Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Kids Music Back-to-School Sale | 50% off Educational Kid Music

2010-08-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to do our Back-to-School. Listening to music is a great way to get kids back into learning and getting excited about things like science, and math. Get 50% OFF full digital albums in August only! Use the code school at check out to get 50% off the digital album downloads during our Back-to-School Sale!

Get kids back in to math with "It's All Just Numbers" and learn about science with one of our fan favorites, "Icky, Icky Insects". Shop with coupon code: school at check out! The sale runs the entire month of August on the full digital downloads of our albums: Silly Bus, Alphabet Volumes 1 and 2. Learn and have fun with our music any time, any where! Songs like "History Hip Hop" and the "Alphabet Eyes" are great to help kids learn and have fun at the same time. Silly Bus develops music with the input of educators, kids and customers - to bring to life music that you can listen to anytime and get your kids ready to get back to school too!

-Children who receive early music training score higher on standardized tests.

-The use of music during learning can increase a child's IQ.

-Young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year compared to children who do not receive musical training.

-There is a link between spatial reasoning and participation in music and movement activities.

Preschool children are at the beginning of the learning spectrum. Parents and teachers set learning patterns and attitudes and introduce children to learning by providing the first exposures. These exposures should encourage the joy of participating in music and making music. Joyful experimentation will result in the growth of musical skills and lay the foundation for future music learning as well as for future academic success.

Get your kids ready for school, sing along to our music in the car, at home, cooking dinner - where ever you are!

Take care,
Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Where is Coach Billy? | Kid Music Winners

2010-07-21T18:15:00.001-07:00

We have lots of great, fun summer news! We did our "Silly Summer" contest where fans had to guess where Coach Billy was on his summer travels. It turns out Coach Billy went to some very cool places.

Coach Billy went to:

Santorini, the Parthenon and - places below with some fun facts as hints for the challenge:

the Forum: This place was established in the 7th century BC and served as a key meeting place through the reign of the Roman Empire.

the Coliseum: This place held 50,000 people and was completed in 80 AD. "Wow! Almost 2000 years old."

the Trevi Fountain in Rome: This famous fountain was originally fed by an ancient aquaduc. Part of this fountain was duplicated in Walt Disney World's Epcot in the Italy section. "Now that's a fun fountain!"

Congrats to the winners - who received our kid music downloads free! Whoo Hoo! We love giving back to fans and having some fun at the same time.

Also, Silly Bus and Club Mom team up for a morning of music and fashion! Check out the Back-to School Fashion show and listen to Silly Bus during the FREE Club Mom event from 9-11am on August 3rd.

Visit our site and sign up for the newsletter too: http://www.sillybus.net

Stay tuned for more silly fun this summer,
Coach Billy and Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Donates Portion of Proceeds from New Song | Kids Music Group Sings to Cure and Conquer Childhood Cancer |

2010-07-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

Silly Bus is partnering with the Connor's Heroes Foundation to help conquer childhood cancer. Listen to and Purchase "Heroes and Angels" in July, just type "connor" as your code and Silly Bus will donate 50% of the profits of online downloads. The fundraiser starts today, July 1st, and goes through July 31st.

"Heroes and Angels" is the song used in the recent Public Service Announcement as well. Check out the Connor's Heroes PSA on YouTube featuring our song, "Heroes and Angels", along with Connor from Connor's Heroes, Tommy Hilfiger, and Alex Garfield. The PSA is also on the Silly Bus site too.

Thanks so much for your support! Visit our site to learn more about this program and all the great things we have for you and your family to enjoy this summer!

Have a great summer!
Silly Bus

Just a Reminder - you can stay in touch with us on Facebook and Twitter, talk to you soon!

Silly Bus | Silly Bus' Coach Billy at the Parthenon

2010-06-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Coach Billy is traveling a bit this summer and is visiting the Parthenon in Greece. The Parthenon is temple in the Athenian Acropolis in Greece. The temple is dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, who is recognized as their protector.

Coach Billy was very impressed, "wow that is a lot of stone"! No kidding! The Parthenon was built between 447BC and 438 BC. The stone was actually transported 16 kilometers from Athens to the temple! That must have been a long and expensive journey.

Well Coach Billy, thanks for writing us and keep sending pictures and stories for us to share. Safe travels!

Join our newsletter to keep in touch with Coach Billy and other summer news! Have a great week!

Stay silly,
Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Free Concert at Goddard Was Lots of Fun!

2010-06-08T04:40:00.001-07:00

Wow, it was a hot time in this old Richmond town over the weekend! We had a great time playing at The Goddard School in Glen Allen this past Saturday. Not only was the show cooking, but the sun was cooking as well. The Goddard School had plenty of fun events for kids, including the always fun balloon bounce, free popsicles, and a misting station to help keep everyone cool. I went into the misting station for a bit, and it was incredibly refreshing.

The rescue and fire station also had an ambulance and fire engine at the event. They received a call during the event and had to hurriedly rush off to help out whomever was in need. That was quite an exciting but tense moment to see them pack and rush off so quickly. It also brought to mind how fortunate we all are to have such dedicated emergency services to help those in need.

We played a couple of new songs, Red Popsicle and Humpty Dumpty. They were a lot of fun to play. The songs have a great lively feel, and it is always exciting to play new songs out live.

We also got to see several of our friends at the event from partner organizations such as the Annabelle's Angels. And The Goddard School was incredibly hospitable towards us, as always.

If you missed the Goddard show, come check us out at our next event at the Dominion School for Autism from 11 - 2pm. Have a good week!

Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Silly Bus on the Air in St. Louis | Thanks Musical Merry-Go-Round

2010-06-06T03:46:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to meet Grandfather Stark at KindieFest 2010. Since meeting him, and hearing about his awesome radio station that blends classics with kids music, which helps parents enjoy music and also help their kids experience the classics in a fun way, we had to send him a song to play. His show is called the Musical Merry-Go-Round – you can check out his site, and join him on Facebook too. The actual station in St. Louis is: 88.1 KDHX Musical Merry-Go-Round.

Grandfather Stark played Red Popsicle yesterday! We are so excited and in the next few days you can stream the June 5th show or if you go to his site right now, stream earlier shows and hear his music.

The idea of being able to listen to songs like Ace of Base The Sign, Sam Cooke “What a Wonderful World”, and then kids music is fantastic.

Well, we hope you like today’s blog and find this station fun to listen to – we have a free kids music concert coming up, speaking of listening to kids music. We play at The Dominion School for Autism this coming Sunday, June 13th from 11-2. Come and Rock Along with Us at 4205 Ravenswood Road Richmond, VA 23222.

Request a show at our site, and sign up our newsletter too. We also have a Facebook page where you can listen to our music! See you soon :)

Also, we are competing in the Pepsi Refresh Challenge, learn more about our project and vote here.

Have a great rest of the weekend, stay silly!

Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Vote for Silly Bus in the $250,000 Pepsi Refresh Challenge

2010-06-01T03:32:00.000-07:00

Silly Bus is so very lucky to have great fans – we need your help more than ever. Silly Bus has made it through the selection process and has been selected for the final round of voting for the Pepsi Refresh Grant. And now we need your help to make it through the final step to win.

Last month Silly Bus entered the Pepsi Refresh Project, which gives way $1.3 million per month to ideas that do good. Our project is about getting kids fit and educating them at the same time through our music. The project is a yearlong, nation wide effort to bring our educational kids music and videos to life in schools to help our kids be healthy inside and out.

Silly Bus is working hard to get one of two awards of $250,000. That would go a long way to making a difference for children all across the country. The awards are made based strictly on the number of votes each plan receives. This project is something we have dreamed about bringing to life – but could not do this without the grant funding.

How to Vote:

1. Check us out at: http://www.refresheverything.com/getkidsfit

2. Click “Vote for This Idea.”

3. Go through the quick, free signup (to prevent internet robots from voting a million times). If you’re signed into Facebook, you can just click the “Connect with Facebook” button.

4. Spread the word! The more people who help us out, the better our chances. Please consider posting on your website, sending to your email list, posting on facebook/twitter/myspace, etc.

5. Come back and vote every day this month. Maybe even make it a habit when you start at your computer each morning. At the end of June, votes will be tallied and we hope to be in the top two!

Thanks so much for your support! Visit our site to learn more about us too: http://www.sillybus.net

Additional background about Silly Bus

Established in 2005, Silly Bus is an educational media company focused on developing music and videos that teach and entertain preschool and elementary aged children. Silly Bus is a two-time Mom's Choice Award winner. The Silly Bus team members are experienced professionals who have worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including MTV and Discovery Kids.

Silly Bus | Silly Bus hits 1,000 Fans on Facebook | Free Chick-fil-A Sandwichs for Fans

2010-05-25T07:44:00.001-07:00

We are so excited - this weekend we hit 1,000 fans on Facebook. It is a great milestone and we are very thankful to our fans and to show our thanks - we have certificates for a Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich for the Chick-fil-A at Virginia Center Marketplace and Virginia Center Commons in Richmond (Ashland to be more precise).

Our friends at Chick-fil-A have been fantastic, we really appreciated their Operation Cow Drop show and can't wait to do more shows with them.

If you were one of the first 1,000 Fans - please go to Facebook to check out how to redeem your certificate. Remember it is just for the VA Center Marketplace and Commons locations.

Have a fantastic day!

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Silly Bus Kids Music Summer Sale | $5 CDs and Kids Music MP3 Downloads

2010-05-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

We have a new album coming out soon, so we are running a summer sale on our CDs and MP3 album downloads!

To say thanks for all of your support – this sale is just for our newsletter fans! Sign up for our newsletter to get the discount coupon code

All CDs & Albums are $5 each with the discount code! You can also see the lyrics on our site too!

Silly Bus – The fun and engaging lyrics cover educational topics like History, Math, and Civics with musical styles such as pop, blues and rap! Fan favs include Jump Up, Earth and Sun, and Alphabet Eyes!

Alphabet – Volume 1 - This CD is for pre-K and has fan favorites like Chewy Chocolate Chips, Pumpkin Patch and Teddy Bear Boogie!

