Tips for Introducing Music to 4 Month Old

Early Learning Teaching Your Child Music
1

Last weekend, we went to my dad’s house and he played my 4 month old baby the guitar. She fixated on him while he played and she loved it when we ran her hands across the strings later. She would stick out her hand, I’d put it in place and let it fall across the strings. She could do that forever.

We love Little Musician, but I’m wondering if there are some things I can do off of the computer to help further develop this interest. We don’t have any instruments in the home and the experience with my dad made me want to go out and buy her a guitar or a keyboard or something.

I’m thinking that maybe we will put her in a Music Together class in the new year. Any other tips or ideas? Thank you!

2

Sing! I just made a list of children’s songs (some of which are included on Little Musician) that you could sing with your baby. If you don’t know the words or tune to these songs, most of them are in the public domain and you could find the words/sheet music/tune online legally.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star/Baa Baa Black Sheep/Alphabet Song (same tune, different words)
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Frere Jacques/Brother John
Humpty Dumpty
The Muffin Man
This Old Man
Ten Little Indians
Old McDonald Had a Farm
Rain, Rain, Go Away
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
Sing a Song of Sixpence
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain
A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea
Supercalifragolisticexpialialodocious
My Favorite Things (from The Sound of Music, now available as a children’s book)
Hickory Dickory Dock
Pop Goes the Weasel

Action Rhymes Joanna Cole has a book, The Eentsy, Weentsy Spider: Fingerplays and Action Rhymes, that has instructions of how to do some of these action rhymes:

I’m a Little Teapot
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Ring Around the Rosie
The Grand Old Duke of York
Incy Wincy Spider
London Bridge is Falling Down
If You’re Happy and You Know It
The Wheels on the Bus
The Hockey-Pokey

If you want to play an instrument, there’s a “lap harp” called the Music Maker for which you can buy song sheets to slip under the strings and play. www.lapharp.com sells both the harp and song sheets. www.worldofharmonymusic.com also makes song sheets for these type of lap harps.

You could also buy a glockenspiel. I got mine from when my son participated in Kindermusik, but they sell them online too: http://store.kindermusik.com/p-302-kindermusik-glockenspiel.aspx Nancy Poffenberger has several books for glockenspiels with familiar songs: http://www.funpublishing.com/?author=5 These books are with notes written as A-B-C as opposed to solfege or to notes on a staff:

NURSERY RHYMES WITH BELLS AND XYLOPHONE includes these songs: The Muffin Man; The Bear Went Over the Mountain; Ring a Ring of Roses; Eensie Weensie Spider; I’m a Little Teapot; Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush; Lazy Mary; Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be; This Old Man; Down by the Station; Ten in the Bed; A Tisket, A Tasket.

INSTANT FUN WITH BELLS AND XYLOPHONES includes these songs: Mary Had a Little Lamb; Jingle Bells; London Bridge; Farmer in the Dell; For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow; Hickory Dickory Dock; Pop Goes the Weasel; Row, Row, Row Your Boat; Ten Little Indians; Baa Baa Black Sheep; Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; Brother John; Hot Cross Buns

3

I bought a professional xylophone encased in plastic. I have NO knowledge of music. I start by hitting each note and naming it. Then I just play around but not in a random fashion, rather I skip one, hit each twice, hit the two outer ones and work my way in, alternating, whatever is systematic. My 5 yo DD does the random :slight_smile: . My baby is 4 months old, and I started about 5 weeks ago.