The Bad Way to Teach Music to Babies - Dubious YouTube Channels & Bleeping Toys

In this video I explore the deficiencies of products claiming to help teach young babies about music by focusing on popular musical toys and youtube channels. Along the way I make reference to two brain development studies and one interesting experiment by the well known YouTuber, Rick Beato.

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Related Material:

A decent book on the subject, written for non-musicians

Fascinating talk about how children learn language

Related Articles

The Brahms Lullaby on Three Row Melodeon

An app founded by Rick Beato which delivers playlists chosen to develop babies’ musical ears

Talks
Improving early child development with words - Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald

The linguistic genius of babies - Patricia Kuhl

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Note: if you hadn't already guessed, the video of the baby playing guitar isn't real!

[ramonek]

During pregnancy: Listen to classical music. It will make the baby smarter.
After birth: The wheels of the bus go round and round

[SLagonia]

My twin boys were born premature, and I just assumed I had more time to learn lullabies. When they were born, I never had the time to learn them, but I wanted to give them something to latch onto, and music was the only thing I could think of... So I just sang them The Beatles. They never wanted to listen to lullabies after that, and wanted to listen to more complex music, so I just kept playing it for them.

Well, they're on to their first year now and they became bored with the fake toy instruments, so I let them use real ones. I put a drum set out for them, put an old electric piano on the floor, etc. One twin can already find chords on the piano... Yeah, he's (adjusted) 12 months old, and if I play a note he can find the next one in the chord.

The toys didn't help him do that - Listening to real music and playing real instruments did it. Both of them have an easier time identifying songs and melodies than they do anything else in their world, it's just a natural language for them. I still sing to them every night and they try (because they still don't speak English) to sing back to me. They have a musical headstart I could have only dreamed of.

[jackbrady]

that plate cracked me up. i love that your plates are tuned to F#

[HyperMotionDX]

When I was a toddler I had this Casio keyboard with a sample mic. I would just scream into it and play random crap. One day I accidentally played the first line of the Mario underground theme by ear. I went screaming to my grandma because I was so happy and I loved Mario.

[rarerrac]

there's no sharp notes to encourage parents to teach their babies the intricacies of the G mixolydian and B locrian modes before adventuring ahead with such advanced topics as D major

[alicebnuuy]

2:51
music
bitcrushed horse noise
gunshots
music
gunshots
more music
bitcrushed horse noise
gunshots

[novaaetas]

Man I reckon if your kids heard my playing I could get them to cry.

[PugandOwn]

honestly man, everyone knows ur not supposed to give sharp things to babies!

[myhr]

this is why I'm going to start my kids off on a carefully selected diet of Grindcore

[catasstrophy]

Of course it's a dark version of the wheels on the bus. LOOK AT THE BUS'S FACE! If that doesn't scream "I'm currently digesting these children I have inside me" I don't know what does.

[beeble]

It's OK, we all know the correct lyrics. "Five little ducks went swimming one day / Sibelius crashed / All day long!"

[ollidix]

8:02 not only are the musical choices questionable, but so are the duck facts, drakes (male ducks) don’t quack, the make a raspy thought sound that rambles on, whereas females make loud distinguished “QUACK” sounds, thus making it impossible for daddy drake to go “quack quack quack”, for the ducklings to come back back back.
If you’re planning on singing about ducks, get your facts straight damn it!
Edit: Fun bonus fact, ducklings don’t quack either, they squeak, they either quack or make there bloke sounds when they reach sexual maturity around 4 months (depending on the species), bonus fact two, the daddy duck shown in the video doesn’t have a drake feather, which is a feather at the end of a male ducks tail. Bonus fact three, adult ducks aren’t yellow, ever. And fun fact four, I know too much about ducks, and have been rambling on for long enough, I could go on, but I won’t. You’re welcome.

[Zestrayswede]

*Well-meaning adult* plays nursery rhyme.
*Baby* _thinking to itself_ "don't insult my intelligence".

[fermiLiquidDrinker]

Honestly, letting babies and toddlers play around with professional quality instruments (especially synths imo) could honestly be really good for them

[theharvardyard]

Great, now I have creepy kiddie shit in my recommended. It's like a hair-trigger machine gun, one mention of kids and an instant avalanche of shit on the sidebar.


Excellent video by the way, completely agree.

[rajdeepkundu]

I remember, when as a toddler I would get frustrated with the lack of multiple octaves in these so-called 'musical toys'... Also it really offended me when I was expecting a note to play, BUT THEN CAME ANIMAL NOISES!!!

[orangeflipflop]

piano: sharp note




baby: thou shall not disgrace me with such noise! I can not comprehend these sounds of which you utter! I demand naturals!

[baroncosmos]

Oh, man, that kid naming the notes played from the piano chord was so blood-chillingly impressive. I couldn't even correctly name *one* of those fucking notes.

[maxobyrne]

I can’t wait to play my 3 month old some Death Grips

[Vgamer]

Baby: *can find the doggy after being asked “where’s the doggy?”

Me, a 22-year old college student studying software engineering: (unironically) “damn what a genius.”