Kids Music Notes

Alright…The Peppermint Pony is all finished.

Now, I’ll just have to get in the studio and record the tune, sing the words, and we’ll have the finished song. Thanks to all of you who contributed lyrics and took part with suggestions. It was fun, and I hope you’ll join me on the next tune.

Be sure and check back to see what the next tune will be. Another CD of Kids Music will be coming out in the first few months of this year. And everyone who helps will get credit for lyrics on the CD.

Here’s the finished product…words at least…for:

The Peppermint Pony

I cast my gaze to the bright sky
That slowly fades into the night sky.
Stars like sparkling candy twinkle in my mind’s eye.

My pony’s red with a white stripe.
We’re riding down through a snow pipe.
Snowflakes flicker around me; the weather is just my type.

On the Peppermint Pony…
I can ride beyond the daylight into the twilight.
On the Peppermint Pony…
I can dream about the sweet flight into the safe night…
On the Peppermint Pony.

A lemon star is like a gumdrop.
We take a bite and do a flip-flop.
We find a watermelon mountain and land right on the tip-top

And then the world becomes a sweet dream,
And we can slumber on a moonbeam.
We fall asleep in swirls of chocolate and sweet vanilla ice cream.

On the Peppermint Pony…
I can ride beyond the daylight into the twilight.
On the Peppermint Pony…
I can dream about the sweet flight into the safe night…
On the Peppermint Pony.

Stay tuned,

Well…this is the last couple of days for the song contest. A few lines have come in, but they didn’t really fit into the meter of the song. So, if you think you have a good line or two of lyrics, please send them in quickly. “The Peppermint Pony” is going into round-up.

I’ll end this contest on Wednesday, February 11, 2009, so there’s not much time.

If you don’t send lyrics in the next couple of days, I’ll finish up the last couple of lines. Then I can start working on producing the new tune. It’s going on the next CD of kids music, so there’ll be more songs to work on.

If you’ve sent in lyrics, thank you so much for joining in. I hope you’ll stick with me on the next tunes, too. And just to refresh your memory…the words we have, so far, are just below.

The Peppermint Pony

I cast my gaze to the bright sky
That slowly fades into the night sky.
Stars like sparkling candy twinkle in my mind’s eye.

My pony’s red with a white stripe.
We’re riding down through a snow pipe.
Snowflakes flicker around me; the weather is just my type.

On the Peppermint Pony…
I can ride beyond the daylight into the twilight.
On the Peppermint Pony…
I can dream about the sweet flight into the safe night…
On the Peppermint Pony.

The lemon moon is a gumdrop.
We take a bite and do a flip-flop.
We find a watermelon mountain and land right on the tip-top

Stay tuned,

When you meet sweet kids, or you know sweet kids, you want to give ‘em hugs, kisses, and everything their little hearts desire. Of course, not everything their little hearts desire are good for ‘em, so we adults have to use discretion.

That’s why I love writing kids music. I can give ‘em candy, ponies, and all the imaginary trips in the world without causing cavities, buying feed, or booking hotels. It’s all in the images and sounds. And their imagination kicks in, and they see and hear exactly what I’m singing about. You can see it in their eyes and hear it in the excitement of their voices. They just “get it”.

So, that’s how “The Peppermint Pony” got started. It’s been a tune contest where you, the readers, have sent me lyrics, and we’re collaborating to write a new tune. It has all three of the things I mentioned…candy, a pony, and imaginary trips.

Below are the the updated lyrics with the help of a new email subscriber. And we’re getting very close to being finished. You can still help out and have a chance to win a free MP3 or even a CD. So, don’t delay. Send words soon. Your comments and feedback are welcome, too. See above this post where the orange words say “no comments”? (by the time you read this it may say a certain amount of comments) Well, that’s where you click and leave comments. Don’t be shy.

And please sign up for the email updates…right over there on the right.

The Peppermint Pony

I cast my gaze to the bright sky
That slowly fades into the night sky.
Stars like sparkling candy twinkle in my mind’s eye.

My pony’s red with a white stripe.
We’re riding down through a snow pipe.
Snowflakes flicker around me; the weather is just my type.

On the Peppermint Pony…
I can ride beyond the daylight into the twilight.
On the Peppermint Pony…
I can dream about the sweet flight into the safe night…
On the Peppermint Pony.

The lemon moon is a gumdrop.
We take a bite and do a flip-flop.
We find a watermelon mountain and land right on the tip-top

Thanks, and…

Stay tuned,

Flights of Fancy on Words of Imagination

I have several lines of lyrics to sort through and see which will fit best with the tune. Yes, we’re still working on it. And even if you’ve sent in lyrics, you can still send in more. Send me those words you have dancing around it your head looking for a home.

Remember, the tune is “The Peppermint Pony”, and you can see how far we’ve come by scrolling down to the post below this one.

Tunes for kids are a blast because you’re free to be as imaginative as you’d like. And with the topic and title I know you’ve got some cool ideas. Write ‘em down, and send ‘em in to me.

We’re almost finished. I’d love to start another one before January is over so we can have one a month. Help me out, and send ‘em in quickly. You could still win a fun tune for your kid or someone else’s kid.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Be watching as I add the next line or two.

Stay tuned,

Happy New Year, and let’s write some more lyrics…

OK…you’ve had your turkey, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and desserts galore. It’s time to work off some of those calories by putting on your writer’s caps and sending me some more lyrics. The “Peppermint Pony” is eagerly awaiting his turn to come out of the gate and get on the next recording session.

