If you were to compile a collection of music for a baby, what would you include?

John Martyn songs would be good and some John Lee Hooker .

What calmed my girls was theme songs ( the Simpsons,family guy) along with some heavy bass songs ( dance ) carramell dansen worked a treat ( after the age of 9 months)

for my oldest i just played guitar she liked that .

Music that calms me John Martyn, John Lee Hooker and any heavy, black, doom metal music . Along with my guitar playing

I really have no clue if this is true, but I have at various occasions read that classical upbeat stuff like Mozart is really good for them.

Dunno about not annoying the parents either ;)

How about some acoustic Jack Johnson stuff? Norah Jones is always “soothing” to me too

TaoSan stole my answer! Jack Johnson and Norah Jones should calm both the child and the parents!

Too much Norah Jones can have a very soporific effect so watch the doses.

Oh, and don’t Norah Jones and drive.

@Zen

lol

Rockabye Baby! puts out lullaby renditions of popular artists and groups. We listened to some of the CDs when my former boss brought them in when she had her baby with her, and they’re okay for mixing with classical tracks if you go that route. Miiiiight drive the parents nuts after the 20th time, though.

For putting something on repeat without driving the parents insane, I definitely recommend the classical route.

If the parents are receptive to it, there is ambient music out there that might work well for babies, like Biosphere, Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Laraaji, or Jon Hassel to name a few. Most of those tend to use ambient sound mixed with traditional instruments. I like to try to meditate to them, so I think they may be baby-friendly.

There was another recent long discussion on this. You might want to search for it for more answers.

I would just put on The Dark Side Of The Moon.

Donovan has an album called “For Little Ones” that has lovely soothing songs on it. You might look for that online. There’s also an English folksinger called Ralph McTell who has a very soothing voice. I find him very calming; also some of Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Mark Knoepfler, Tom Rush, John Martyn, Mississippi John Hurt.

Dancing with a baby in your arms can help sooth them; mine needed motion more than music as infants. When he was a tddler, my oldest son would stop dead in his tracks and come running in when the theme song from “All in the Family” came on.

Stoner doom Sunno)) get the kid used to the harsher side of life

At this point, I would probably make a mix that would appeal to the parents and was fairly mellow or a little poppy.

Ultimately, the best mix for a baby depends on the baby itself.

My nephew at four months old would cry continuously in the car unless “A Space Oddity” by David Bowie was playing. No other song worked.

I completely agree with a mix of music. My kids love everything from 80’s synth pop to classical to alternative.

I would vote for mostly classical, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn. With my youngest, we put them on random play in the CD changer.

Here are some of the songs my kids could not get enough of!

This Land is Your Land, Howdy Do, Mail Myself to You , Put Your Finger in the Air, all by Woody Guthrie
Be Yourself and Big Yellow Taxi by KebMo
Any or all of the songs on this cd, but Big Ship A Sailing, and Buffalo Gal/Skip to My Lou are fabulous picks!
There is the classic stuff by Rafi, my favorites are Willaby Wallowby and Brush your Teeth.

Calming songs I sang and played for them:

Stone in Love – The Stylistics
Flying on the Ground is Wrong – Buffalo Springfield
Tupelo Honey – Van Morrison
Hush Little Baby

@SuperMouse I had forgotten some of those old songs. Thanks for the reminder. Now I will be humming “This land is your land” today.

My children loved and still love Kenny Loggins “Return to Pooh Corner”. It has several originals plus remakes. My favorite is The Last Unicorn. I forgot to add that I also love it. We still love to sing it together and they are teenagers now.

I have a CD that I burnt for my daughter when she had HER daughter. It’s Incan music & the name of it is “Charijayac.” She said that was the only thing that would get her to sleep when she was litle & fussy at bedtime. It’s very soothing & calming.

I don’t know if you can get it anymore. Amazon may have it…I haven’t looked. If you’re at all interested in it & can’t find it, I’ll burn it for you & sent it to you if you’d like. Just let me know.

Like fun songs or bedtime music? I like fun/cute ones, personally. Here are some that I’ve been planning on making for my son and niece.

Ben Folds- Gracie Girl
Kermit the Frog- Rainbow Connection
The Irish Rovers- The Unicorn Song
Slim Gaillard- Potato chips
Pete Seeger- Little Houses
Bob Marley- Three Little Birds
The Beatles- I Will, When I’m 64, Goodnight
Frank Sinatra (or various artists)- Somewhere Beyond the Sea,
Block- Catch a Falling Star
Peter, Paul and Mary- Puff the Magic Dragon
Melanie Safka- I’ve got a brand new pair of roller skates
Raffi- Baby Beluga
Nat King Cole- Smile

Also, the Beach Boys are a goldmine of fun songs.

I can’t say enough about the Rockabye Baby series, which is a collection of modern bands/songs made into lullaby music. They’ve been a huge hit with everyone I’ve got them for.

Another vote for Rockabye Baby – they’re definitely soothing for the baby and fun for the parents at the same time.

Also, if the parents are into folk music, I’d definitely include some of that – the deep voices and mellow sound of it are very soothing. I nannied for a friend’s daughter for several months, and she could not get enough of the Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, and Peter Paul and Mary that I played for her.

The old crooners are great too – Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, that sort of thing – they would put her right to sleep!

My roommate in college is a Peds nurse, and she says “Kokomo” always works.

“It’s A Big World” by renee and jeremy.

This song is gorgeous! My friend plays it for her children and shared it with me, and I can’t get it out of my head. Renee and Jeremy try to make music that adults will like too, so it’s not unbearable for them after a while. I like the whole album, but the title track is my favorite.

my kid would only ever calm down to fergie’s clumsy. you never know what a kid will like.