Preschool Dutch composer Raimond Lap is the mastermind behind the Lovely Baby series which grew out of his desire to develop music to stimulate babies' minds. Each CD is comprised of nine or 10 instrumental pieces. The only human voices are the occasional adults singing "la-lahs" and voice-overs of babies laughing, cooing or |
saying simple words like "Mama," "Dada" and "O.K." Many of the pieces have a music box style sound, with lots of chiming instruments such as xylophones. Other instruments that can be discerned are piano, guitar and flute. According to the composer, all of the pieces stressed melody, harmony, rhythm and bass. Most of them are in a classical style, but there are also soft rock, blues, reggae and lullaby pieces. A few of the compositions included natural sounds, such as a bird's song or ocean waves. On the first CD, there is even a piece, "Baby's First Own Melody," in which it sounds like a young child blowing on a recorder. These mostly soft, gentle melodies will be pleasing to the ears of infants and very young children. These CDs will best be used in collections circulating to child care professionals as well as to parents and relatives of babies and toddlers. |