kids will say, I like the part where we make the elephant noise, or I like the part where she sings up, up, up, DOWN and that funny whistle comes on, or I like the part where we have to find the different colors. Even very young kids who aren't really talkers yet will clearly show you the parts they like in their favorite songs by how they bounce, smile, clap, etc.

So when you are evaluating music for your young kids, or when you are making music for young children, ask yourself, "What's the catch...where's the hook...what is the part where...". It doesn't have to be just one, because, of course, different kids will latch on to different parts...but you should be able to spot potential parts that kids will love and want to hear again and again. It's not always possible to guess which parts kids will love (kind of like you never know if a kid is going to like the box their birthday present comes in more than the present), but you should be able to identify if the artist is thinking in those terms...is thinking of what will be fun for a kid to do, sing, hum, etc.

I think this is one thing Laurie Berkner does that has helped make her so popular. Of course she has a fun voice and is great musician who writes great melodies, but her songs almost always have parts, little actions or sounds or verbal combinations that a kid, who is already enjoying the music, will hear and say, "I like the part where..." And those parts make her really nice songs more than something kids like, but something they want to hear and experience over and over and over.

Look for those parts and notice which parts your kids react to...it will give you a great insight on planning some fun acitivities they'll enjoy.

Interviews with Children's Musicians

Fran Grauman from About.com has been posting some great interviews with kids' musicians recently.  She has talked with Charity Kahn, Yosi, Red Grammer, Jim Gill, and her most recent interview is with Laurie Monopoli from the Learning Station, who had the following great advice:

Sing, sing, and sing some more to your children! Sing about the weather, hum a tune in the car, whistle a few bars shopping or make up a song all about your child (children love hearing their name in a song). Even if you can’t carry a tune, as long as the song comes from your heart it will be received by a child like the sweet, beautiful sound of a nightingale.

Indeed.

London Bridge is...

...being replaced by a Wal-mart? What do you get when you ask Barry Louis Polisar (creator of such classic children's songs as I Use to Have a Sister, Sally Eats Shoelaces, Straw and String, Shut Up in the Library, Get Your Hand Off my Leg and Your Foot out of my Shoe, and My Name is Hiram Lipshlitz, among many, many, many others) to write a song for children about "The Laws of Commercial Zoning and/or Eminent Domain as They Impact the Small Business Model" to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down. See for yourself.

It's a humor piece, but also an interesting exercise that really gets at the essence of what a lot of good children's music/literature does...talk to children in a simple way about ideas that don't always seem so simple to talk about. You don't necessarily dumb down the idea, you just find a way to talk about it using references kids can relate to (I hope kids can still relate to Lemonade stands these days.) Dr. Suess, who had the same kind of wonderful imagination as Barry, was a master at this.

Barry's tune about commercial zoning ends up being a lot easier to follow than London Bridge is Falling Down, but unfortunately, it doesn't work as well as play song:-)

For me, other than being a slightly creepy song which I thankfully never really understood until I had grown up (same goes for Ring around the Rosie), the tune London Bridge reminds me of many visits to the famous bridge as a child, in Arizona! Looking at the bridge I always thought, "Looks okay to me"...a sentiment later expressed much better by the late great Elliot Smith who sang London bridge is safe and sound no matter what you keep repeating.

(Whoa...time to step away from the computer when opening an e-mail from Tanja about a cute humor piece in the Washington Post ends an hour later with me making tenous connections between Lake Havasu's London Bridge and Elliot Smith on a blog ostensibly about kids' music and early childhood ed.)

Music for kids that even parents might love

NPR has an interview up with Stefan from Zooglobble on All Things Considered about the state of children's music. Great interview. If you are a parent or caretaker looking for some good children's music that you can enjoy together with your children, it all starts with a visit to Zooglobble, where Stefan writes some of the best kids'/familly music reviews out there.

The piece talks a bit about Dan Zanes and Laurie Berkner and Stefan's thoughts on some of his current favorites, Brady Rymer and Justin Roberts. All great artists, but if you want to have a better idea about whether or not they would suit your children or your family, check out the reviews at zooglobble. He does a great job painting a picture of the music so that adults without much exposure to kids' music will be able to have a pretty good idea whether or not it will be something their family can enjoy together.

If you prefer your entertainment in podcast form like me, Stefan's interview was NPR's most e-mailed story of the day, and is currently available on NPR's Most E-mailed Stories of the Day podcast for Saturday, 08 April 2006.

One, two, three, four, six

I've had the opportunity to observe some great teachers of young learners over the years, and one little device that all of them used to some degree is feigning ignorance.  It might be holding a potato and saying, "Mmm...I love apples."  Or in a delightfully silly way, forgetting the names of all the students.  Or in the middle of a storybook saying "The End" and closing the book and asking "wasn't that a great story?"

Besides just appealing to the children's growing appreciation of the humor of the unexpected and incongruous, it encourages children to speak up and share their knowledge in a way much more fun and interesting and meaningful than asking them, "Who can tell me the characteristics of an apple?" or "Today we have a new student joining the class, please introduce yourselves,"  or "What do you think happens next in the story?"

Of course there is a balance here...feign ignorance all the time and you run the danger of coming across as a clown.   But used occasionally as one of the many tools in your toolbox, and with a knowing smile, it's a great way to encourage kids to share their knowledge with you in a passionate way.  If you are a teacher of young kids and you feel like you are not reaching them, not making a connection, try dropping the occasional absurdity on them.   It's fun, it keeps them on their toes, it allows you to see which students are having trouble focusing or comprehending the topic at hand, it encourages creative thinking, and they'll be dying to share their knowledge with you.

For me, as a teacher of non-native English speakers, it's a fantastic way to check comprehension and encourage the children to produce English that is meaningful to them rather than parroting the teacher or waiting for someone to tell them what to say. 

Children's music performer Eric Herman provides a wonderful example of feigning ignorance.  In The Elephant Song, Eric sings beautifully and earnestly, "Elephants, I like elephants.  I like how they swing through trees," only to be interrupted by a child saying NO!  Elephants don't swing through trees...monkeys do.  Eric continues..."Monkeys, I like monkeys.  I like how they swim in the ocean..." whereupon he is corrected again, and again, and again.  It's a great device that encourages critical listening skills, and the sharing of knowledge about animals... but above all it's just a lot of fun for kids (and a great tune that you'll be humming all day).

Find out more about Eric Herman and his Invisible Band at his website.

Stefan has reviews of Eric's albums Monkey Business and The Kid in the Mirror over at Zooglobble.

A Low Tolerance for Mushy

Looking for some music you can enjoy with your kids, but have a "low tolerance for mushy"? 

Check out Zooglobble.  Stefan writes witty reviews about contemporary children's music, including work by They Might Be Giants, Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, Milkshake, Justin Roberts, Eric Herman, Monty Harper (coming soon!), Ralph's World, and more.  If you are looking for something you can play during long car rides with the kids that won't drive you crazy, this is a great place to start your search.