I picked up this little CD for Harper over the weekend. It's amazing. We both love it. It has lovely lullaby versions of songs from Coldplay, Five for Fighting (a personal favorite of mine), Michelle Branch, Edwin McCain, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, and more.
Anyway, I have two passions that I've always wanted to pass on to my children. One is reading and the other is music.
We already talked a bit about Harper's books.
Now let's talk about Harper's music.
I am very picky about children's music. I don't buy anything for Harper that I don't like myself (any adult who listens to Lori Berkner for the sake of their children is a saint) and I try to avoid albums that are overly simple. Children are bright and perceptive and need to be exposed to more than a simple melody and cheesy lyrics.
In building Harper's music collection, I've tried to choose a variety of artists. I wanted her to be exposed to different types of music from a very young age. Her playlists include classical, pop, broadway, Disney, jazz, and folk music.
Some of my favorite Harper albums are:
1. 
2.
2.
1. Mindy Gledhill is Harper's favorite. She loves to dance and sing along to this entire album.
2. This set of Disney lullabies is really sweet.
3.
4.
4.
3. Any CD that includes James Taylor and Fleetwood Mac is a good one if you ask me.
4. The arrangements on this are beautiful and much easier on the ears than the official Children's Songbook CD set.
5. 
6.
6.
5. The songs on this album are beautiful, especially Dion's version of What a Wonderful World.
6. Jewel is amazing and so is this album. Harper and I listen to it all the time.
I love both of these albums and usually give at least one of them at every baby shower I attend.
I really want Harper to appreciate and understand instrumental music.
We actually have a number of Baby Einstein classical albums.
I love all of them and so does Harper.When we listen to them, her eyes light up and I can tell that she is feeling inspired.
This isn't all of the music that Harper likes.
She loves Disney, of course.
Ariel is her special favorite (I'm sure you already knew that).
She loves Broadway (Mama Mia, The Sound of Music, Wicked, Crazy for You,
Aida, and RENT are among our most listened to albums).
Harper listens (and dances) to pop music, mostly from the Glee recordings.
We also listen to lots of solo piano music from David Glen Hatch
(a dear friend and former piano teacher) and The Five Browns.
What kind of music do your little ones like?
Is music important to you as a parent?
Thank you for the post. I was just thinking I needed new ideas for my playlist.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I love Lori Berkner! But before you totally write me off, I also have many of the same albums you listed. Like, most of them. I'll have to check out the FisherPrice one, though, I love all of those artists you listed. My kids really love They Might Be Giants' "No!" album - but you might have to already love TMBG to appreciate it as an adult. We also like the For The Kids and For The Kids Too albums. Have you heard Brett Raymond's Primarily for Grown-ups? It's one of our faves as well.
ReplyDeleteLori Berkner is a little too intense for me. She's like Celine Dion or Judy Garland and can only be listened to in small amounts. It's the same with Rachel Coleman. I love her but her voice just gets to me. I think I just prefer male voices to female ones when it comes to casual listening. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I don't know much of anything about They Might Be Giants...
DeleteYou have a point, I usually only listen to Lori Berkner on a mix, so I don't get a lot of her at once. TMBG have been my favorite group since I was 7. They're definitely ... not for everyone. Here's one of AJ's favorites right now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EiU9pTweyw
Delete