{"id":11548,"date":"2015-09-15T00:01:12","date_gmt":"2015-09-15T04:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=11548"},"modified":"2016-06-16T23:03:01","modified_gmt":"2016-06-17T03:03:01","slug":"recorded-storytime-music-a-primer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2015\/09\/recorded-storytime-music-a-primer\/","title":{"rendered":"Recorded Storytime Music: A Primer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"New<\/a>
New recorded music arrived at the library today! [Photo courtesy of the author.]<\/figcaption><\/figure>While on vacation, I found myself in a store trying to pick out a movie that my sister, brother-in-law, and I would watch. Since I’ll watch pretty much anything once, I left them in the movie aisle arguing. I walked away only to discover The Ultimate Laurie Berkner Collection<\/em> on the shelves of the store. I had tried to pre-order the CD a few months ago using our vendor and it wasn’t available. I immediately snatched up it up and tucked it in my basket. It was the best souvenir of my trip!<\/p>\n

It took me a long time to enjoy and use children’s music. There are so many benefits to using music<\/a>, but I have a half-decent voice and got through many years just singing a capella. It took starting my Music & Movement program — Shake, Shimmy, & Dance — to really start investigating recorded music. <\/p>\n

Since I’ve passed thirty, I consider classic artists anyone that I listened to as a child. These include: Raffi, Sharon Lois & Bram, Ella Jenkins, Hap Palmer, and Greg & Steve. These are great core artists to be familiar with as you start learning about children’s music. I don’t incorporate a lot of their music into my programs because my programs tend to be a bit more high energy and my patrons prefer a more contemporary sound. <\/p>\n

These are the fifteen artists (in no particular order) that I absolutely adore. I recommend checking out their entire catalogs and listening to them immediately. I did include my favorite album in case you’re pressed for time! <\/p>\n

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  1. Jim Gill (Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Songs & Other Contagious Tunes)<\/li>\n
  2. Laurie Berkner (Best of the Laurie Berkner Band)<\/li>\n
  3. Caspar Babypants (More, Please!)<\/li>\n
  4. Elizabeth Mitchell (Sunny Day)<\/li>\n
  5. The Learning Groove (Rockin’ Red)<\/li>\n
  6. Mr. Jon & Friends (Get Your Move On)<\/li>\n
  7. Wiggleworms (Songs for Wiggleworms & Wiggleworms Love You — I can’t choose one!)<\/li>\n
  8. Joanie Leeds & the Nightlights (I’m a Rock Star!)<\/li>\n
  9. Bari Koral Family Rock Band (Rock and Roll Garden)<\/li>\n
  10. The Wiggles (Hot Poppin’ Popcorn)<\/li>\n
  11. Laura Doherty (Heartbeat)<\/li>\n
  12. Aaron Nigel Smith (Let’s Pretend)<\/li>\n
  13. Carole Peterson Stephens (Polka Dots!)<\/li>\n
  14. Dreamtree Shakers (Come On a Picnic)<\/li>\n
  15. Ralph Covert (Welcome to Ralph’s World)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And my top three tips for finding good recorded music: <\/p>\n