When we last talked, we had 2 verses and a chorus. We still need at least another verse to complete the new tune. And I’d love for you to win a CD…but we can’t do all that until we finish this song. So…how about it? It’s a new year. Got some new words for me? We’re almost there. Let’s get this pony on the trail. I’ll look for your EMAILS and comments. You can simply reply to this post from your reader, too. Send your words right away and you might be the winner of an MP3.

Just as a reminder…here’s the lyrics we have so far…

The Peppermint Pony

I cast my gaze to the bright sky
That slowly fades into the night sky.
Stars like sparkling candy twinkle in my mind’s eye.

My pony’s red with a white stripe.
We’re riding down through a snow pipe.
Snowflakes flicker around me; the weather is just my type.

On the Peppermint Pony…
I can ride beyond the daylight into the twilight.
On the Peppermint Pony…
I can dream about the sweet flight into the safe night…
On the Peppermint Pony.

Stay tuned,

Good news…

Someone sent in the line we’ll use for the final part of the chorus to “The Peppermint Pony”.

We’re still gonna work on a third verse, so there are plenty of chances to win a free MP3. And the person who contributes the most lines to the final song will win the new CD of tunes for kids. Of course that won’t be for a while because I still have to record this new tune and a few more to complete the project. But any one of you could be the winner. So…write some stuff down, and send it to me. Let’s tune up this pony.

Here are the words we have up to this date…

The Peppermint Pony

I cast my gaze to the bright sky
That slowly fades into the night sky.
Stars like sparkling candy twinkle in my mind’s eye.

My pony’s red with a white stripe.
We’re riding down through a snow pipe.
Snowflakes flicker around me; the weather is just my type.

On the Peppermint Pony…
I can ride beyond the daylight into the twilight.
On the Peppermint Pony…
I can dream about the sweet flight into the safe night…
On the Peppermint Pony.

One verse to go, so…

Stay tuned,

Hi everybody…

How’s December going for you, so far? Well, I’ve heard from several of you, and it seems to be a mixed bag. Some are enjoying preparing for the upcoming holidays. And others of you seem to be in a perpetual state of hectic errands and trips to the mall.

Remember…don’t get too caught up in the hype. Have fun. Enjoy life. It ain’t all that long.

Now…in the middle of our little tune contest for “The Peppermint Pony” I’ve been getting requests for different types of tunes for kids on the next CD. It’s pretty much run the full spectrum of tune styles…acoustic, blues, country & western, pop, rock, jazz, etc.

Do you have a request? Or a suggestion? Would you be willing to leave a comment and share it with us? We’re all friends here. Don’t be embarrassed. It’ll be fun.

OK…keep watching because there’s about to be another update to the tune contest.

Stay tuned,

December Special: Buy Any Personalized CD of
Tunes For Kids & Get An Extra MP3 At No Extra Cost

It has been pointed out to me that I haven’t had any “specials” since I started the blog format of Tunes For Kids. Well, seeing as how December just happens to have Christmas in it, I’m giving away an extra MP3 with any purchase of a personalized CD. That means any name on my current list and any new name.

And when you order the CD, make sure I have your email address, and  I’ll send you a very special Christmas MP3…my gift to you.

So…if you have any kids, or know any kids about seven and under, and you want to see their faces light up just like a Christmas tree…send ‘em tunes they can hear their names in. They’ll love it, and you’ll get an extra one just for ordering between now and Christmas.

Thanks for enduring my sales pitch. The next post will be back to “The Peppermint Pony”, and I’ll have a winner of the first MP3 in the tune contest.

Stay tuned,

Well, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

I certainly did. We spent a beautiful time with wonderful friends in the mountains West of the Denver area. Light snowflakes fell part of the day, and we had a fireplace going the whole time. Our friends call it their “cabin”, but it’s waaayyy too big to be a cabin. We ate too much and had a blessed, American great time.

In the meantime…

Since my last post with the finishing up of the second verse I’ve been mulling over some entries for the next line. It’ll be the first line of the chorus. What I’ve been thinking about doing is allowing entries for the whole chorus instead of just line by line. What do you think. Post comments or send me an email to let me know. For those of you not signed up for the automatic newsletters, you can email me at tony@tonofuntunes.com

I don’t usually post the email address here on the site so as to reduce spam, but I know we’re all friends. Right? OK…give me your ideas, and as soon as I get a general idea I’ll let you know what’s next. In the meantime, keep those lyrics coming. I’m eager to see what we come up with.

Stay tuned,

Alright…”The Peppermint Pony” is just a little closer to coming out of the gate.

We have the finishing touch to the second verse. Michelle came up with this one, and I think it really shows some good feel for the beat of the rest of the lyrics. Nice going, Michelle.

I’ll put in the words to the new tune just below, but first I’d like to wish everyone a happy and blessed Thanksgiving Day this Thursday. I hope you’ll be careful. Don’t become a statistic. Enjoy the good company of family, friends, and food. Be thankful we live in a free country where we can still celebrate to the point of having leftovers for a week.

And take the time to tell others how much you’re thankful for them. I’m thankful to all of you who read these emails and tune contest posts. I’ll talk to you soon.

Stay tuned…(keep reading…the words to the new tune are just below)

I cast my gaze to the bright sky
That slowly fades into the night sky.
Stars like sparkling candy twinkle in my mind’s eye.

My pony’s red with a white stripe.
We’re riding down through a snow pipe.
Snowflakes flicker around me; the weather is just my type.