The Wheels on the Bus song begins with a conductor calling, "Aaaaaall aboard! C'mon, get on the bus and groove with us!" and the synthesized beats immediately start a funky sound that will get your little one shaking their tiny groove thing! Traditional children's songs, such as Froggy Went a Courtin', Wheels on the Bus, and The Alphabet Song include new verses set to a jazzy beat; "I read these letters everyday, so I can read and write what I got to say!" Many of the songs introduce each instruments before it plays, so listeners learn to associate the name of the instrument with the sound it makes. For instance, The Three Blind Mice focus on several instruments (bass, drums, and guitar) but each have a solo to show what they can do. The Inch Worm solos on the flute, while Walter the Weasel is placyed on the trumpet.
Other songs, like Bud the Bird, engage listeners through call-and-response. Rodney Lee begins with easy noises and progresses into some fun scat phrases - with the occasionally silly animal noise thrown in (clucking and bawking like a chicken!). You little one will have a blast imitating the gibberish words and sounds. The singer in Soul Clap instructs listeners on how to clap to the beat for each upcoming solo so they can be a part of it. When The Itsy Bitsy Spider comes on most little ones will know the hand gestures that go along with it, but the beat in this version is sure to get their whole body bopping along. Lee encourages listeners to join in, and children are heard in the background cheering excitedly. Itsy the Spider also throws down a jazzy piano solo that the children answer with a round of applause and cheers.
My two year-old friend, Jude, lit up when If You Like Funky Music came on, because it is set to the tune of If You're Happy and You Know It. Only the words to this version sing, "If you really feel the groove, and it makes your body move, if you like funky music, clap your hands!" Jude smiled huge and clapped her hands while yelling, "Yaaaay!"
--Audra