Todays-Woman - Writing Songs for Children

By Cindy Lee Haddock

Writing some music for a local children’s school play, submitting songs to a children’s textbook company for consideration, or just writing songs to keep your babysitting charges amused are all fun ways to use your songwriting skills, and may even prove to be a money-making idea for you.

Many songwriting contests don’t have a lot of submissions in this category, and that may mean a better chance of you getting prizes for your work. Many music conventions don’t have a lot of candidates trying in this genre, either, so if you hope to break into the business, there isn’t as much competition as there might be in regular folk or pop, so this has proved to be a good stepping stone for some musicians. Here are a few ideas you might try if you decide to write in this style.

KEEP TO ONE CONCEPT

Children, especially younger ones, don't have an incredibly long attention span. Keeping what you are trying to teach them simple and to the point always helps if you are hoping to get them to remember your tune and the concept that it is trying to get across. Tell a well-known story, teach a simple dance or exercise routine, teach a simple learning concept, counting, colors, groups of things related to the same theme, or something along those lines, as long as it is just one of these things. A song about one person, even could be a nice song, or maybe about a family group, but this still is basically about just one topic.

AVOID LARGE, OBSCURE WORDS

True, you can create a nonsense word like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, but unless you explain what it means like that song did, you'll lose a young audience. Put yourself in the child's shoes and think how you'd like to hear things, or try your song ideas out on some kids and get their opinions, first. If they ask what things mean a lot, or think you are talking down to them, consider a rewrite. Easy to pronounce and sing words also ups your chances of coming up with a song that kids will remember, too, and this can help if you have hopes of making it a classic or at least a local hit.

KEEP TO A SIMPLE MELODY

You melody should be easy to sing and quickly hummable. If you use difficult to reach notes, notes that go too fast or complex rhythms, you may lose lots of kids. Think of the basic cadence of your old favorite nursery rhymes, old children's tunes you grew up on, and use those as good examples. Remember how hard that "LMNOP" part on the alphabet song was the first many times you tried to tackle it. Sometimes, though, if you slow that part of a song down, even a small child can learn it. Again, try putting yourself in their place—with children's higher pitched but unpracticed voices, could you sing this song? If it is for older children, you can try more drastic interval leaps, especially once their voices start to change and deepen, but if you hope to teach your song to little ones, make sure it is something you could have handled at that age—not all kids are candidates for the Vienna Boy's Choir.

Most of all, though, try to write something that you would enjoy singing. If this becomes a hit for you, you may be stuck singing it over and over and over and over and over again. My "hit" to date is often considered a children's song, and I get more requests to sing this number than I care to think about. Unfortunately, it is also difficult to play, so if I don't keep my craft up and practice it, I muff it badly and make a fool of myself—think of this before you decide to make the melody line simple and the arrangement complex to show off your chops. Kids are a fun audience, but they can be cuttingly truthful, too—if you suck, they will let you know. I don't mind practicing that song, though—it is a fun and playful tune to perform. Look like you are having fun performing any tune, and that enthusiasm often will get the kids involved in it, too.

Most of all, though, keep writing and have fun!

This article originally appeared at http://www.suite101.com