Introducing Your Children to Classical Music - Without Compromising

The A to Z Symphony (Video) and Classical Fun Sing-A-Longs (CD): A really fun way to introduce classical music - as it was written - to your children!

There have been numerous studies that demonstrate playing classical music for your children is good for them. "The Mozart Effect" suggests that playing Mozart for your kids could make them smarter. Being a musician myself, I certainly am an advocate of classical music, and some pieces seem to soothe my children when I play them. However, I was baffled at all the videos that are out for children. Take the ever-popular "Baby Einstein" series, for example. They have great visuals, with a classical music soundtrack, but all of the music is arranged and played on a synthesizer. "Recorded especially for little ears..." says Julie Clark, the creator of the series.

"Little ears?" I wondered to myself! "What's wrong with the original instrumental or orchestral versions written by the composers? After all, if children get used to listening to the synthesized version of the music, will they appreciate the original versions when they hear them? Well, that's what I wondered when I stumbled upon Robert and Claire Li Franki and their CD and companion video at the Library Convention last August.

The Frankis are both classically trained musicians and parents. And they were disappointed (as I was) that all of the manufacturers of children's videos on the market seem compelled to rearrange classical pieces from the original instrumental versions to their own synthesized versions, sort of like "Hooked on Classics" for kids. Robert and Claire did something about it, and the result of their labor of love is the "Classical Fun Sing-A-Longs" CD and "The A to Z Symphony" video.

The CD contains one-minute excerpts of 24 of the most well-known classical works, from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony to Rossini's William Tell Overture, from Vivaldi's "Spring" from Four Seasons to Sir Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance. The pieces are featured in two different ways. First they are performed by singers with specially written lyrics that match the music exactly, (the vocals overlaid onto the orchestral track), and then the pieces are played a second time in the original instrumental version, introduced with the name of the work and the composer. The one-minute excerpts are a perfect length; long enough to learn the musical themes, but not so long as to lose interest.

"The A to Z Symphony" is the video that features the same classical pieces as the CD. In this video, each piece is paired with a letter of the alphabet, and the video sequence that accompanies the music matches the theme of the letter. For example, the letter A is for "apple" and "arrow", and the music is the William Tell Overture by Rossini. The video shows an animated apple and an arrow traveling across the screen past famous world landmarks. The rest of the letters are similarly themed, for example "B is for butterfly", and so on.

Over a year after we first played the CD and video for my daughters CJ, then 2-1/2, and Anna, then 8 weeks, we're still playing them regularly - usually because CJ requests them. In fact, she tells me what the pieces are from the vocal lyrics. For example, "That's the shaking song" (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart) or "That's the tiptoe song" (Sylvia Ballet by Delibes) and tells me which ones she really likes, too! (Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is a favorite). She also sings the words written for the pieces ("We are busy bumblebees..." for the Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakoff). It has been a great way for her to get familiarized with the classical pieces and learn the names of the composers, too! When asked who Mozart was, CJ replied (with no prior parental prompting), "He wrote beautiful music!" CJ's favorite piece from the entire CD and video collection, by the way, is the William Tell Overture, which she refers to as "The Arrow Song."

Not to be left out, Anna (now 18 months old) really enjoys both listening to the CD and watching the DVD as well. The A to Z Symphony video captures Anna's attention like few other videos, even more than the many "Baby Einstein" videos that we own! When she listens to the CD, she will even move her arms to the beat, like an orchestra conductor!

While one can enjoy the CD without the companion video and vice versa, the maximum benefit appears to be gained by using both the CD and video together. For example, when we listen to the CD in the car, CJ often identifies the pieces by the letter they represent from the video, for example, the Moonlight Sonata, which she identifies as "That's E for Earth, or "That's J for Jump" for the "Russian Dance" from The Nutcracker Suite by Tschiakovsky. This demonstrates how using the CD and video collection together can accentuate the ability of children to learn musical themes and associate them with visual cues.

This CD and video collection is truly an enjoyable way of introducing classical music to your children. They will enjoy listening to the music as it was written by the composers--with acoustic instruments and orchestras, rather than synthesizers! Since the experts suggest that listening to classical music makes our children smarter, then Classical Fun Sing-A-Longs" CD and "The A to Z Symphony" video should be in every child's collection! Check it out, at www.cmkids.org. Your children will thank you for it!