Alphabet – Volume 2 – This is the last album in the alphabet collection with awesome songs like At the Zoo (just released this video too), X Marks the Spot (Pirates), and Icky, Icky Insects!

We hope you all have a fantastic summer – be sure to check out our latest song all about summer – Red Popsicle!

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Silly Bus Rocked with Fans at Imagination Richmond | Kids Music Concert

2010-05-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

Wow! We had a great time today, playing two sets, and rockin' along with our fans and hopefully new fans too :) The kids were awesome, dancing to hokey pokey, chomp chomping and singing the ABCs. There were several kids who said their ABCs perfectly and corrected Mr. Brian on missing the letter "L" in the song. Very impressive that they caught that given how fast we were all singing.

We had lots of new folks join our email list - thanks for signing up and we hope you like what we send you. Please let us know - we are here for you :)

We also saw our friends from Read Aloud Virginia, who read before / after our sets. We were able to play twice, so thanks to the folks who came twice to hear us! Lite 98 stopped by too - it was great catching up with them. They supported us on TV and radio for the show - it was fantastic. Other folks at the show included the Cat in the Hat, Snoopy and the Flying Squirrels were there too.

We hope you were able to be there and enjoy the show. Today was a bit of a celebration too - our drummer Mr. Lee turned an important birthday (our hint is it starts with a 4...). Mr. Lee has his three daughters there to sing with him, the crowd joined in too which was awesome and appreciated.

Look for video from the show shortly, in case you missed it. We are playing on June 5th at Goddard on Nuckols Road. We hope to see you then. Check out our site for more details. Also - check out our latest single - Red Popsicle!

Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter and join us on Facebook - we are giving away Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwiches in partnership with CFA of VA Center Marketplace when we hit 1,000 Fans. I am happy to say we are less than 25 Fans away!

Hope to see you soon - stay silly,

Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Silly Bus Plays at Imagination Richmond | Kids Music & Festival

2010-05-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we get to play at Imagination Richmond at Willow Lawn. That should be a lot of fun - we have two sets, one from 10:30am-11:00am and the final set from 11:30am-12:00pm. It is likely that we will play one of our new songs, Red Popsicle, as well as do our infamous Hokey Pokey dance off.

Here are some specifics about Imagination Richmond - it is a free event, there is no entry fee to all of the great things below.

Other cool news - we have less than 25 Fans to go before we hit 1,000! That means we get to give away 1,000 Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwiches in partnership with Chick-fil-A at Virginia Center Marketplace and Commons. That is very cool - we also will pick one person to get Chick-fil-A for an entire year :)

We hope to see you at the show - have a great fun-filled weekend!

Stay silly,
Silly Bus

More Information about Imagination Richmond
Imagination Richmond is a FREE day-long, family event featuring fun and exciting children's activities including a meet & greet with Clifford the Big Red Dog and Snow White, Jonathan the Juggler, music by Silly Bus, dancing fairies, Aesop's Fables puppet show, arts & crafts, face painting, balloon art, story time and other favorite children's activities along with Willow Lawn merchant specials and free giveaways. Bring a packaged snack for the Greater Richmond SCAN Snack Drive and a gently used children's book to benefit the Read Aloud Virginia Children's Book Bank.

Silly Bus | Silly Bus Rocks Kids Music at Operation Cow Drop

2010-05-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

We had a great time rockin' along with kids, parent, friends and everyone at the Family Fun Event hosted by our friends at Chick-fil-A Virginia Center Marketplace. The event raised over $90,000 this year for 67 non-profit groups and organizations. In addition, there were more charities and organizations that participated this year than last year. This was the 3rd Annual Operation Cow Drop - Silly Bus had a great time performing and really appreciated the opportunity to have Silly Man and the group come out and support the thousands of people and 1500 plush cows that were thrown out of the plane! Check out the video below :) Silly Man helped a lot :)

(c) 2010 Educational Media Creations Company, LLC

Mr. John was MC along with Silly Man - throughout the day. We had our usual Hokey Pokey dance off and gave away some CDs to our awesome winners! Silly Man also wished Kim Grimes Happy Birthday (she was their with her 8 kids and her hub). Folks sang along great with our songs - and really got involved with the ABC song and Chewy Chocolate Chips! CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP :)

(c) 2010 Educational Media Creations Company, LLC

Mr. Justin forgot the alphabet, so Silly Man and all of the kids helped him sing the ABCs to make sure he remembered how they went. Thanks to everyone that sang along and helped Justin. Connor and his family (from Connor's Heroes) came out and sang along too!

Silly Bus played from 12:30 to around 1:15pm. Then there was the National Anthem and the wait for the cows. The plane took off and made several attempts dropping a few cows to see how the conditions were. Then on the third drop all of the cows were pushed out of the plane, it was quite a sight.

Thanks to all of the volunteers and Chick-fil-A (WHOO HOO Pam!) for bringing together such a fantastic and fun event!

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

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Silly Bus | Rested from KindieFest | Rehearsing for Free Kids Music Show | Thanks Teachers!

2010-05-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

So let's see - where to begin. I met so many great people this weekend at the KindieFest. Not to mention some great cab drivers too. Cab drivers that taught me about the BMW bridges - if you know what that is - let me know - maybe you will get a FREE CD! :)

I attended several workshops - all of this by the way was made by possible by Tor Hyams, Stephanie Mayers, Bill Childs and Mona Kayhan. Each of these individuals is just amazing - together they really produced a great event for all sorts of family music people to get together, network, learn and perform.

As I mentioned before - I arrived Friday - attended the reception and Key Note speech by Dan Zanes. He was really heart felt and fantastic. I met a lot of great folks that night. Pina from Sing-a-Lingo was just one of the people I met. Also, I met Grandfather Stark - the host of a kids music radio show called the Musical Merry-Go-Round in St. Louis. After the reception, I had a Skype meeting with some of the team and then finally hit the hay around midnight.

Saturday was all about attending panels and shows. Some of the panels covered marketing, distribution, etc. - then shows went all evening and through Sunday.

Now that the weekend is past - this week is all about focusing and rehearsing on our show this coming weekend. It is a free Kids Music Show in partnership with Chick-fil-A of VA Center Marketplace. We are very excited to play and partner for the Family Fun Event. Our show is at noon - but the event goes from 11-3pm. We can't wait to share some new music, set and other stuff (shhh...it's a surprise).

Remember, you can still purchase Operation Cow Drop tickets - which will benefit a local charity(www.CJSTUF.org) at the event, at least early in the day. The stuffed cows will be dropped around 1:30pm. There will be 1500 cows that go out of the plane, I can't wait to see what that looks like! There are also Open Mic performances from 2-3pm - sign up is done already - but you can come see what folks have for talent.

The prizes if your cow hits the cows eye (bulls eye) include things like:

Prizes:

#1. Disney Family Vacation

#2. Garage/Closet Makeover from

Tradewind Tops

#3. 32" Samsung TV from Best Buy

#4. X Box 360 Arcade from Best Buy

#5. Asus Netbook from Best Buy

#6. Two Chick-fil-A Bowl Tickets & Prize Pack

#7. Dinners For A Year

#8. Year of Movie Passes from Regal Cinemas

#9. Golf Prize Pack including 4 rounds of Golf from The Federal Club.

#10. Discovery Flight -lesson/flight

#11. Flying Squirrels Baseball Package

#12. Sports Clips Year of Haircuts

#13. Romp & Roll Birthday Party

#14. Mad Science Week Long Summer Day Camp

#15. The Jefferson Hotel Sunday Brunch

Package & Deluxe Overnight Stay

#16. Victory Lady Year Membership for Two

#17. Four Six Flags Day Passes & Hotel Stay

#18. Concert Ballet Season Passes

#19. Chick-fil-A For A Year

#20. Chick-fil-A Tailgating Party

Also Enjoy Games, Music, Inflatables, Crafts, Vendors, Mad Science, Romp & Roll, Petting Zoo, Clowns, Face Painting, Balloon Animals, Chick-fil-A food, and so much more!

Silly Bus will be there with merchandise and lots of fun! We hope to see you there and also give away some autographed posters! We can't wait to party with you guys and gals this weekend!

If you want to let us know what song requests you have - post your answers on Facebook! Don't forget you can hear our music on Facebook on the My Band page. In case you need the concert info: Saturday, May 8, 11 a.m.—3 p.m., Hanover Airport 11152 Airpark Road, Ashland, VA 23005.

Remember this week is National Teacher Appreciation Week and today is National Teachers Day. We hope you got to tell some of your favorite teachers how great they were/are. We had some great notes on Facebook from our Fans about their teachers.

Stay Silly - have a great week and hope to see you this weekend! If you want to get our email/newsletter - please sign up here.

Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Silly Bus in New York for Kids Music | Goddard School Concert on 6/5

2010-04-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

We hope your week has been awesome! We can't believe it is almost May already. April has been great fun, we played at Chick-fil-A, released our new Earth Day song - Red Popsicle - and kicked off a charity drive to raise money for The Autism Grant. Less than 36 hours to purchase the Silly Bus CD and/or Alphabet Volume 1 - 50% of the profits from those sales will go to The Autism Grant.

To end the month, we are going to New York to attend the KindieFest festival - a conference and festival all about kids music. We head up tomorrow and will stay through Sunday. It should be great fun, Dan Zanes is the keynote speaker - can't wait to hear him. The festival is in Brooklyn for the weekend - although we hope to see some of New York City too. We will take lots of pictures all weekend!

In other exciting news, we did reschedule the Goddard show to now be on 6/5 from 11am-1pm. It is an outside show - so come ready to kick off the summer with a great outdoor concert!

Also - we have almost 1,000 fans on Facebook - WOW - it is very exciting. When we hit 1,000 everyone can get a free Chick-fil-A Chicken sandwich from CFA at VA Center Marketplace. In addition, one lucky person will get CFA for a year!

May looks to be very exciting too! There is Teacher Appreciation Week (and day), Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, and so many more great things to celebrate. In our newsletter this month - the best mother's day experience/gift/story that gets sent to our email - busdriver@sillybus.net - will win a free Silly Bus CD of their choice.

