Words by Smiley Team
Two classical musicians who lost all their work during the pandemic have set up their own nursery rhymes business.
In March 2020, when the music industry completely shut down, Lucy and Matthew Knight found themselves unexpectedly stuck at home with their new baby daughter.
“All of the wonderful concerts and operas I had lined up, and was hoping to share with her, were cancelled," says Lucy. "However, 18 months later, we have our nursery rhyme business, and she even joins in with my singing exercises.”
Lucy - an opera singer and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra trombonist - became frustrated by the lack of high-quality nursery rhymes on Spotify and other streaming services.
Knowing the benefits of classical music for small children, the pair began writing new arrangements which used the full range of the symphony orchestra, recording them from their home in the Chilterns. Friends generously lent them recording equipment, and they released ‘The Classical Nursery’ on Spotify and other streaming platforms.
(Read more about the power of music for people with dementia)
The nursery rhymes are free to access, so any parents struggling financially can listen to them. The pair also attempt to redress the gender imbalance of traditional nursery rhymes, for example by making the doctor in Miss Polly had a Dolly, a woman, so the lines read: 'The doctor came with her bag, and her hat, and she knocked on the door with a 'rat-a-tat-tat'.
"We've also made some of the monkeys in 'Five Little Monkeys' into she/her, as opposed to he/his – because girls can be cheeky too!"
The couple's newest release is ‘The Classical Playtime’, which mixes nursery rhymes with classical music to help develop young brains, and inspire their imagination.
It features sliding trombone buses, close-harmony frogs, virtuosic violins, and horses galloping to Rossini’s ‘William Tell’ overture - and countless classical instruments and sounds.
Fittingly, this week is World Nursery Rhyme Week, and Treble and Trumpet have compiled several reasons why listening to nursery rhymes is so beneficial.
For example, nursery rhymes or ‘counting songs’ help teach early numeracy skills. ‘Wind the Bobbin up’ encourages children to count to ‘1, 2, 3!’ whilst clapping.
(Learn about how EarthPercent is raising millions from the music industry)
Rhymes also expand children’s vocabulary, increasing their phonological awareness and helping to develop narrative skills through storytelling and descriptions - which all prepare children for early literacy.
Nursery rhymes use simple words with lots of repetition, incorporating rhymes which help reinforce speech sounds.”
"It’s never too soon to introduce your child to the wonders of classical music," says Lucy. "Music is so important in supporting your little ones’ development in their early years, and Treble and Trumpet are here to make it easy for you.”
You can find out more about Treble and Trumpet and find out how to share with others on its website.
