Singing days are happy days with Piccolo Music
Pour a cuppa and have a read…
Estimated read time: 4 - 5 minutes
How it all began
Piccolo Music started over 25 years ago, just after I became a mum. I’d moved from Sussex to the North East and didn’t know many people. Singing with my daughter kept me grounded in those early days. I found myself singing all the rhymes I’d grown up with. Songs I used to sing with my mum, brothers and sisters and the silly ones we made up on car journeys and camping weekends.
I’ve always created little songs and that didn’t stop when I became a parent. I wanted more than just singing. I wanted to sing and play with my daughter, and later my son too. I started adding tickles, claps and wriggles to the songs we sang together, sometimes inventing new verses or playful twists on old favourites.
That love for adapting familiar songs developed into something more. I began writing my own songs. Some short and playful, like a life cycle of a caterpillar, others longer and more layered. Many were written with a cuddle in mind, or to raise a giggle at just the right moment. All of them were tried and tested at home, in schools, and in family sessions.
Singing, friendship and something more
I discovered that meeting people was much easier when we had something to do. So we sang. We’d meet for coffee, sing a few songs, and slowly, Piccolo Music grew from there, starting with small family sessions, and eventually recording the songs we shared.
Those sessions became something special. Sometimes we’d sing with 60 babies and their parents at once. After each session, we’d share coffee so parents had a moment to chat, breathe and reset before heading back into their day. People often said they arrived tired and unsure, and left with a spring in their step.
Piccolo Music was originally co-founded in 2000, and I’ve continued developing it as a solo venture since 2012. I’m still amazed to know that songs I’ve written and shared over the years, in family sessions, schools, and workshops, are now being sung by children and families all over the world.
Adapting the work with my children
Before I became a parent, I trained in Personnel Management and worked in office based roles. But I knew I didn’t want to go back. So we trialled a few family sessions, just six weeks to begin with and after that, there was no turning back. I was well and truly hooked.
I’d already completed an adult teaching and learning certificate, and later studied Kodály music education combining that with my creativity and experience working with families and children.
Over the years, I’ve had the luck to adapt what I do to wherever the work takes me and wherever my interests lead. I’ve worked with teachers, student teachers, librarians, national childminder conferences, and independent music leaders.
We also developed a training programme to support a children’s songbook encouraging practitioners to lead their own sessions and helping families bring singing and reading into everyday life.
As my own children grew, so did Piccolo Music. I began to notice how playground games and singing were fading away, so we created a project that was welcomed into schools. We trained older children as playground buddies to teach singing, clapping and skipping games to the younger ones.
In our school sessions, we always draw on our roots in family music-making. We invite parents and carers into the final session not to watch a performance, but to take part. They join in the clapping and action songs, singing alongside their children. It’s all part of our dream of keeping music and play alive, not just for children, but for the whole community.
Singing - not just streaming
While I love that people listen to the songs I’ve recorded, I’m a strong advocate for singing with children without any backing tracks.
Children love the sound of a familiar voice. Singing without music means the pace can match the child. There’s room for repetition, invention and play. You can add new actions, invent verses on the go, and bring songs into everyday moments, like walking the floor at night or playing together on the carpet.
Creating space for imagination
Alongside writing and adapting songs, I’ve always aimed to create music that brings stories to life. Early songs were recorded with just a guitar, but over time I’ve built on that using instrumentation, storytelling and the personalities of our characters in Piccolo’s Band to encourage a child’s imagination.
Sometimes the music is stripped right back to acoustic. Other times, different instruments help shape the sound of an animal or the feeling in a song. Every choice is made to support playful listening and active engagement, whether you're singing along, acting it out, or painting the picture in your mind.
Where we are now?
Piccolo Music continues to grow. We’ve created a colourful cast of characters in Piccolo’s Band like Rabana, Bopp, Trio and others who help bring rhythm, storytelling and imagination into everything we make.
We support families, educators and early years communities with original songs, movement activities, signed videos and resources, whilst continuing to proudly serve as the Official Music Partner for World Nursery Rhyme Week, a role we’ve held since the event began.
Why I do what I do?
I feel incredibly lucky to do something that never really feels like work. Singing is still at the heart of everything I do and I’m always looking for ways to help more adults feel confident singing with children.
Whether it’s in the car, the classroom or the kitchen, singing doesn’t need to be polished or perfect. It just needs to be shared.
Our Dream
To inspire every child* to sing, discover and play through the magic of music.
*There is a child to be found in all of us, young and old.