We do have a few pictures from people from our Earth Day craft project, we will show those too in our blog and May emails.

Join our newsletter to get the insider news and more free stuff!

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Silly Bus Rocked at Chick-fil-A | Free Kids Music Tonight!

2010-04-27T17:41:00.001-07:00

Mr. Rob played a great show at Chick-fil-A VA Center Marketplace. The place was packed with great turn out for the show, Kids Night & the Rural Point Elementary Spirit Night! We had a great time playing some great tunes - Dazzling Ducks, Icky, Icky Insects, a new Earth Day tune that was played for the first time - and other Silly Bus tunes! Kids were up front dancing, clapping along and having fun!

We really appreciate Chick-fil-A having us out to play, and look forward to playing again May 8th at Operation Cow Drop. There will be 1500 cows thrown out of a plane (plush cows not to worry) giving back to charity and also providing the chance to win prizes!

There were lots of coloring pages that had been wonderfully colored and were on display, remember bring the coloring page to get a Free 4 piece Kids Nugget Meal before May 8th!

We are set to go to KindieFest this weekend - watch out New York!

Sign up for our newsletter to stay in the know and get insider access to coupons, news and great music!

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Free Kids Music Concert at Chick-fil-A VA Center Marketplace 4/27

2010-04-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

We are sooo excited to play at the Chick-fil-A tomorrow night. There is going to be a lot going on - Kids Eat Free night, plus we are playing fun kids music, and there is a spirit night - so we hope to see you there to get in on the good time!

Several members of Silly Bus will be there giving away goodies when kids spin the Chick-fil-A wheel. Some of the giveaways will be CDs, and other cool stuff. Don't miss out!

The Kids Eat Free goes from 5-8pm, we will be there around 600 playing some of our great tunes, like the new song Red Popsicle, Jump Up and lots of others. The show will go just under an hour - it should be a great time.

Thanks to Chick-fil-A at VA Center Marketplace for supporting us, also don't forget that this CFA is making the Family Fun Event on May 8th from 11am-300pm happen. This event has lots of great things for the family to do. It is also the event where the famous Operation Cow Drop happens. You can still get tickets to win prizes and give back for the Operation Cow Drop.

In case you need the address of the event - here you go:
10176 Brook Rd
Glen Allen, VA 23059

Also - don't forget Mother's Day is coming up, it is a very important and special day!

This week we head up to the KindieFest 2010, we hope to see and meet lots of great people and bands. Check out our blog to see how it goes.

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

Silly Bus | Silly Bus Launches New Kids Music | Red Popsicle

2010-04-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

We just released a new single, Red Popsicle, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day this week! The catchy, summer tune has great imagery and makes listeners want to roll down their windows and drive to the beach (parents driving of course).

We are very excited about the lyrics and melody - they really pull you into the song, making you feel like you are at the beach, and at the same time educates and reminds kids to recycle and be kind to the earth. The song is all about playing at the beach, jumping in the waves and enjoying a yummy red popsicle in the hot sun.

Remember to recycle the popsicle stick when you are done!

Listen and purchase the song at the Silly Bus site.

To sing along, below are the lyrics, have fun!

Red Popsicle

Summer days sitting on the beach

I watch the dolphins playing in the sea

Building castles in the sand

I like to be here with all my friends

Feels like summer this sure is fun

A red popsicle melting in the sun
Don't throw away

Recycle the stick when I'm done

Found some trash put it in the bin

Clean up the beach I'll be the sand crabs friend

Watch the seagulls flying flying high above

I like to bury my feet and toes

Feels like summer this sure is fun

A red popsicle melting in the sun

Don't throw away

Recycle the stick when I'm done

I like to jump in to the waves

And ride them in to the shore again

Picking seashells and, and just having fun

Fun while we explore and then we run

Feels like summer this sure is fun

A red popsicle melting in the sun

Don't throw away

Recycle the stick when I'm done
(c) 2010 Silly Bus

In addition, you can send or 'share' the song from the Silly Bus Facebook page with your friends. Just go to the My Band tab, scroll to the song and click on Share.

This is kids music at its best, Silly Bus hopes you enjoy it!

Stay silly,

Silly Bus

PS. Join our newsletter to get in the know even more!

Silly Bus | Silly Bus attends Kids Music Festival | Kids Music, Volunteering & Earth Day

2010-04-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

So - closer to weather that feels like spring - very exciting! As the weather in Virginia is getting warmer, we are heading to New York on April 30th, through May 2nd to attend the KindieFest 2010 event. We are very excited about attending this year - the keynote speaker is Dan Zanes, in addition there are lots of people to meet and shows to watch.

Of course - on either side of this event we have multiple shows, so lots of rehearsing to do and also we have to keep working on our album that is coming out this summer. We hope to see and learn a lot at KindieFest and keep making our shows and music even better.

Speaking of rehearsing - we have a surprise song that we recorded this past week during rehearsal - and hope to share with the fans. It is not finished yet - but we wanted to see what you thought about it. In addition, the music is about the Earth and so appropriate that we share it this month.

Well, we hope everyone had a great weekend, don't forget this week is National Volunteer Week - so please say thanks to the folks that volunteer and also volunteer if you can. This year, volunteering is even more exciting with the volunteer program through Disney. They already closed the program - they reached their goal of getting 1 million people to volunteer - check it out here.

If you do want to volunteer in your area - this website is a great starting point. There are tons of great places to volunteer - you can even start by donating food to a local Food Bank or clothes and other items to the Salvation Army. It is a great way to recycle and reuse things you just have not used in a while.

Stay silly,
Silly Bus

Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter and visit our site for new and exciting stuff!

Silly Bus | Meet the Kids behind the Music | Free Kids Music Concert

2010-04-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

We are excited to share more about Silly Bus and what it means to us as a group and hopefully what it could mean to you as fans.

All of our songs are about getting healthy inside and out. We believe in helping our kids succeed through educational and fun lyrics. The Silly Bus group members were (ages ago) part of a rock band and now (later and most of us with kids) are really passionate about blending fun rock-along kind of music with purpose. We want our kids in real life, not just the Sillyville kids to be happy, healthy and groove to our music. Playing this great kids music also brings out the kid in us too.

We can't wait to rock with you at our upcoming shows over the next few weeks and months. We hope to hear from you about what of our kids music you liked and what songs you hope we play. Recently we asked fans on Facebook what their favorite songs were and the top ones mentioned that day were "X Marks the Spot", "Pumpkin Patch" and "Chewy Chocolate Chips"!

By the way - if you do want to listen to our kids music, you can now do so on our Facebook page. Go to the My Band tab to see upcoming shows, hear our music, and let us know which songs you 'dig'.

We hope to see you at our next show at Goddard School on Nuckols Rd. It is FREE and goes from 11am-1pm. Come and have a silly rockin' time!

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

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Silly Bus | Free Kids Music Concerts for our Fans

2010-04-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

We want to make sure we give back to our fans - so we try to find ways to make it easy to come, listen to great music and have fun!

We have several concerts coming up in the next few weeks and want to make sure that you get to hear our kids music for FREE and Save the Date for these shows.

It is very exciting to play on April 24th at The Goddard School on Nuckols Road - 11393 Nuckols Rd, Glen Allen, VA. The Goddard School is one our Education & Academic partners that we really like having as a partner. The show will be lots of fun, free and is open to the public. It goes from 11-1, we hope to rock along with you there.

Our next show is on April 27th at Chick-fil-A in Virginia Center Marketplace near Richmond (in Ashland). We are playing at the store on Kids Eat FREE night, so lots of reasons to come hear us play and eat yummy, free food. This will be our first show at CFA, we are very excited. We highly recommend becoming a Fan of theirs on Facebook - they have some cool stuff going on there.

The next event is also Free, in partnership with Chick-fil-A. You have heard us talk about this - it is the Family Fun Event on May 8th from 11-3. We will perform at noon, so grab some food from the vendors and swing by! Learn more about Operation Cow Drop and how to buy tickets to support a charity, get a free small milkshake and win prizes on the 8th!

Next is Imagination Richmond, which is at Willow Lawn on May 15th from 10am-2pm. There will be lots of great things to do and see. Live Kids Music by Silly Bus, Jonathan the Juggler, Balloon Art with Butterfly McPeace and He-Haul the Clown, Face Painting by Scarlet the Clown, Storyland with Read Aloud Virginia, Merchant Specials, Free Giveaways and MORE!

Anyways - this is all to say THANKS for your support, we hope to see you there and get ready to kick off summer!

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

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Silly Bus Loves Their Fans - Read the Love below (Happy Easter!)

2010-04-04T04:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! We hope you are having a great weekend.

Fans - as you know we are partnering with Chick-fil-A VA Center Commons and VA Center Marketplace. We have several exciting Fan Giveaways to celebrate you the Fans and get ready for The Family Fun Event on May 8th!

Chick-fil-A for a Year: 1 of the first 1,000 Fans on both the Silly Bus Facebook Fan Page and Virginia Center Marketplace Fan Page will win Chick-fil-A for a year!

FREE Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwiches - each of the first 1,000 Fans on both pages will get a FREE Chicken Sandwich - we will post the link to the coupon on our Fan pages for the day when we hit 1,000 Fans.

Also - you can color the Chick-fil-A & Silly Bus Coloring Page and bring it to the Virginia Center Marketplace location to get a FREE 4-piece Nugget Kids Meal.

We would love to hear from you - join us on Facebook and MySpace - let us know what you think.

Learn More about the Upcoming Operation Cow Drop and Family Fun Day Below:

As you may (or may not) know we are supporting and partnering with Chick-fil-A at Virginia Center Marketplace with their annual Operation Cow Drop event on May 8th. This is such an awesome event - it is a Family Fun Event from 11-3 with us performing at 12 - and then get this. A COW DROP at 1:30pm! No not real live cows :) These are nice plush cows that can be purchased to support non-profits and other organizations in Virginia. You can see exactly which ones at the CFA site. Each cow only costs $10 and you can win prizes like a Disney Family Vacation, 32 inch Samsung TV, etc. When the cows are thrown out of the plane they land hopefully on the "Cow's Eye" and if your cow comes closest you win!

