Ever wonder what inspired some of the most famous pieces of music? Well in this wonderful book, Once Upon A Tune: Stories From The Orchestra by James Mayhew, the stories behind many brilliant pieces of music, including The Sorcerer's Apprentice, The Flight of the Bumblebee and The William Tell Overture, are told.
Reviewing a DIY castanets kit from Baker Ross, and demonstrating how to make your own castanets.
A tour through music history from the classical period highlighting the music of Black Composers, in celebration of Black History Month.
This Music Book Review looks at the board book of children's favourite song Wheels On The Bus. This version of the song if from YouTube children's animation channel Cocomelon. I challenge you not to sing along when reading this with your children.
A review of a silly, fun musical game- Kazoo That Tune!
Have you seen the viral #GraceKellyChallenge and want to have a go either yourself or with your family. Perhaps you have never tried singing in harmony before and don’t know where to start. Singing a #songinrounds is a great way to start off singing together with other people.
Why is practice so important for learning a musical instrument? What benefits are there to practising? How can I, as a parent, support my child learning to play a musical instrument? What if I can’t play myself, can I still help with musical instrument practice?
In this blog post I review the gorgeous book The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield.
How much do you know about the violin? Here are some fun and interesting facts about the violin.
This Music Book Review looks at the fun, rhythmic and joyful book Jazz Baby, written by Lisa Wheeler with beautiful illustrations by R. Gregory Christie.
A suggested playlist introducing the music of the late Romantic period.
How to make a wind chime for the garden with just metal bottle tops, fishing thread and a dream catcher hoop.
Reviewing a children’s music-themed colouring book.
Reviewing a fun activity, making DIY tambourine using a kit from Baker Ross.
This blog post puts a contemporary and child friendly version of a traditional instrument in the spotlight - rainsticks.
For this month’s spotlight on a musical instrument, I am looking at handbells - tuned percussion instruments that your children will just love to play, if only because they can be played VERY loud!
This Music Book Review tells the story behind Swan Lake with excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s music for the ballet.
This Music Book Review is one of my favourites: Giraffes Can’t Dance, a lovely story about finding your own music to help you express yourself.
What is the triangle, and how do you play it? Some ideas and brief demonstrations are given in this blog post.
A playlist introducing the music of the early Romantic period of music history.
An introduction to music from the Classical period in music history. This playlist includes music from Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, CPE Bach and Gluck to give you a flavour of the music from this time.
Fancy making an easy DIY windchime to enjoy in your garden this summer? I made one out of fishing wire and jingle bells, and tell you how I did it here.
Is classical music really “best” for children to listen to? Can I play the music I like when I am with my children, or should I only play music that is written for children? I discuss these questions in this blog post.
Playing music games is a great way to pass some time at home, and with the educational benefits of call and response rhythm games. A fun way to teach your child turn taking.
I currently have both children at home given the situation in the UK at the moment. My eldest is set work from school which occupies him (and me with cajoling him to get back to it and helping him understand what he is supposed to be doing), but not the whole day. So we are... Continue Reading →
Christmas songs are everywhere from about mid October to December every year, aren't they? We all have our own festive favourites, and here is a playlist featuring some of my favourite Christmas songs. All of the songs are family friendly, so grab a drink and snack and enjoy these lovely Christmas songs.
This Music Book Review is a Thomas the Tank Engine themed re-writing of the classic Christmas song The 12 Days of Christmas.
Are you looking for some ideas for music to listen to with your children? Perhaps you want to do some festive activities and have some background music on? Here is a curated festive playlist full of Christmas-themed classical music. Grab a drink and a snack, put the playlist on and settle down for some beautiful Christmas music.
Looking for some lovely seasonal music to listen to with your little ones? Here is a playlist featuring some of my favourite Christmas Carols. Put them on while you do some festive crafting, or just have a good sing-a-long with the playlist.
This month’s Music Book Review is a retelling of a Festive Favourite song, The Twelve Days of Christmas or Grandma Is Overly Generous, by Alex T Smith, 2014’s World Book Day illustrator.
getkidsintomusic.com 