Getting children involved with music is always a positive thing for parents to do. Our young ones will often come home from school talking about the instruments they have played or the songs they have sung that day. As an extension of this, you might include music into your child’s bedtime routine to some degree, or make it a regular activity around the home.
Musical Involvement
Of course, you have many options for bringing music into your child’s life. It might be something as simple as singing nursery rhymes together. As they grow older you might start listening to music with them or encouraging them to discover the sounds they like, or perhaps even start introducing instruments to them.
One great thing to do with younger children, in particular, is to sing with them, whether it is a nursery rhyme or a more ‘regular’ type of song. You can take this even further by learning to play certain songs on the guitar yourself, just to add to the positive feeling of singing along together. An obvious progression of this is to then hand the instrument to your child as they grow older so that they can play themselves as you sing along.
Easier Than You Think
The great thing about children’s songs is that you only need to learn a couple of notes on an acoustic guitar and you are all set and ready to go.
Simply pick up a guitar, find out how to play the C and G7 chords, and you will be ready to go. Of course, if you wanted to get more technical and take your guitar skills beyond the basic stage, you can choose to do so. Once you have done that, all you have to do is select the songs to sing.
These would be our top five:
1. Itsy Bitsy Spider
A childhood favorite for years, perhaps more for the associated actions that for the nursery rhyme itself. This tune is great for playing along and getting your child to guess what it is, too.
2. How Much is that Doggie in the Window?
This song is perhaps more famous for the fact that most people know only a few lines rather than anything else, but it is a favorite with children everywhere nonetheless. If you want to make it even more fun, make sure you have a plush dog or puppy toy to play around with while you sing it. If you have an actual pet dog yourself, you might even try to involve them!
3. Wheels on the Bus
Is this the first song that every child learns? This is great for bedtime, as you can challenge your child to keep thinking of new things on the bus, and it is time to go to sleep when they run out of ideas.
4. Do Your Ears Hang Low?
This can be quite a high-energy song to sing so it is perhaps best kept away from bedtime; maybe early in the morning would be the best time of day if you are in the mood but the kids need waking up?
5. London Bridge is Falling Down
A final simple favorite that fits the two basic chords perfectly. This peaceful tune is a definite winner at bedtime.
Whether you sing with your children to wake them up or get them to sleep, or do so with a view to introducing them to instruments as they get older, it is a great thing to do to engage our youngsters. Try out these songs, think of your own, and push yourself to learn as much guitar as possible, to make singing with your child an even better experience.
This article is written by Pro Music Tutor, an online music tutoring site providing high-definition instructional saxophone and guitar tutorial videos.