This should be a great day - there will be great kid's songs and music, a petting zoo, clowns, face painting, vendors, Mad Science, Romp & Roll, Crafts, clowns and lots more.

This is our first time playing at this event - but it is awesome. This event raised a lot of money for organizations like Connor's Heroes, Special Olympics and the Goddard School - just to name a few.

We can't wait to come out and party with all of the families!

Check out our website for more fun activities and sign up for our monthly newsletter too!

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

Giving Back in April - National Autism Awareness Month

2010-03-31T20:19:00.001-07:00

We are so excited that tomorrow is April 1st!!! Besides April Fool's Day - there is an even better reason - April is National Autism Awareness Month.

We are teaming up with The Autism Grant and The Dominion School for Autism to raise money to support families and kids who need help getting help!

We will donate 50% of all profits from the online downloads and online CD sales of our popular Alphabet Volume 1 (ages 2 to 6) and our self-titled CD Silly Bus (ages 6 to 10) to The Autism Grant. The Autism Grant provides tuition scholarships to families in need that may not otherwise be able to receive the specialized assistance needed for children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Scholarships are provided for students to attend the Dominion School for Autism.

For more information about The Autism Grant, please visit their website: http://www.autismgrant.org/ and for the Dominion School for Autism, visit: http://www.dominionautism.org/. The Dominion School for Autism is a 501(c)(3) public charity located in Richmond, Virginia.

We are so excited to have this opportunity to give back, it really means so much to us to provide music, and support in other ways where we can.

Have a great day, don't fall for too many April Fool's Day jokes.
Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

Had a great time at the First Market Mile Kids Run yesterday!

2010-03-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

As always, the Kids Race was a funfilled event! Not even 30 degree weather could keep away thousands of children excited to exercise and dance with Silly Bus. Sportsbackers has once again produced an amazing event of which Silly Bus is thrilled to have been a part. The race was awesome, Silly Bus had a rockin' time getting everyone warmed up for the race. The Silly Man was very silly before the race too - posing and stretching - getting ready to go!

Coach Billy says "The Kids Race was amazing. Seeing thousands of kids out so early in the morning that are all being so healthy is awe-inspiring. And getting to play songs, entertain and warm up the crowd before the race was a blast. Silly Man did a great job keeping all of the mascots focused and on-the-job although when he brought out the Olympic torch it was clear that he was once again a little confused".
The race had sooooo many people there - there was such energy in the air! This event was great fun and Silly Bus had a great time playing there! We can't wait to play again!"

Our next concert is later in April on the 24th at the Goddard School - who knows what the Silly Man will be up to then! Though the show was a short set to get everyone going - it was fantastic and Silly Man and Coach Billy brought down the house!

These are some of the songs we played - in case you want to listen to them!
-Wacky Wheels(Alphabet Volume 2)
-Happy Homes (Alphabet Volume 2)
-Alphabet Eyes (Alphabet Volume 1)
-Hokie Pokie Dance Off
-Chewy Chocolate Chips (Alphabet Volume 1)
-Outstanding Owls (Alphabet Volume 2)

We hope everyone had fun and enjoyed the show - more pictures to come!

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

Supporting Earth Hour

2010-03-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

Silly Bus is excited about Earth Hour this year. Last year hundreds of millions of people turned off their lights for one hour, showing their support.

You can go to the Earth Hour website and pledge to turn off your lights for one hour - starting at 8:30pm.

As many of you know we are making a new release and are really looking at ways to be good for the environment. The CD cases we are looking at are using recycled content and not the big plastic cases. We have not figured out how to have the band members play their instruments and create energy to power the studio - but hey, baby steps.

Other earth friendly suggestions are welcome :) In keeping with the Earth theme:

One of our favorite kids songs and videos is "Earth and Sun" - check out the video here or subscribe to us on YouTube.

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

Silly Bus excited about "My Family" being available!

2010-03-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

I know it seems weird, talking about another band - but hey - this blog is here to also share content that you might find helpful! And let's face it - we are excited too. We write our kids music and make kids videos that hopefully help kids have fun and learn at the same time. We know this band makes great kids music - so here is the exciting news:

For those of you who know of the Laurie Berkner Band - they finally are putting their song "My Family" on iTunes March 23rd! Yes - tomorrow! This song was first heard on Nick Jr. ages ago and has not been available.

So we wanted to make sure you knew as well - hooray for bands that make great music!

Stay Silly and enjoy this great song about loving families,
Silly Bus

We Are Recording & Rehearsing (Whoo Hoo!)

2010-03-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

Well - this week is all about continuing to record for our new album coming out soon! It is great to get together - but tough work getting all of the components just right. It takes a lot of time working through the really cool and various instruments we have on this album. We are really trying to bring something new and different for our fans - we look forward to sharing it with you soon!

In addition, we are rehearsing for our show this coming weekend - March 27th - the First Market Mile Kids Run. Silly Bus will be up on stage and ready to get the "party" or race started!

Whew - well long weekend of working - and getting out and enjoying some weather too! We hope you had a great time this weekend and were able to get out and have some fun.

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

Some Spring Ideas!

2010-03-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

So I was looking around for some activities to do later in the day after playing outside - or in case it rains - you know April showers are coming soon. Here is one I love! This is from the Kaboose site.

Ladybug Rock Crafts (or any bug really)

What are you doing to get in to Spring?

2010-03-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

So at approximately midnight tomorrow it is Spring! We are very excited that the weather this weekend is looking pretty sunny and just what we need to go and play outside. Who knows - maybe some basketball, trampoline jumping - we will see! (just like in our Jump Up video).

What are some of your favorite Spring things to do?

Silly Bus wants to know: What makes a great Fan page?

2010-03-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

Hey fans,

We would love to know what you think makes a great Fan page on Facebook. Our page continues to grow and we appreciate it! We want to make sure that our content is relevant, fun and great.

Let us know so we can keep getting better.

Best,
Silly Bus

Partnering with Charities Leveraging Educational Media

2010-03-17T16:49:00.000-07:00

Educational Media opens the doors for several types of partnerships. As a group, it is important to think about your objectives to determine what the right types of partners are and how to have those partnerships come to life.

The easiest place to partner for a musical group is of course through shows. When scheduling shows, it is important to think about what you are getting out of the performance, ala revenue, exposure, good will, practice time for bigger shows. Revenue can show up in actual contract dollars or in free advertising that the host may do for you. Exposure is a great one to think about – because different audiences may spread word-of-mouth in very different circles. So if you do an outdoor event related to sports vs. an indoor school event, the people listening could overlap in your target audience or complement each other really well. Practice time, let’s face it – practice makes perfect. Most times you do a show for lots of reasons and practice/rehearsal for shows is a great way to try out new material and see how the audience reacts. It is relatively safe and helps you work out kinks.

Playing for charity and good will is a great thing to do. There are lots of benefits for both the group and the charity. Hitting back on audience and cross marketing – it is likely that the charity members are a different audience that one typically plays for at a show. So exposure is great – the group will also bring a new membership base to the charity, so it creates a potential group that may donate hours, money or skills to the charity once you market the partnership. It is also great for morale and it is good to show that you as a group care and give back. Sometimes this may mean you play for less revenue, which again can show up in others ways as far as value (ala marketing by the charity, new audience, etc.).

In closing, it is critical to have a partnership strategy on paper and to have thought it through before diving in and going after just anyone. Partners can make the journey a lot easier or frankly tougher depending on how easy they are to work with and how helpful they are in supporting your vision as a group too.

Please visit our website, www.sillybus.net , to sign up for our monthly newsletter, which has more articles and great fun stuff!

Author: Jen Dalton

From Kid's Music to a Kid's Meal - not that far of a stretch as it turns out

2010-03-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

So - today we started our "Let Out Your Inner Artist" email and facebook update. It is very exciting because not only are we saying thanks to our fans for being fans - but we also are making it fun and where you get something free! When you go to our website and download our Operation Cow Drop / Silly Bus coloring page, you can take it to the Chick-fil-A at Virginia Center Marketplace for a free 4 piece nugget kids meal! The store will also post the pictures on the wall and select a winner by May 8th to get a Family Meal! Why May 8th you ask? Well read on about Operation Cow Drop!

As you may (or may not) know we are supporting and partnering with Chick-fil-A at Virginia Center Marketplace with their annual Operation Cow Drop event on May 8th. This is such an awesome event - it is a Family Fun Event from 11-3 with us performing at 12 - and then get this. A COW DROP at 1:30pm! No not real live cows :) These are nice plush cows that can be purchased to support non-profits and other organizations in Virginia. You can see exactly which ones at the CFA site. Each cow only costs $10 and you can win prizes like a Disney Family Vacation, 32 inch Samsung TV, etc. When the cows are thrown out of the plane they land hopefully on the "Cow's Eye" and if your cow comes closest you win!

This should be a great day - there will be great kid's songs and music, a petting zoo, clowns, face painting, vendors, Mad Science, Romp & Roll, Crafts, clowns and lots more.

This is our first time playing at this event - but it is awesome. This event raised a lot of money for organizations like Connor's Heroes, Special Olympics and the Goddard School - just to name a few.

We can't wait to come out and party with all of the families!

Check out our website for more fun activities and sign up for our monthly newsletter too!

Stay Silly,
Silly Bus

Silly Bus to start off Kids Run with Great Kid Songs!

2010-03-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to play at the First Market Mile Kids Run next week! We have performed at this event for three years running (pun intended :) ) and love it. It is great to see thousands of kids with their parents out there getting fit together.

We perform right at the starting line of the Kids Run - which is part of the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K. We play some of our favorite songs for the kids to sing along to like "Fun on the Farm" and "Teddie Bear Boogie". Of course the best song we do is the Hokey Pokey Dance Off, that is a great one that gets everyone warmed up and ready to race.

We are rehearsing and getting ready to have a great show - look forward to seeing lots of people out having fun and getting/staying healthy!

Sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop on our performances: http://www.sillybus.net/

Exercise Goal Setting for Kids

2010-03-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

Exercise for kids has many positive benefits that can help them mentally and physically in many aspects of their life. Although goal setting may not be the first thing on their mind when playing an entertaining game of basketball, making sure a child continues to be challenged is an important aspect of their physical and mental development. Goal setting for kids is an essential element that can bring about a successful achievement.

Exercise, as with any project a child or an adult takes on, should have goals to be met. Setting these goals is essential in taking steps to reach them. It also gives the child motivation to work harder to progress. An exercise goal for kids could be as simple as being able to do five push ups. It could also be more complex such as working on skills that will help them out on the soccer team.

There are two types of goals to keep in mind when supervising a children’s fitness program, short and long-term. A long-term goal should be the ultimate objective that the child is working for. As an example, it could be to participate in a mile long kid’s road race. When a child wants to run in a race like this, it is a great motivator for them to know they are going to be able to run a whole mile after they are finished! After the long-term goal is set, it is time to implement the short-term goals.

The short-term goals are what will make the seemingly daunting task of running a whole mile attainable. Short-term goals should be set to work on the smaller pieces of the long-term goal. Just getting the child out to go on a fifteen minute walk at the park could be a good starter. After this is accomplished, the walk could extend to thirty minutes. The next progression could be that they jog for fifteen minutes. A good mid level goal would be to run for half a mile. These short-term victories keep the child moving in a forward direction. The accomplishment of the short-term goal motivates the child while always moving them forward. This way the long-term goal is very attainable by putting together the fulfillment of short-term goals.
Proper goal setting is essential for the successful progression of every child’s fitness routine. It takes smaller short-term goals to realize the long-term. It is up to the adult to help lay out a formulated plan for success when a child expresses interest in accomplishing a goal. Although short-term and long-term goals seem academic and calculated, the child doesn’t have to know this! They should be having fun! Never forget to make sure the child is enjoying themselves while putting in the effort to work toward a well earned achievement.

Author: Robert Smith

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Educational Music for Busy Families on the Go

2010-03-03T07:29:00.000-08:00

These days, families are busier than ever balancing work, school, activities, and simple household chores. This makes it difficult to find time for additional learning activities outside of school. Additionally, this time constraint makes it challenging to effectively prepare preschool age children with the fundamentals needed for kindergarten.

Families are often faced with the reality of both parents needing to work. Forty years ago, this was not as prevalent since mom often stayed home to raise the kids and could devote the time to supplement educational activities. The time spent at home gave children a boost when it came to preparing for and engaging in elementary school. The foundations put in place at an early age provided the needed head start. This allowed generations of children to begin their schooling successfully and to continue on through high school and college with the same success.
To help parents and guardians solve this challenging issue, parents should consider leveraging educational music and videos for use in the car or during times when there is down time for their children.

There are multiple companies that offer this type of content and media for children. A few things that parents and teachers should look for include:

- Music that focus on storytelling and phonetics to help children learn basic concepts and sounds;
- Images in videos that help children correlate the concepts that they have heard about with pictures, allowing children to learn from both audiation and visualization;
- Media that has repetitive themes which will help children remember content and concepts; and
- Songs that are upbeat to maintain the positive mood and feeling of achievement.

These types of key components can be very powerful for children. Leveraging this type of content can help preschool and early elementary children turn play time into class time and class time into play time.
Parents can quickly implement this type of media into their daily routines by simply playing music and videos while on the way to the store, commuting to and from school, and before and after afternoon activities. By taking a few simple steps now, parents can help give their children a real leg up as they prepare for and begin their educational adventure.

Author: John Henneberger

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Reinforcing Healthy Habits with Kids Music and Videos

2010-03-02T03:26:00.000-08:00

Kids music and videos are great tools for teaching and reinforcing habits essential to a happy, healthy life. The invention of the iPod, satellite radio and on-demand programming has made it easier than ever for parents and educators to teach and emphasize healthy choices. Whether in the home, in the car or at school, children can watch, listen and learn. Simply by taking the time to select and share kids music and videos, parents and teachers can enrich the lives of children.

All music and videos, however, are not created equal. Kids music and videos should be chosen based on theme and feel. To encourage healthy living, parents and teachers should select music promoting healthy habits. Habits every child should know and follow include: (i) Getting rest through naps and a good night’s sleep; (ii) Washing hands and regularly bathing; (iii) Brushing teeth and flossing; (iv) Exercising regularly (running, dancing, swimming, playing with friends, etc.), (v) Good nutrition (healthy meals and healthy snacks); (vi) Keeping your room and clothes clean and (vii) Wearing sunscreen. Parents and teachers should instill these habits in their children and students at a young age to ensure a lifetime of health and fitness.

In addition to teaching and reinforcing healthy habits, kids music and videos provide an enthusiastic way for children to be active while playing, laughing and having fun. The feel of the music is what makes this possible. Children can’t help but move around when listening to irresistible, energetic music. Music containing upbeat drumming and grooving bass lines creates the perfect exercise environment. Parents and teachers should encourage movement as often as possible when children are listening to music.

To find healthy habit themed, upbeat music and videos, parents and teachers need not go far. Google, I-tunes and CD Baby have made searching as simple as turning on your computer. Word searches might include “kids songs” or “children’s music.” Examples of such songs include Silly Bus’ “Jump Up” http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/silly-bus/id156493677, “Yawns at Night” http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/alphabet-volume-1/id282427190 and “Healthy Dose” http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/silly-bus/id156493677 . Fun, energetic videos to use at home and in the classroom include Silly Bus’ “Falling Leaves” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GsCuUvpNTk and “Earth and Sun” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM01YJF8xT4&feature=related.

Making small changes today in a child’s routine can yield years of health and happiness.

Author: Justin Laughter

The Magic of Music for Kids

2010-03-01T02:55:00.000-08:00

What’s so great about music? We all know that music can make us want to jump, dance, and tap our feet. But did you know that music has been linked to math scores, brain development, and anxiety relief? During the critical young ages of learning while the brain is still developing, the impact of music is at its greatest level. But even beyond the younger years, music can still play an important role, providing instruction for pre-teens, anxiety relief for adults, and even therapy for Alzheimer patients.

Psychologists and Educators are just beginning to uncover the many benefits that music provides for our mental health. While we all may be somewhat familiar with the idea that loud and fast music makes us feel different than quiet and slow music, research is showing that the predictable ways that music can influence us goes beyond altering our moods. Some studies show that we can predictably alter many of our mental states, and even heal damaged brains. Another study has found that students with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) were able to improve their focus, given neurofeedback results while listening to background music.

There are many genres of music, and for a student wanting to benefit from the motivational and instructional elements of music, the first step is to appropriately align their age and interest with a particular music genre. Parents and teachers know that pre-teens are not going to be caught listening to music that kept their attention as a toddler. But while there are many genres and songs to choose from for the very young and for adults, there are fewer selections for those in the middle, who could benefit the most from the educational value of music.

Educational music for kids can be influential for teaching values, instructional for memorizing the alphabet, for example, and motivational for wanting to learn more about a topic. Some teachers play “welcoming music” as the children are entering the classroom, which captures their attention and desire to learn more about the subject of the educational song.

Kids are hard-wired to want to learn, and the teaching approaches that work the best are aligned with the natural learning process and interests of the learner. Music for kids is a powerful way to connect, motivate, and teach young students, in a method that is not forced, but yet aligns with their interests and natural desire to learn.

Authored by John Lewis, Ed.D, Explanation Age LLC.

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Repetition and Musical Learning

2010-02-28T13:49:00.001-08:00

Mastering musical concepts often requires much repetition. Repetition of patterns in songs reinforces content and retention of words and melodies. Since all children do not learn in the same way or at the same rate, much repetition using a variety of learning strategies is important. When planning repetition strategies, they should be chosen with thoughtful consideration in order to maximize the learning opportunity. Meaningful learning and music-making experiences are the result of well-thought out plans for teaching a song. Avoid mundane drill-like repetition. Add something new and engaging to each repetition. Do it again, but in a different way.
High repetition enables the child to develop an appreciation and enjoyment of a song or musical selection. Repetition reinforces the memory of the listener which, in turn, lays the foundation for comparing new musical material. Repetition aids clarity and understanding of music and words.

Through repetition and multiple applications of their musical learnings, children enhance their abilities to transfer new concepts with understanding from one musical setting to another.

Follow an orderly, sequential plan for high repetition. The process should include modeling, a positive feeling tone, and lots of variety. The repetitions should always be meaningful to the child.

When using high repetition in a group setting, keep an energetic pace to maintain the interest and concentration of the children. Avoid long practice sessions that cause them to become unfocused.

Examples of high repetition strategies include:
• Listening to the song and patting the steady pulse or beat;
• Echo-speaking the words of a verse or section of the music;
• Echo-singing the melody on a nonsense syllable such as “la;”
• Singing song phrases antiphonally, e.g. parent/child; teacher/class;
• Select a repeated word from the song and have the child stand or raise his or her hand when the word is sung.

After the song is learned, sing the song omitting a few key words. Have the child speak or sing the missing words at the appropriate time in the song. Then play or sing a song and have the child “draw” the melodic contour with his or her hand.
Let creativity and imagination be your guide in planning for repetitions of a song or musical selection. Consider the use of visual aids and movement to reinforce the concepts being repeated.

Using a diverse palette of repetition strategies brings freshness and excitement to the learning process. We are the engineers of successful learning for our children through the use of creative and meaningful repetitions.

How to Find Great Music for Kids

2010-02-28T06:02:00.000-08:00

We all know that the internet has become a dominate force in helping find things and answering questions quickly. One of the questions that arise for parents is "how to find great music for kids?"

Ten years ago people took the time to stop by the local music store and search for music. Stores readily provided a highlight of top selling CDs. This provided a good starting point for people to discover new music enjoyed by others. As we have moved farther into the Internet Age, more and more music has become available to anyone having access to a computer. This has been good from a content perspective. However, it can make finding great music for children a challenge given the volumes of songs and artists available online.

