Mia’s Music

Tonight I thought I’d document the strange musical tastes of Baby Mia over the 13 months to date, mainly because I think it might be something interesting to reflect on in years to come, when she’ll undoubtedly be assaulting my eardrums with something hideous. She’s only really been able to choose from what we listen to, given that she doesn’t watch TV and we rarely if ever have the radio on, but since we listen to a very varied range of stuff, from dawn until dusk, I think she’s had plenty of options. From the word go she’s always found ways of making her preferences very clear, culminating in her current habit of jumping up and down and shouting until the correct music is selected.

It’s often said that newborns like music they’ve heard while in the womb, which in Mia’s case would have been a combination of (a) me twanging away repeatedly at various solo arrangements of jazz standards on the guitar, (b) Nibby’s MP3 player in the van belting out various stuff, probably heavily featuring The Killers’ first album, and (c) our usual mix of random stuff around the house. The saying turned out to be true, since she enjoyed all these things straight away. Beyond that, I can remember the following as being particular favourites during the first few months: Stan Getz, Miles Davis, John Coltrane – in particular, Stan Getz and Charlie Bird playing Desafinado was a guaranteed way to put her in a good mood when all else failed.

Later on, Blur’s Parklife became the record of choice, and then at some point she moved on to a sudden obsession with Groove Armada and Bassment Jaxx, along with Odyssey’s Native New Yorker. Since about six months old, Blue Bossa as played by Joe Pass & JJ Johnson will raise a massive smile each and every time she hears the first couple of notes. On the other hand, she’s also, since learning to walk (so 3 or 4 months ago), independently invented the art of headbanging, particularly in response to The Foo Fighters (Everlong & All My Life are her highlights).

Current favourites are easy to list, because they’re current, and although pretty much all the above are still popular the following have to be played many times a day, otherwise (and this is the best translation of her toddlerese rantings I can manage) she is going to call social services and get herself taken elsewhere:

• The Arctic Monkeys – A Certain Romance, Mardy Bum and When The Sun Goes Down
• Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven
• The Kooks – She Moves In Her Own Way

Though I like all the above, today I’ve started to get sick of hearing them, but repeating them over and over was the only chance I had of getting dinner cooked.

She’s always been keen on ‘live’ music, which in our house has to come from either guitars, keyboards, clarinet, recorder or penny whistle. As for playing herself, she’s always been fascinated by the recorder, but doesn’t understand how to blow down it. For as long as I can remember, she’s been an expert at giving you a good crack around the head with the penny whistle, but again, no blowing. The clarinet, she’s not really allowed to touch – nor am I. She’s pretty much mastered both plucking and strumming at the acoustic guitar (though obviously nothing remotely musical emerges), but her forte is a little old Yamaha keyboard, which she mostly prefers to play by standing on the keyboard, leaving her hands free to select different instruments and drumbeats. When she does deign to use her hands, her chosen style is palm face down, with thumb extended downwards to prod the keys. Tonight was a milestone, where having demonstrated Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to her for the 1000th time, she responded by repeating the final descent from F to C perfectly. Most likely just a fluke though, and I’ll be surprised if it happens again for a long while.