Classical music for babies: listen and download the ultimate playlist
Struggling to get your little one off to sleep? Desperate to prove the Mozart Effect to be true? Listen and download the best music for babies with our special playlist.
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1. The most famous lullaby: Brahms - Wiegenlied
This is definitely the most famous lullaby in the world - you can't help but sing 'Go to sleep, go to sleep,' along with it, which may or may not aid your child's sleeping patterns.
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2. The most calming: Bach - Sheep May Safely Graze
A beautiful pastoral melody, tranquil and perfect for lulling a little one off into a slumber.
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3. The most relaxing: Jules Massenet - Meditation from Thaïs
This is another favourite for creating the right tranquil atmosphere. And as the name suggests, Massenet's most famous work is perfect if you want to indulge in a moment of reflection.
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4. The most gentle: Johann Sebastian Bach - Air on the G string
A gentle, heartbeat-like pulse is the key to this beautiful piece - and because it's Bach you can be sure the melody's going to be pretty good too.
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5. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Sonata no. 11 in A
The Andante from this sonata is a lilting, lullaby-like skip that should hopefully do the trick for any parents tearing their hair out at baby's bed time.
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6. Victor Herbert - March Of The Toys
It's not all about sleeping, though - it's important to mix it up and give your little one some lively numbers to enjoy as well. This toy-inspired fantasy is a great place to start.
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7. Claude Debussy - Clair De Lune
Back to sleep again with Debussy, and one of the most famously relaxing pieces for the piano.
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8. Frederic Chopin - Berceuse, Nocturnes Op. 57
Despite having a rather busy right hand melody, this is another remarkably beautiful little piano number. Chopin specialised in the Berceuse (French for lullaby, basically), and this is a good one to start with.
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9. Ottorino Respighi - Pines Of Rome
If you want to create an amazingly tranquil atmosphere for your baby, then the closing moments of this tone poem are perfect - Respighi was clever enough to include recordings of actual birdsong in his score.
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10. Ralph Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
Another bird-related piece (kids love birds, don't they?), this time from the truly Great Brit Ralph Vaughan Williams. It's long been a favourite here at Classic FM, and its easy to see why when you let it work its magic.
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11. Edvard Grieg - Sov du dyreste guten min (Solveig’s lullaby)
Just look at the words to this little ditty: "Sleep, my most precious boy, I shall cradle you, I shall watch over you. The boy has been in his mother’s arms, the two have played together for all the life-long day..." All together now, "aah..."
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12. Maurice Ravel - Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré
Another French lullaby, but this time Maurice Ravel takes inspiration from his fellow countryman Gabriel Fauré.
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13. George Gershwin - Lullaby for Strings
When we think of George Gershwin, we tend to think of his bombastic, jazzy orchestral statements or his show-stopping Broadway tunes. But this delicate little work for string orchestra shows a different, reflective side to the composer.
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14. Feruccio Busoni - Berceuse élégiaque
This is one for the slightly more highbrow babies out there - a plaintive, frequently confusing but ultimately rather uplifting work of hushed beauty.
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15. Gustav Holst - Lullay My Liking
A choral favourite, and very possibly your baby's favourite too. This is simply and effectively gorgeous, turned from a devotional song into something quite spectral by Holst.