To find great kids music online today, the most popular resource by far is to simply utilize search engines like Google or Yahoo and enter key words such as "Kids Music." This will yield pages of results, but you can leverage the first page or two in the same way that the record store was used ten years ago. By reviewing the links that these search engines provide, you will quickly find that these sites are either 1) the most popular music groups for kids or 2) the most popular sites to find great kids music.

The second way that parents can quickly find great music kids is to utilize iTunes. iTunes provides the same search ability so that anyone can quickly search by artist name, song title, or general description. For instance, if a parent enters the words Preschool Music, they will find hundreds of artists listed on iTunes. The good news is that iTunes provides the songs and artists in order of popularity. So again, much like the old record store, parents can quickly find songs enjoyed by the masses and that are typically very good.

As we move forward in the Internet Age, we will certainly find new and exciting ways to quickly and effectively find the music that we want. Over the past few years social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace have grown into popular places for people to discuss and showcase music. These avenues will certainly continue to grow in popularity as people find ways to share information more quickly and as media companies learn to use them as distribution tools for their most popular songs and artists.

The Benefits of Educational Music for Kids

2010-02-28T05:41:00.000-08:00

It is interesting to observe how fast children learn when they are young! Research supports our observations that learning experiences must begin in the early years from birth to age five. This is a critical time in a child's musical and cognitive development. The benefits of music and movement in the preschool years have been well documented. Research studies show that music enhances brain development and academic learning. Music affects many areas of brain function and neurological development. Many levels of neurological readiness exist in children, and music is a powerful enhancer at each stage of neurological development. The earlier a child is exposed to music and movement, the better. Research findings include:

-Children who receive early music training score higher on standardized tests.
-The use of music during learning can increase a child's IQ.
-Young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year compared to children who do not receive musical training.
-There is a link between spatial reasoning and participation in music and movement activities.

Preschool children are at the beginning of the learning spectrum. Parents and teachers set learning patterns and attitudes and introduce children to learning by providing the first exposures. These exposures should encourage the joy of participating in music and making music. Joyful experimentation will result in the growth of musical skills and lay the foundation for future music learning as well as for future academic success.

As a music educator for 40 years, I have seen the positive results of music education for children. At Silly Bus performances, I enjoy seeing the positive reactions of the children to the songs and interactive presentations as they learn a variety of educational skills and concepts. The music and shows have great appeal for children.

As children make music, listen to music, and move to music through a variety of experiences, they develop creative abilities, attention spans, motor and rhythmic coordination, socialization skills, mental agility, and the ability to process aural information. It is very important for parents to expose their children to music and to encourage participation in music and movement activities informally at home and in more organized music education settings.

Movement is innate in children and provides the basis of everything young children learn. It contributes to the growth and coordination of the large and small body muscles. In addition, movement is an important nonverbal learning tool. Preschoolers understand much that they cannot yet put into words. They demonstrate their understandings through gestures and other movements. As we observe the child's movement, we gain insight into what the child is thinking and understanding.
Songs help us to learn as well as express ourselves in a musical manner. Appropriate songs for preschool children include nursery rhymes, finger plays, educational songs that incorporate counting, letters of the alphabet, animals and animal sounds, colors, etc. Songs and recorded music should promote activities such as walking, jumping, dancing, and marching. Clapping or patting the steady pulse or beat of rhymes, songs, chants, and recorded music is a valuable activity and preparation for future music ensemble participation. The ability to perform a steady beat while singing, speaking, or listening to music aids the child's success in reading and other academic areas. Music education is an important aspect for a child's learning process in life. From simple beginning experiences the child is guided to more sophisticated musical and creative activities.

While music is a viable stand alone educational program, music also reinforces and enhances the learning of other skills and benefits learning in many ways. This is especially true for reading and language arts. Music helps children focus on the structure of sounds which is an important aspect in language development and literacy skills. Having a musical vocabulary of melodic patterns and phrases directly transfers to the ability to develop a spoken vocabulary of patterns and sounds-thereby aiding the child's success in reading and communicating.

It has long been believed that brains change as a result of music learning. Researchers in neuroscience, utilizing recent advances in MRI technology, are actually studying the human brain in the act of creating or listening to music. And what they are finding is remarkable.

Perhaps the most exciting news is the evidence that music can actually change the physical structure of the brain - a fact that has critical implications for both education and medicine. Music may even be a major key to unlocking the mystery of how the brain actually learns.

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Writing Silly Bus Kid Songs

2010-02-27T05:35:00.000-08:00

A lot of work goes into the writing of a Silly Bus kids song. Our approach in Silly Bus is to write songs that appeal to both kids and parents, and finding that balance of sound and style that appeals to both generations is not easy to achieve.

Let's take for example the song, “Teddy Bear Boogie.” The concept of the song was to write a song with a very youthful theme, and we wanted to emphasize the letter ‘B' because we were writing songs to align with an alphabet curriculum. We also wanted the song to have a lot of movement. The need for movement was to keep kids entertained while listening to the song both at home and at our shows. We have found that if we write songs with a lot of movement, kids feel that they can participate with the songs, and they respond more positively than to songs with less movement.

Taking into account all of the requirements we wanted to incorporate into our song, we came up with a theme about a dancing teddy bear. A dancing teddy bear certainly met our desire to create a song with a youthful theme. The fact that the teddy bear danced opened up all sorts of possibilities to add movement.

The end result is the song we have today about a teddy bear that starts out dancing to the front and back, and with each chorus the teddy bear performs additional moves. By the end of the song, the teddy bear is moving forwards and backwards. He is clapping, snapping, patting his head, and tapping his knees. These are all moves that children can happily perform while listening to the song. (Read the full lyrics below this article.)

The final effort for the song was the actual music to support the lyrics. As previously mentioned, Silly Bus writes songs to appeal to adults as well as children. Since this song was about a teddy bear who liked to boogie, we adopted a boogie-woogie blues style of music. This style just seemed fitting. It is a style of music that gained popularity in the early 1900's, and different flavors of boogie-woogie music are heard in many music genres today. One of those genres now happens to be kids' music. So, for those parents who appreciate classic styles of music, this song is for you…and of course your kids too.

Teddy Bear Boogie
My teddy bear likes to boogie
Over here and over there
My teddy bear likes to boogie
Almost everywhere

Boogie to the front
Boogie to the back
Let's all do the teddy bear boogie

My teddy bear likes to boogie
When he hears a funny song
My teddy bear likes to boogie
Sometimes all day long

Boogie to the front
Boogie to the back
Turn around and clap
Make your fingers snap
Let's all do the teddy bear boogie

My teddy bear likes to boogie
He really really likes to dance
My teddy bear likes to boogie
Whenever he gets the chance

So, boogie to the front
Boogie to the back
Turn around and clap
Make your fingers snap
Give your head a pat
And give your knees a tap
Let's all do the teddy bear boogie
Let's all do the teddy bear boogie
Let's all do the teddy bear boogie

Music Education - Effective Rehearsals In The Class Room

2010-02-27T05:20:00.000-08:00

An efficient rehearsal is dependent upon a stimulating, interesting, and well-planned rehearsal with maximum use of rehearsal time. Use of rehearsal time and pacing are important factors in producing a successful rehearsal. Time management includes starting and ending the rehearsal at the appointed times. Use every second of the rehearsal time to achieve rehearsal goals.

Long-range goals and individual rehearsal objectives are an important part of making the most of the rehearsal time. If we don't know where we want to go in rehearsal, valuable time will be lost and less will be accomplished.

Make connections between what is known and what is to be learned whenever possible. Where are the musicians in their musical, physical, cognitive, and emotional development? What is the attention span of a specific age group? What are their language and music reading abilities? What do they need to learn, experience, or review in the next rehearsal? What activities are most suitable for teaching a musical selection, skill, or concept? Answers to these questions provide the backbone of the rehearsal plan.

Planning and providing references to previously learned musical concepts or skills saves rehearsal time. Develop objectives that are sequential and become building blocks from one rehearsal to another. Have expectations in place for each rehearsal. Expectations and procedures will need to be practiced and reviewed while children are becoming accustomed to the routines of the rehearsal. Always be consistent throughout all rehearsals as far as expectations and procedures.

Develop and write out a teaching plan for each musical selection to be rehearsed. Subdivide the teaching plan into several segments based on the amount of time available to rehearse.

Post an agenda or roadmap with objectives and rehearsal activities. We are more successful when we have goals and have an outline for learning and rehearsal activities. This enhances learning and facilitates maximum use of rehearsal time.

There are times when flexibility during the rehearsal is needed. Have a plan for adapting and adding activities when the unexpected happens.

Conduct a rehearsal evaluation. Use written notes for instant notation as well as video/audio taping, etc. Refer to these notes and tapings to assess and generate the next rehearsal's plan. Involve the musicians in the assessment of their learning and performance. As soon as possible after the rehearsal is concluded, take time to reflect on all components of the rehearsal.

Music Education - Musical Learning And Transfer

2010-02-27T05:19:00.000-08:00

The common definition of transfer is to carry or shift from one place to another. One of our goals in music education is for students to become knowledgeable about music and to be able to transfer that knowledge from one musical setting to another. As you read this article, view yourself as a parent or teacher involving the child in constructive and enjoyable musical learning.

The transfer of skills and knowledge takes place as children progress from one level of understanding to another. Refer to the child's previous experience and performance of the musical elements to aid the transfer process. The way we plan and implement transfer processes impacts the choice of music activities. Select teaching strategies that will provide ample opportunity for the children to make musical connections.

Involve the child in discovering and exploring the relationship between the new learning experience and his or her current knowledge. For example, understanding that two quarter notes tied together equal one half note.

Many years ago, one of my choral students, who was musically literate and conversant with reading music notation from basic choral scores, decided to join band. On the student's first day in band class, the band director was stymied by the student's difficulty in reading the music from an instrumental score. We discovered that the student was having difficulty transferring musical information from one format to another. Therefore, pay close attention to the format in which musical notation and information is presented to the students and help them make the transition from one format to another. A simple example of this might be learning to read rhythms with syllables or in “stick” notation and then progressing to standard rhythm notation.

