“Teach Your Baby to Read Music with Trebellina,” proclaims the DVD cover of Introducing Trebellina from the Cristofori Baby Company. Tapping into the trend towards early education (teach your baby to read, teach your baby to sign, etc.) Trebellina provides a lighthearted, informal introduction to simple music theory for one to four-year-olds.
Trebellina is an exuberant, animated treble clef that leads young children through a simple, lively introduction to Da Notes of the treble staff (a gang of bright, animated notes that live on the staff) with the help of her friends Rock Bassey (a bass cleff) and Rhythmo (an abstract representation of rhythm), while providing simple music appreciation segments. Various musical instruments, familiar songs, live action dance sequences, and rhythm recognition are all incorporated into this fast-paced half-hour program for pre-schoolers.
The child approval rating for the disc runs high in our home. All of our children from age six down to our ten-month-old baby are fascinated by the bright, fun-filled antics of Trebellina. They are learning the names of a variety of instruments, singing note names along with Trebellina, dancing to the live action sequences, and clapping along with Rhythmo. I might be imagining things, but I believe I heard our wee baby sing “F” after I echoed Trebellina’s introduction to the note.
Personally, I don’t recommend pushing young children into early academics, and my little ones aren’t reading music yet. I am however, very interested in developing an affinity for music, rhythm and tonal recognition from a young age. Trebellina can be effectively used as a pre-primer to formal music lessons, as part of an informal music program for preschoolers, or even as a guilt-free babysitter for busy parents who can assure themselves that, “Well, they are learning something at least!”
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