“SmartPlay with Classical”
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio GOLD Award

1-13. Variations on ÒTwinkle, Twinkle, Little StarÓ - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Little Pieces from the London Musical Notebook
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
14. Tempo di Minuetto in E-flat Major
15. Contadanse en rondeau in B-flat Major
16. Finale di Sonata in D Major
17. Finale di Sonata in F Major

18. Invention In F Major - JS Bach

19-20. Prelude and Fugue in G Major - JS Bach

Sonatas Ð Domenico Scarlatti
21. G Major
22. B-flat Major
23. C Major

Scenes From Childhood - Robert Schumann
24. A Curious Story
25. Catch Me
26. Perfect Happiness

Music For Children, Opus 65 Ð Sergei Prokofiev
27. Parade of the Grasshoppers
28. Tag
29. The Race Over the Lost Penny - Ludwig van Beethoven

Notes about classical music:
By providing your child with the opportunity to listen to classical music regularly, you will be planting the seeds for a lifetime of musical enjoyment. The fact that you are also helping your child by laying the foundation for future intellectual development is icing on the cake. The latest research shows that listening to classical music influences the brain. Students who listened to classical music in music appreciation class scored significantly on SATs, and adults scored higher on an IQ test after listening to a Mozart sonata. Students who listened to classical music before studying retained information better.

Other research shows that the prime time for brain development is from birth to age 3. Give your baby a head start by using SmartPlay with Classical from birth or before. Continue to use this and other classical albums for children as they grow to help them develop their musical potential and improve their school performance.

Notes about this collection:
Let SmartPlay set the stage for stimulating play. Simply use it for background music at playtime to keep the mood happy and upbeat. Or choose one or two pieces each day for guided listening and interactive play using the following suggestions:

Babies: Dance with your baby to the beat of the music. Move your baby's arms or legs in time to the music. Sit facing the baby and act out the music with movement and facial expressions. Use a stuffed animal, puppet or doll to dance and act out the music.

Toddlers: Dance with your toddler to the beat of the music. Ask your toddler what movement the music sounds like (jumping, running, walking on tiptoes, crawling, etc). Encourage your child to move the way the music sounds.

3-5: Ask your child if the piece sounds happy, sad, silly, energetic, tired, thoughtful, etc. Your child can invent a story that goes along with the music, draw a picture to go along with the music, or act out a story with the music. Also see notes below.

Notes for older children:
Music is made of many elements. Listening for these elements makes the music more fun to listen to and exercises your ears, brain and imagination. Sometimes you will hear very loud music. Sometimes you will hear very soft music. You will also hear everything in between. These differences in volume (loud and soft) are called "dynamics."

Some notes are very high in pitch, like a bird, and some notes are very low, like a lion. Can you sing a high pitch like a bird? Can you sing a low pitch like a foghorn or a man? If you have a piano, play the keys on the far left. These are the lowest notes. Now play the keys on the far right. These are the highest notes. Start with the lowest key, and play each white key, one at a time, until you get to the highest key. Did you hear the sounds getting higher and higher?

When you listen to music, you can feel the rhythm. Does the music make you want to tap your foot, clap, or march? This means you are feeling the beat. March in time to the beat. You will hear many notes going faster than the beat and some notes going slower than the beat. As you listen to each piece, you can draw a picture of what the music sounds like, or think of a story, or make up a dance. Several of the pieces have descriptive titles to tell you what they are about.

Here are some more things for you to do. You can sing along to parts of the "Twinkle, Twinkle" Variations 1-13 by Mozart. When a composer writes variations, he takes a familiar tune and decorates it in different ways. In this set of variations, Mozart dresses up "Twinkle, Twinkle" in many different costumes. Have you ever worn a costume so good only your mom or dad knew it was you? Sometimes Mozart hides "Twinkle, Twinkle" so well that almost no one can hear it. In one variation, 9, he makes it sound sad instead of happy. In a different one, 12, he makes it sound like someone is dreaming about it. In yet another, 6, it sounds like someone walking on tiptoes. See how many times you can hear the "Twinkle, Twinkle" melody.

As you listen, remember that music has often been called the "universal language" because it speaks to everyone, no matter what their language. The wonderful thing about music is that it means something a little different to each person who hears it. So you may hear something in the music that nobody else hears. I hope you enjoy listening to these pieces as much as I enjoyed playing them for you. - Heidi Brende

Notes about music and the brain:
"Plato once said that music 'is a more potent instrument than any other for education.' Now scientists know why. Music they believe, trains the brain for higher forms of thinking." - Newsweek (2/19/96)

" . . . when children exercise cortical neurons by listening to classical music, they are also strengthening circuits . . ." University of California researchers (quoted by Newsweek 11/19/96)

"A baby's first three years can determine his or her ability to learn for an entire lifetime . . . Toddlers who listen to classical music, for example, are using the same neural pathways that the brain will use later in processing mathematics." The Orlando Sentinel (2/11/97)

Notes about the pianist:
Heidi Brende, M.M., D.M.A., has played across the country in solo and chamber music performances. She has also been a prize winner in several national and international piano competitions. She presently teaches and performs in Southern California, where she lives with her husband, Rudy Young, and their 2-year-old son Carter, who helped her choose the music for this collection.

Suggestions:
Play during baby's "quiet-alert" or playful stages
Use to accompany your toddler's play
Use for interactive play with children 0-12 using enclosed notes
Encourage your older child to listen before studying
Use as an energy boost for tired parents

Produced by:
Wee Are Young

Artistic Producers:
Heidi Brende & Matthew Snyder

Recording Engineer:
Matthew Snyder

Recorded at:
Zipper Concert Hall at the Colburn School of Performing Arts, Los Angeles, 1999

Post Production:
Alpine Recordings

Graphic Design:
studio e

Questions or Comments:
Wee Are Young
P.O. Box 70161
Pasadena, CA 91117