Students should practice skills and music behaviors in a variety of settings. Through repetition and multiple applications of their musical learnings, we are enhancing their ability to transfer these learnings with understanding from one musical setting to another.

We are the engineers of successful musical learning for our children through the use of transfer.

Children’s Music - Repetition In Music And Its History

2010-02-27T05:17:00.000-08:00

In a previous article “Repetition and Musical Learning,” the focus was on various ways to use meaningful repetitions to enhance musical learning. In this article we look at the history of repetition as it evolved through the centuries of music development.

Repetition of tones and patterns is an innate part of all music. Repetition encompasses a large variety of types and forms. Repetition gives structure and meaning to help us understand the music. It is a very important principle in composing or improvising music.

How does this relate to children and music? Repetition in melodic patterns is very prevalent in children’s songs, i.e., “Frere Jacques” or “Are You Sleeping.” Repetition may take the form of exact imitation or be a variation of a melody. The spectrum of repetition in music extends to repeating entire sections of a musical selection.

Carl Orff, renown German composer and music educator, and his collaborator, Gunild Keetman, outlined a process of introducing music to children. The process parallels the development of Western music. Using a single repeated tone (pedal), a simple accompaniment is created to add elemental harmony to a melody. Ostinatos or verbatim repeated patterns occur throughout a musical selection or a segment of the selection. The earliest examples of ostinato are found in 13th century music.

Ostinatos are used in a variety of ways and with a variety of musical media, i.e., clapping, voice, unpitched instruments, pitched instruments. Rhythm and melodic ostinatos appear as accompaniments for speech chants and melodies that are sung or played on a variety of instruments. Borduns (drones) are repeated harmonic patterns and appear in early music accompaniments. Other musical examples of repetition include canon, round, theme and variations, chaconnes, and rondo (ABACA) form. The world of repetition in music is multi-faceted and limitless whether for the composer or the listener.

Kids Music - Fun Fitness for Kids

2010-02-18T16:36:00.000-08:00

Exercise and fitness for kids can be both physically rewarding and fun at the same time. One of the biggest challenges facing youth today is childhood obesity. Due to a more sedentary lifestyle, this is a growing problem that will take some solutions that deal with children’s attitudes toward exercise.

In today’s age of technical innovations and new ways to entertain children, the growing trend is a lower level of physical activity. More time is spent in front of the television watching movies, surfing the internet, or playing video games. Activity and exercise have given way to the latest sports video game and online adventure. These forms of entertainment seem to have caused today's children to have an increasingly negative attitude towards real exercise. With a little positive guidance this doesn’t have to be the case.

One way to encourage children to exercise is to change the way the think about exercise. Instead of the notion that exercise is nothing but hard work, emphasize the fun aspect of it. Show children what fun it is to play basketball. A fun time can be had when shooting hoops. Look at it as playing a game instead of a chore. The child won’t notice the cardiovascular activity, agility, strength training and hand eye coordination that is being developed. They will only remember how fun it was to play the game and want to play again.

Another positive aspect of group exercise is social reinforcement. Since basketball is a team sport, it is very easy to get other kids involved in the game. It can be played by yourself or up to ten people at a time. When this many children are involved it emphasizes the “fun” aspect of the game. Kids see other kids working as a team and having fun. This leads to other positive aspects such as social interaction, teamwork and sportsmanship. It also shows children that exercise and activity don’t have to be a chore, but a fun game. With a positive outlook on exercise, children can live healthy, happy lives now and into the future.

Kids Songs - Making Meaningful Music

2010-02-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

In 2005, I co-founded Silly Bus, a multi-media company specializing in fun, entertaining and educational children’s songs and videos. Up to that point as a songwriter, I had focused predominately on the usual pop/rock topics – love, loss, redemption, etc. Although early in my career I experienced moderate success, nothing could have prepared me for the rewarding life of a children’s songwriter.

Ever since joining Silly Bus, songwriting has been more meaningful. Simply put, it feels great to write songs to help children learn the alphabet, health & fitness, math and other fundamentals of life. The songs have a purpose beyond self—to enrich the lives of children and their families.

An unexpected, but welcome result of Silly Bus’ success has been the opportunity to work with our favorite nonprofits. This work has allowed us to expand our repertoire through the production of unique multi-media combining partner messages with our creative handiwork.

“Heroes and Angels” is one such song of which I am particularly proud. Inspired by and written for Connor’s Heroes Foundation, Heroes and Angels discusses childhood cancer, the unique issues associated therewith and the heroes dedicated to helping children with cancer and their families. Heroes and Angels is a song of awareness, strength and understanding. The song is Silly Bus’ contribution to Connor’s Heroes and its mission. It is our way of turning fear into hope.

The song was recently unveiled in Connor’s Heroes’ new public service announcement featuring Connor Goodwin, Tommy Hilfiger and Alex Garfield. The public service announcement stresses the importance of being a hero in the fight against childhood cancer, and is available on YouTube. Heroes and Angels lyrics are reproduced below. The song will be released for download in early 2010.

For more information, please visit us at: www.sillybus.net

Kids Music - Branding Through Educational Media

2010-02-18T16:29:00.000-08:00

As consumers we are drawn to familiar brands that consistently provide great products and services. Brand loyalty is sometimes inherited from our parents (i.e., Do you prefer Pepsi or Coca Cola?). It is also earned through a company’s dedication to quality.

Even the best products and services, though, can go unnoticed or be forgotten. Competition is fierce, and no matter what a company’s line of business, there is almost certainly a comparable provider in the market. To raise awareness and to stay fresh in consumer minds, companies should break the mold and think of creative ways to make a lasting, meaningful impression. Branding through educational media offers just that.

Educational media, as used in this article, refers to kids songs and kids videos containing substantive messages designed to teach children subjects like math, science, fitness and green living. One way for companies to make an impact, raise brand awareness and grow goodwill is to supplement the traditional “pushing” of products with educational media. Educational media through kids songs and kids videos enables companies to use radio, television and bandwidth for the greater good.

By providing consumers and their children with useful and sometimes otherwise unavailable information in fun, entertaining kids songs and kids videos, a company enriches its brand in a number of ways. First, the company shows its engagement in the community and desire to be more than just a product or service provider. Second, the company builds its goodwill with current and future customers by using its resources to give back to the community. Third, the company shows its drive to do something meaningful for its customers. And fourth, the company gives consumers a reason to feel good about doing business with it.

Ultimately, a company wants consumers to know its name, associate good thoughts with its products or services and to remember this when opening their wallets. Commercials and traditional marketing campaigns are great, but sometimes it pays to think outside the box. Companies wishing to do something meaningful and beneficial for their community and their brand should explore educational media and all it has to offer.

For more information, please visit: www.sillybus.net

Making a Difference with Educational Music

2010-02-18T16:26:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of 2005, Silly Bus was nothing more than a start up small business. Today, they have released nationally four CDs, and multiple music videos, which can be heard and seen on stations throughout the United States. They have played for numerous benefits, kids’ expos, and schools. They have also worked with well known companies, such as Radio Disney, XM Radio and NBC.

You may be asking yourself, ‘So, how is their music making a difference?’ What distinguishes Silly Bus from other kids music is their focus on educational content. Their first CD release focused on Standard of Learning (SOL) content for young children (Kindergarten through 2nd grades). The songs on this album cover a range of topics, including math, grammar, science, physical fitness, and history.

For their second and third CD releases, they teamed with preschool educators to write songs geared towards learning the alphabet. These songs incorporate both phonics and whole language techniques. The song Turkey Time has fast become a national favorite having been featured on NBC’s Today Show the past two years on Thanksgiving Day.

In addition to these releases, Silly Bus has worked with several companies and non-profits to launch multiple CDs and singles. For example, Silly Bus wrote, performed and produced “Watch Me, I Can Do This!” for promotional support of SportsBackers’ Monument Avenue 10K. This motivational song was used to energize thousands of children participating in the event’s annual kids run. Similarly, Silly Bus teamed with Media General and The Richmond Times Dispatch (RTD) to promote and market RTD’s “Kids Extra” kidzine. Silly Bus wrote, performed and produced “Artie,” the Kids Extra theme song. The song received significant airplay in advertisements and on the web.

The powerful difference Silly Bus makes is evident in the small anecdotes heard from parents. One story from a father conveyed how a Silly Bus song helped his daughter answer a question on her first grade quiz. This powerful difference is not unusual. Attend a Silly Bus show near you, and you are sure to witness children singing every word of their favorite fun, educational songs.

For more information, please visit: www.sillybus.net

Marketing Opportunities with Educational Media

2010-02-18T06:04:00.000-08:00

Educational Media, like kid's songs and videos, is an effective medium to engage children and their parents in a meaningful and positive way. Videos and songs can be paired with brands to give back to the community, promote healthy behaviors and to just let kids have fun while learning. Different types of media coupled with an effective marketing strategy to create campaigns can be done on-line, during event marketing, or used together to drive engagement with a fan/consumer base.
Marketing content can be delivered quickly to the consumer with social media tools like blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Linked In. Businesses can create differential and 'sticky' consumer experiences through these types of push/pull campaigns. For example, a push strategy sells directly to the consumer by using promotions and advertising as typical 'push' tools. A pull strategy, on the other hand, is one that creates demand from a consumer to 'pull' them to your product or service. Usually this requires a lot of marketing investment to create consumer demand. However, with the advent of new tools like social media, the ability to more easily make something viral allows for businesses to create a 'pull' with much less up-front investment.
Marketing is about getting a consumer's attention and also keeping it through the marketing funnel. Once consumers are engaged and at the website, for instance, it is important to have their experience be positive and valuable to create the 'stickiness' desired. This refers to the ability of the marketing and experience to keep a customer engaged and coming back as a consumer again and again - hence stickiness.
Educational media is exciting and entertaining. Providing valuable and fresh educational content through kid's songs and kids videos can keep a child or parent coming back to the website and provides opportunities for companies that leverage this unique content to benefit from a brand enhancing customer experience.
When selecting a company to work with it is also important to identify partners that share the same values and want to promote the same positive messages. When combining complementary goals and marketing strategies - educational media provides new options to reach new consumers; give back to the community and drive value for the partners and consumers alike. A great example is Nickelodeon's The Big Green Help, which integrates education with environmental awareness and provides the ability for involvement with the cause.
When Educational Media is integrated with creative marketing strategies - great experiences and value is created for all parties involved.

