A moment of silence

Whether it's CDs, portable media players, or mix tapes, there's always a clear delineation between tracks of music. We like to call it 'silence', and it often lasts up to one or two seconds. Zachary prefers to think of it as the end of the world; as a track ends, he'll look at us and frantically sign 'more' (and depending on his mood, perhaps accompany this with a good whine), only relaxing and enjoying the music again when the next track kicks in.

Zachary still really does love his music. He even sings (and not just in the way illustrated in last week's swing song), doing little descending two note melodies. (Is it a melody when it's only two notes?)

I keep meaning to bring this up, but I've found the music he's exposed to in kids' toys continues to be a little... uneven. Okay, now I feel like a music snob. :) (And this after I just got back from speaking at a conference where I learned that a now highly successful game audio director got started with the sound for Teddy Ruxpin!)

I remember chatting with T about this when we were in Arizona, and she agreed. Though then again, she was another music major, so we're not getting a great sampling here. Anyway, it just seems mildly sinister that "London Bridge is Falling Down" is present in multiple toys with the same incorrect added note ("...my fair ley-EY-dee"). Did just one person notate the song and then all of the toy manufacturers grabbed the same program? Zachary once had a mobile that had some interestingly incorrect rhythms and notes for some pretty well-known classical music. His Passover board book (one of his favorites, and just in time for the holiday!) provides music for the Four Questions melody but misaligns the lyrics. The Chanukah board book has a bunch of wrong note values. And then there's a toy we had that has knobs to play music by Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven, but it actually plays Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring for the Mozart option. Whoops.

Granted, none of this matters to the little man, who loves all music. When we get in the car and I ask him if he'd like to listen to music, he makes a happy little 'huh' sound and smiles when the tunes start to play. At home, he'll run over to the stereo system and lean on the plastic fence in front of it, waiting for the first song to start. Sometimes he'll even run over to the piano and plunk out some notes while looking at us and smiling. Even the end of meal time is accompanied by the "Zachary's Done" song, which generates smiles and laughs from Zachary. Such a little music man!