toddler music

[elaine]

I can't stand most of the music that is sold for babies/toddlers. So much of it is badly sung, or insipid arrangements of good music.

I love the songs on Sesame Street the show, but the CDs don't seem to have most of those songs - mostly they seem to be manufactured for the CD.

A friend of mine says her toddler likes Gilbert & Sullivan, so I've started looking at more 'classic' titles, and folk music. I'm going down to the library this week to see if I can find anything I like. Any suggestions?

[anadandy]

We have the two CDs from Bear in the Big Blue house and really like them. The songs are all done in many different styles from Blues, to Rap, to Country and traditional. We play them all the time and it's not annoying at all.

My toddler also likes the Star Wars soundtrack :) You may want to try some soundtracks from classical musicals, like Sound of Music or Oklahoma.

I'm with you about some kids music though - someone gave my son one of those Time-Life collections of Kids Sing or something like that and it's horrible. A bunch of kids singing badly and they change the lyrics of classic songs so you can't even sing along.

[laura_winckler]

My son really enjoyed A Child's Garden of Verses by Ted Jacobs. It's all Robert Louis Stevenson poetry set to music, and it is really lovely. He has a second CD out that is American poetry set to music that we also enjoy; I can't remember the name of it. Other than that, I'm afraid it's the Wiggles and Raffi in our car most of the time. My son has recently decided that he likes to hear other small children singing. That's truly torturous!

[paulagm]

I agree with you completely! I HATE most of the children's music out there. When I was pregnant with my first, someone gave me a CD by Kim Scanlon called "Night Songs and Lullabyes." It's full of old standards that are beautifully arranged and sung in a simple, easy jazz style. Sometimes I listen to it in my car even when my son is not with me! It's great music for kids or adults.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anything else that I like as much as this CD, and I can't find another CD by this lady. Why do they think kids don't like good music, too?

Paula

[elf]

I've found two things I really like...

"Peter, Paul, and Mommy" which has Puff the Magic Dragon and other songs in the same vein (I love "The Marvelous Toy"!)

and still available,
"Free to Be, You and Me" which I listened to endlessly as a kid.

I am still looking for more.

[Momtotwo]

We also love "Free to be you and me" (great for a 3 year old) and "Really Rosie" (also from the 1970, but still available -- Carole King is fantastic on every song). Finally, a more recent release is "Ralph's World" -- my husband and I can listen to that without cringing at all.

[tplosser]

Music for Little People has a great catalog of music for kids of all ages. We got the Dan Zanes CD which has Sheryl Crow and others on it and Catfish Hodge for our 16 month old son and he loves them. The selection is great and there is something for every taste. You should definitely find something. Good luck.

[JakesMommy]

My husband and I are music lovers, but not big fans of "kiddie music." Luckily for us, our son (almost 29 months) loves all kinds of music. You might try some world music with alternative rhythms... Jacob loves reggae, Latin and Caribbean music. We've had the same nanny with us since he was about 5 weeks old, and since she's a native of Belize, she has introduced us to all sorts of great music to which Jake really responds. (There's an artist by the name of "Laro" that Jake likes a lot.)

My thinking is, Jake is still going to get his fill of kiddie music from other sources, so why not introduce him to "adult" music now? He is happy with everything from classical to Miles Davis to even some Frank Zappa (my husband is a huge fan). As long as the music is not too loud and the lyrics not inappropriate, let your child listen to what you love.

Enjoy!

[jules]

For silly songs we really enjoy John Lithgow's Singing In The Bathtub. I find myself singing them all day long, even when we're not playing the cd!

[Tamm]

I agree with you - most of the music is horrible! But we have had some success. My son loves "Bedtime with the Beatles" and won't go to sleep without it. We also love Dan Zanes cds, they are great. Finally, there is a new cd out called "The Bottle Has Let Me Down" which is supposed to be wonderful. I am going to pick up my copy today.

Good luck

Tamm