For more information, please visit: http://www.sillybus.net

Kids Songs and Music - Major and Minor Tonality

2010-01-05T05:46:00.000-08:00

Music is very much a part of our lives. It touches us in many ways and evokes various emotional, cognitive, and physical responses. Music can convey many themes and ideas. Music communicates with us in terms of our own thoughts and feelings. The early Greeks believed that certain modes (scales) or tonalities elicited specific emotions.

Let’s visit two of the most commonly heard scales in Western music (the major and minor tonal systems) and the responses that these scales may elicit from the listener. To readily hear a major scale, play from C to the next C using only the white keys of a piano. To hear a minor scale, play from A to A using only the white keys.

For the child, the difference between major and minor is a difference of mood. Major scales tend to increase feelings of happiness and joy. Minor scales are more somber and tend to dampen one’s spirits. Children often describe songs in major as sounding bright or cheerful. They describe minor as sad or spooky.

While teaching music to young children, I discovered that they can sing songs in a major tonality more easily than songs in a minor tonality. It may be due to the interval relationships within these two scales. It may also be due to lack of experience in singing in a minor key.

It is interesting to observe young children during free play as they improvise their own melodies and songs. While the tonal patterns may be brief and repetitive, they tend to be in a major key. This may be due to environmental influences such as music in the home, children’s television programs, and/or music training. Many children’s songs are composed in a major key.

Silly Bus composes many of its children’s songs in major keys. Their songs in major tonality have great appeal for children due to the bright, happy, and energetic qualities inherent in this tonality. The melodies are very appropriately wedded to each song’s text.

Tempo, the arrangement of the pitches in a melody, rhythm, and harmony also play an important role in setting the mood or expression of a song in addition to tonality. Researchers have yet to explain why and how music affects our emotions. What we do know is that music affects us all and has the power to call forth emotions that reside within us.

Audiation and Learning

2009-11-11T01:31:00.000-08:00

An important building block for learning music skills and concepts is audiation. You may be familiar with the term inner hearing. The term audiation (inner hearing of music or silently hearing music) was coined by music education researcher Edwin E. Gordon.

Audiation is Gordon’s term for hearing music in the mind with understanding. It is the process of thinking music and comprehending music in the mind. Gordon describes audiation as the foundation of musicianship.

Audiation is the process of mentally hearing and comprehending music, even when no physical sound is present. It is a cognitive process by which the brain gives meaning to musical sounds. In essence, audiation of music is analogous to thinking in a language as said by Edwin E. Gordon.

Mary Ellen Pinzino states that audiation is a way of knowing in melody and rhythm. It is a unique human capacity outside the realm of words. To audiate is to "think" music, but in melody and rhythm rather than in words. Audiation is another way of knowing. Audiation is the musical imagination. It is the man-made music of the mind. It is the sound fantasy that provides the framework for understanding the music we listen to, the music we perform, and the music we read and write.

Audiation is a process. It is the construction of meaning in music. It is the process of making musical sense of the music we hear, perform, read, and write. Just as thinking is essential to speaking, listening, reading, and writing language, audiation is essential to tuneful and rhythmic performance, music listening, reading, and writing. Audiation is the whole of music literacy as said by Mary Ellen Pinzino.

Audiation or inner hearing takes place when we “silently hear” and give meaning to music without the sound, i.e., thinking a melody, clapping a rhythm pattern from a song while thinking the melody. The development of audiation is basic and invaluable in building all musical skills. We should always strive to cultivate the audiation of rhythm and tonal patterns, melodic lines, and phrases. Audiation must be the first step in one’s music experience prior to introducing notation, and other aspects of music theory.

Try this exercise to experience audiation or inner hearing. Silently think the melody of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Did you think one note at a time? Or did you think groups of notes. Did you internally hear the notes as a pattern?

We do the same thing when we silently hear language. We hear words, not letters one at a time. The more words we have in our vocabularies, the better we hear and comprehend the meaning of what we are hearing. Just as we give meaning to language, we must give meaning to music through relevant patterns of tones and rhythms. Likewise, the more tonal and rhythm patterns we have in our music vocabularies, the better we will hear and comprehend the meaning of the music. To help your child or student develop music listening and speaking vocabularies, have the child listen and move to a variety of tunes. Invite them to sing many different melodies.

It is very important to develop audiation or inner hearing and listening skills in the early years of a child’s life. What a powerful gift and music foundation to give a child.

For more information, please visit: http://www.sillybus.net

Lyrics, Melody and Memory

2009-11-11T01:14:00.000-08:00

While observing a student teacher in a first grade music class recently, I was struck by the phenomenon of students chanting a poem and then asking if they could add a melody to the poem. When the teacher asked comprehension questions about the poem prior to adding the melody, student responses were general. When the same questions were asked after adding a melody to the poem and singing it, student responses were more specific. They often sang their responses. Adding the melody to the words seemed to help ingrain in their memories the meaning of the poem. Perhaps it was the simultaneous action of the right and left sides of the brain which helped the students to recall additional information from the poem after a melody was added.

This observation reminded me of my own music teaching at the elementary level and the frequency with which I would add melodies to poems, chants, and stories to help students remember key educational themes. Many times, classroom teachers would tell me that because students sang songs about the fifty states, math concepts, historical facts, rhyming words, etc., their students were more successful in remembering and recalling this information. The students seemed to more readily grasp and retain information when learned through the enjoyable medium of music.

It is common for my former music students to see me in the grocery store or at a restaurant and tell me that they still remember, many years later, the lyrics from the educational songs they had learned in their elementary music classes. Many students could still remember lyrics that we added to classical melodies and have instant recall of both the lyrics and the melody even 20 years later.

Clearly, combining music and lyrics has great merit and enhances the academic achievement of students. Educational, singable lyrics paired with appealing melodies can stimulate the child’s memory and aid retention of the song content. Such is the main goal of Silly Bus and the educational songs they write and record for children. For preschool and kindergarten children, songs are a fun way to teach children basic concepts such as colors, numbers, the alphabet, months of the year, etc.

How can we determine if the child has learned a concept presented in a song? After the child has listened to the song several times, play the song again and invite him or her to listen carefully for the key phrases and repeated sections of a song. Have the child tell the story described in a song and share any information they recall from the song. Parents and teachers can then assess what the child has learned and involve the child in discovering and exploring the relationship between the new learning experience and his or her current knowledge. Movement also assesses and reinforces the learning experience of adding lyrics to a melody. Kinesthetic learning through movement is a natural way to heighten the child’s understanding of music and the information conveyed in the lyrics. Through the child’s movement, parents and teachers can see and assess the child’s understanding and knowledge gained from a song.

For more information, please visit: http://www.sillybus.net

Enhancing A Company’s Brand with Educational Music for Children

2009-11-10T04:50:00.000-08:00

In today’s competitive landscape it has become increasingly important for companies to differentiate themselves from the competition. One of the ways this is being done is through the use of brand and marketing programs that support families and children. Campaigns focused on this not only allow companies to show their support of families, but also create lasting images that allow market positioning with the next generation of customers.

A children’s educational marketing campaign is one way to enhance brand and market position. Educational agendas create connections with families and children across demographic groups and are viewed as very positive in the minds of both existing and potential customers.

Topics promoted in this type of educational campaign can include the ABC’s, basic math, health and fitness, and energy conservation.

Educational Media Creations Company, LLC (EMCC) is on the forefront of developing these types of integrated promotional campaigns. Through its Silly Bus brand, EMCC works with companies to develop one-of a-kind music and videos for kids. Silly Bus products are easily promoted in CD, DVD and digital download formats which allow companies to keep cost low while providing tangible product and brand placement directly into the hands of their customers. This type of product allows a company’s brand to last longer given the product value and tendency for people to keep the songs and videos in their library for repeated reviews in any setting.

To enhance brand in the market place companies should consider:

The average age group of children in their target market;
The mix of mothers and/or fathers most likely to receive the message; and
The channels that provide the best positioning of the message and product.

By taking a few initial steps, a company can quickly differentiate itself from the competition and simultaneously develop lasting relationships with future generations that will ultimately become the customers of tomorrow.

For more information, please visit: http://www.sillybus.net

Best Suited Music for Kids

2009-11-10T04:31:00.000-08:00

In today’s busy world, it is increasingly important for parents to optimize quality time with their children. As mentors, educators and playmates to their newborns, toddlers and preadolescents, parents shape their children’s social and intellectual development more than any other influence. Educational children’s music offers parents the unique opportunity to positively impact their children’s lives through simultaneous entertainment and education whether at home or on-the-go.

A child’s mind is a clean slate. Early impressions, especially if routine, act as the child’s foundation and are essential to his or her long-term success. As such, parents should carefully select the experiences to which their children are exposed.

We all know that music is a powerful and pleasant experience as well as a medium for communicating feelings, emotions, and information. Music nourishes the positive elements of our nature. It is, therefore, very important for parents to use music in creating and nourishing the positive virtues that are essential for their kid’s healthy development.

The question now arises, what kind of music is best suited for kids when they are in the early stages of development, especially when they are between 1 and 10 years of age? Music with lyrics that cover educational topics or fun sounding musical songs can go a long way in creating a fun-filled learning experience for kids. Additionally, playing educational songs that promote physical activities such as running, jumping, dancing and playing can be extremely beneficial in promoting healthy lifestyles that can last a lifetime. Song content can teach early learning topics such as the alphabet, basic numbers and counting, identifying sounds, colors, names of cities, stars, animals and so on.

Educational music is no doubt an important component of a kid’s learning process in life. It is not surprising that kids learn basic concepts quickly when these are set to musical tunes and melodies that they can sing along with and dance to. This approach to education can also be one of the most enjoyable ways of learning for a child.For more information, please visit: http://www.sillybus.net