Round the World: Youth Music Emergency Funded Babigloo Online Programme

interactive music session featuring professional musicians and music from around the World

"You look back at days like this among such testing times & realise-this is all you need. You’ve brought many a smile into this little house over these times. Smiles are so important and bubbles" Parent

In our previous post we referred to our first fumbling attempts in March 2020, at transferring Babigloo's face-to-face, huggy, touchy sessions (usually delivered in Children's Centres) online through Facebook Livestreaming. This was during the Covid-19 Lockdown, with limited access to resources.

Since June 2020 we have been able to build on these sessions and 'Round the World' is a series funded by the Youth Music Charity and Youth Music Network. Not only has this funding provided some much needed income, but we have been able to upgrade some equipment for broadcasting and gradually contact professional musicians-friends and colleagues-to play a wide variety of music for us.

So far we have been to:

India (feat.) Greta Hennessy on Sytar, singing a Prabujee and also playing a Bansuri pipe
South America (feat.) Jo Patton and Mark O'Brien Clarinet and Bass Clarinet
Russia (feat.) Collette Overdijk Violin
Ireland (feat.) Sue Divin Pipes
France (feat.) Richard S Hughes Accordion
Portugal (feat.) Concertos para Bebes, Lieria, Portugal Accordion, Bass Clarinet, Clarinet
Japan (feat.) Stanley Kaye-Smith Contrabassoon
Balkans (feat.) Jane Saunders and Rob Lee Viloin, Piano, Saxaphone
Brazil (feat.) Ben on Drums and jane Saunders on Harp
Alpine (feat.) Rich S Hughes on Accorian and Tuba
Isle of Man (feat.) Jon Quirk Trumpet and Fluglehorn and Wendy Quirk on Piano
Greece (feat.) Claire J Hughes on Cello
Australia (feat.) Julian and harry Atkinson Double Bass, Jon Quirk and Rev Canon Richard Hancock on Didgeridoo
South Africa (feat.) Dan Baker on Oil Can Guitar
Round the World All Stars (feat.) all the musicians that played throughout the series and contributions from babies as sent in by parents (with permissions)
and of course stop gap animations produced by the brilliant Jenny Gordon who founded Babigloo in 2015.

The worldwide focus has enabled us to introduce babies and toddlers to new sounds such as drones, bells, deep contra bass and the accordion, accompanied by our ususal props, animations and storytelling. Did you know for instance that in accompanying our Thumb Bells, the Kitchen Spatular hit with a chopstick is in the key of 'E'?

Babigloo provides music sessions for the very young: babies and toddlers, that are interactive and use scales, beats, rhythms and professional musicians to develop the magical music languages of babies.

There is now quite a library of videos at Babigloo Youtube Channel to support families at home. Parents engage with us during the session via the Facebook messenger facility on the Livestream and one of the most popular features is Michele O'Brien and Colin Phillimore (Babigloo Music Leaders) mentioning the babies names. This seems to give a real connection and sense of community that's reaching out to each other through Music.

Some of the feedback includes:

Last night he was struggling to get to sleep in the heatand as we sat chillin' he got his arms and did the scales actions (1 year old)

you brought a very big smile to mine and Amelia face! … with recent events anxiety has been high and the unknown is scary being isolated from people is definitely challenging