For Those Of You Wishing Your Four-Year-Old Would Learn "Ashokan Farewell"

I actually learned violin in the fourth grade (in public school, no less) without the benefit of the Suzuki Method, which, though very popular and I'd guess has taught millions of folks how to play various instruments, is criticized by some folks for being too rote in its instruction. Because I didn't actually learn through the method, I have no idea if the criticisms are correct, but I love the fact that fiddler Mark O'Connor is making an attempt to bring his "O'Connor Violin Method" to a few more folks. I'm not going to speak on the pedagogical method -- because, you know, I'm not a teacher -- but I like the fact that O'Connor sought to include "musical literature that represents all of the Americas -Mexico, Canada and every region of the United States – and all musical styles – classical, folk, Latin, jazz, rock and ragtime." O'Connor goes on to say that

"The tune that I have arranged to provide the most rudimentary studies for a beginning violinist - Boil'em Cabbage Down - is the first fiddle tune I learned as a child."

Who knows if "Ashokan Farewell" (a song which is barely 25 years old) is in the collection (I kinda doubt it), but it can't be a bad thing to have a fiddle/violin instructional method use some of those classic tunes, right? (And folks who want to learn from O'Connor -- or have their kids learn from O'Connor -- can go here to learn more about String Camps in Tennessee and New York City this summer. For once, being a viola player has its advantages -- cheaper registration.) Watch the ad here.

Video: "A Cow Says Moo" (Live) - Alastair Moock

I know you've heard a little bit about Alastair Moock and his first album for kids, A Cow Says Moo, and I think you'll probably hear more as the album gets into more and more hands, but for the moment I just wanted to post this video, which spotlights the benefits of getting a chorus of kids to sing along with you in an appealingly raggedly manner. Can't overdo it, of course, but used sparingly, like crushed red pepper, it adds flavor. Also: I'm hypnotized by the drummer's twirling of the drumstick in the right hand. Alastair Moock - "A Cow Says Moo" (Live) [YouTube]

Itty-Bitty Review: Banjos For Babes, Vol. 1 - Josh Turknett

First, let's get this out of the way -- Banjos For Babes is a lot better than its cover might lead you to think. While I admit that the 4-year-old daughter of Atlanta neurologist/banjo player Josh Turknett has more drawing skills than I, a casual viewer might be forgiven if they opened the disk with some trepidation. But once they get the disk into the CD player, they'll be fine, because this is a sweet and simple little collection of, well, songs for the youngest banjo fans. Nothing revolutionary here, just solid banjo playing, nice arrangements, and even an unfamiliar nugget or two. The leadoff track "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" adds a few other body parts into the mix, while "Old Dan Tucker" takes a slightly more leisurely approach to the song than is commonly heard. And I really liked "Coke Oven March," a song whose origin Turknett traces back to a music box. If Turknett doesn't quite have Pete Seeger's golden voice -- and, really, who does? -- it's pretty good, and he does a good job making what is essentially a one-man affair seem much fuller. The song selections on the 42-minute album are most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 6, though the arrangements will have a broader appeal. You can listen to samples from the songs here or at the album's CDBaby page. Banjos For Babes is a well-crafted collection of folk takes on kids' classics, one worth checking out. Recommended.

Share: "Best of Hullabaloo" - Hullabaloo

First a holiday album, now this: San Diego-area folk-rockers Hullabaloo are offering their new Best of Hullabaloo album for free in the month of February. As one might expect, it's a greatest hits compilation and, yeah, it seems to hit all of the band's highlights from their first six years. The band thanks Stroller Strides for making the download possible, though exactly how is not clear. (One presumes the dozens of shows they've played for the groups have probably won them a few fans in the sippy-cup-toting set.) As long as you have an e-mail address to share, go here to download it, or just click on the links below...

Track listing:

Video: "Super Friend Vacation" - Todd McHatton

This song from Todd McHatton is a couple years old, and I can't say that I'd probably listen to the song more than a couple times on its own. But the video for "Super Friend Vacation" puts a dorky grin on my face every time. McHatton's note on the very low-budget video -- "We had to give up on the editing process about half-way into it and just let these two knuckleheads do their thing" -- is spot-on. (PS -- download the song here.)

Super Friend Vacation from Todd McHatton on Vimeo.

Review: Rise and Shine - Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke

It's hard to review an album when in one sense you've been reviewing it for a couple years now. From the very beginning, the songs from Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke were so wonderful, so fun that I couldn't stop telling people when they'd added another one to their collection. And now, many many moons later, the final product is here, Rise and Shine, the duo's debut kids' album, and familiarity has not breeded contempt, but rather continued and even heightened endearment. The album kicks off with the earthy title track -- never did eating one's worms sound so appealing outside of the avian world -- and pulls you in with each successive track. "I Had a Little Dog" is a shambling country melody that notes almost as an afterthought one of the album's few attempts at a standard moral lesson ("can't be what you're not / so be proud of what you've got"), followed by the hardest rocking kids tune of the year, the awesome "Favorite Names". If you're not in love with this album by the fourth track ("Big Pet Pig," with Wilde's shouted counterpoints -- "Well he can take all the garbage you've got (WHAT YOU GOT?)" -- to Clarke's sung verses), then there's not much I can do for you. That track's followed by two subversions of traditional kids' tunes -- "John the Rabbit" adds a whole cast of mischievious supporting characters while "Rattling Can" is a nuclear (literally) re-envisioning of "Rattlin' Bog." If the rest of the album doesn't quite reach the heights of those first 6 tracks, well, it comes close, and who can blame them when he bar was set so high? (I do particularly like "18 Wheeler" and the dreamy formal album closer "Peekepoo.") The album's probably most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7, though the sly humor underpinning the entire album broadens the age-appropriateness considerably. In its physical form, the album also comes with a lovely book/CD case drawn by Wilde, who's also an illustrator. You can hear the album here. So, yeah, the album's great -- a mix of Johnny Cash, Johnny Rotten, and Johnny Appleseed. Targeted at the kids, but with enough musical gifts to keep the parents happy through repeated listenings, Rise and Shine is already one of the year's best albums. I hope the follow-up comes out much, much faster. Highly recommended. Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of the record for possible review, not to mention the opportunity to stream the album for readers. Clearly I'm a big fan.