Irene Light: Beware of Music

BEWARE OF MUSIC!

Studies have shown that music is a natural phenomenon. Birds do it; whales do it, mice do it (who knew) and people do it! BUT people can do it for behavior and mind control!! Warning label: Songs can effect your health and state of mind!

Now, we know, as exemplified in the last article about music therapy, that music can help improve behavior but a little knowledge is a dangerous thing! For example, if you are taking a trip with a child who is constantly saying “Are we there yet?” rather than using duct tape, you may decide to keep the child occupied with music. Just listen to CDs or the radio. It seems like an innocent thing to do! BEWARE: In an effort to find songs that you and your child can bond with, you may be opening up a kettle of worms (singing ones, of course.) If you start belting out “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in unison or as a round, you may, after a while, feel an unpleasant pounding in your head. Now, DON’T switch to “The Bear Went Over The Mountain!” Sure, it’s easy to learn but it will keep that headache alive. Similar songs such as “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,” The Song That Never Ends,” “Found A Peanut,” “Little Bunny Foo Foo” and “The Ants Go Marching” can be DANGEROUS! Remember what happened to people around you when you sang “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall?” Did you upset your relatives; lose your friends? By the way, are all of these songs going through your head now???

Actually, as an evil music teacher, I am teaching these songs to my students so that, when they take a trip, they won’t be bored. Also, it will bring their parents back to their childhood and bonding will occur as they sing together and sing together and sing together…. The kids won’t want to stop. (What kind of parent will not allow their child to sing?) Then the headaches will come and…

Oh, well. We music teachers have to have SOME FUN!

Happy Halloween!

Heh, heh, heh!

Oh, for more examples of silly, annoying songs, go to www.kididdles.com and check out the Silly Nilly Songs category in “MoJo’s Musical Mouseum.”

ENJOY!