In Babies and more we think that enjoying classical music is not an exclusive pleasure of the elderly. That is why we are bringing you different proposals of classical music for the kids of the house, and in this case we will look at the best fun classical music for kids.
These are classics with surprise, descriptive music thanks to which we hear a typewriter, sheep or a great instrumental sneeze. A great music to play with children to imagine that we are flying carabiners or talking cats. As we will see, classical music would be nothing ...
Flight of the Bumblebee
"The flight of the carabiner" is a fun composition of Rimsky-Korsakov. Ideal to fly ourselves through the room or fly any doll to the sound of this music. Originally it is an orchestral interlude that closes the third act of the opera "The Tale of Tsar Saltán", which bases its argument on a text by Alexandr Pushkin. The Tsar's son, Prince Gvidon becomes an insect and thus can secretly visit his father.
The frantic melody, as a perpetual motion, is fragmented and passes through different sections of the orchestra. However, what it is known for is interpreted independently and by a single instrument (piano, trumpet, violin), thus demonstrating the interpreter's virtuosity and technical mastery of it to achieve that imitation of buzzing buzzard.
The typewriter and a clock
Here we have the fabulous "Typewriter" by the American composer Leroy Anderson, great for typing with children any surface or any imaginary machine. "The typewriter" (1950) is a theme where humor is expressed by the use of the typewriter as a single "instrumental." We hear the typing, the end of the line with its characteristic timbre and the roller feed to change the line (now known as "intro").
Leroy Anderson is known for his light and novel little pieces, which soon became famous thanks to their contagious and ingenious melodies. Another one is "The syncopated clock", in which we hear the ticking and even the alarm clock. Great to start the day with joy!
A cat dialogue
This fun play by Rossini, the "Dialogue of cats" ("Duetto buffo di due gatti"), is undoubtedly a sign of the great sense of humor of its author. It seems that Rossini, known especially for his operas, was a little tired of hearing how the great divas of the time modified as he pleased to show off, or simply forget, the texts of the Aryans. So to avoid it, he decided to write this little piece for two sopranos and piano.
Some say that it is dedicated to two cats that every morning woke up the teacher from his window. Nice, but ... was that so?
Don Quixote and the sheep
Strauss's "Don Quixote" has been said to have gone beyond all his contemporaries in the art of allow the listener to see through the ear. We will check it with this fun snippet.
In the recording that we can hear next, from the 11'14 minute "begins the variation that describes the chapter in which the sad figure is launched against a flock of sheep and sheep, thinking that it is an evil army Strauss describes with total clarity, you can almost visualize the scene:
- First, the melody that identifies the main character throughout the work is heard.
- Immediately appear the sheep, that graze and balance calmly under the watchful eye of the pastor, identified with his own melody.
- Suddenly, the melody of Don Quixote is heard again, which charges against the flock, causing the animals to flee in terror and scatter.
- Finally, the theme of Don Quixote is again distinguished, proud of the feat achieved.
On YouTube you can see the same fragment extracted from one of the cinematographic versions of "Don Quijote de la Mancha". But, the best thing for the kids, will be to see the same episode in comic version, from this page, in a very interesting educational resource that I talked about a few days ago and presented by Don Quixote for children. Three different points of view for a peak episode of universal literature.
Atchiiisss! The sneeze
This great instrumental sneeze opens "The Suite of Harry Janos", of Zoltan Kodaly. It is the prelude followed by the rest of the orchestral suite extracted from the homonymous opera. It is a character from Hungarian folklore, a symbol of bravery against the Napoleonic power. Actually, it's only the first seconds of the play, when all instruments mimic together a gigantic sneeze, but we can leave it a little more after the fun initial sneeze to enjoy it.
We hope you liked this Selection of fun classical music to listen, enjoy and play with children. Soon we will return with other fun proposals that will make you have fun, dance and fly with the imagination while developing the ear and musical taste.
