Arts unravelled: how to write music for children

And across the dozens of events that feature in the festival each and every year, music always plays a huge part. From opportunities to singalong and get up and dance, to musical family shows and even calming soundscapes for early years.

But who are the people behind this music that moves our youngest visitors? How do they create such suitable sounds for the smallest ears? And why do they choose to make music for children and families?

To answer these, and similar, questions, we caught up with three artists whose music featured at 2026’s festival. Supriya Nagarajan, who is the vocalist behind the music in Slumber Stories; Andy Day, children’s presenter and lead singer of Andy and the Odd Socks; and musical director Jessie Maryon Davies, writer of the music for Quentin Blake’s Mrs Armitage on Wheels.

Each of these artists also share something else in common, and that’s that music played a prominent part in their own childhood. For Nagarajan, this came from her mother, a classically trained vocalist, whose ‘voice – whether she was cooking, chanting hymns, or practising – was the first sound I heard each morning’. Inspired and encouraged by her mother, Nagarajan began studying carnatic music (a form of South Indian classical music) at just five years old, and so throughout her childhood ‘music was a daily part of life: listening, practising and learning’.

Day similarly grew up in a house where music was always present; his mum ‘loved the divas’, soul music, Motown and UB40, whilst his earliest musical memory is listening to Lee Dorsey’s ‘Working in the Coal Mine’ on vinyl with his brothers in his big brother’s bedroom. ‘I loved to sing and so did my brothers, and we would write songs together and perform them to our parents’.

Sibling accompaniment was also key to Davies’ musical upbringing, ‘I started piano lessons when I was five and loved it. My sister and I would make ‘radio shows’ at home featuring lots of music. She learnt the violin and we’d play duets. I was never great at practising but I loved the storytelling behind the music and I’ve always thrived in the social aspect of making music.’ And like Nagarajan, Davies too was also following parental musical footsteps; ‘my dad has been in the band Instant Sunshine my whole life and we’d watch him onstage as kids, I found the world of performance totally thrilling. When guests came to the house, I’d subject them to dramatic ballet routines – often quite an intense rendition of the Dying Swan!’

Why write and create music for children?

From those initial musical discoveries, these three artists trod quite different musical paths; Nagarajan became a carnatic singer before moving on to compose audio installations and soundscapes with collaborator Duncan Chapman; Davies became a classically trained pianist, became a composer and now serves as Musical Director of trans-inclusive, women’s pop choir Lips. So what was it that prompted them to begin creating music for children?

‘I feel passionately that music has a big role to play in young people’s lives and that everyone has the right to be creative and create,’ explains Davies. ‘As a child, I was lucky enough to have access to music tuition and my parents were in a position to financially support my musical education. I’m worried about the inequality that exists in the arts today. More and more, it’s the young people from privileged backgrounds that are getting these opportunities. It’s so important to me that music education is accessible to everyone’.

Nagarajan’s journey to creating music for younger audiences was sparked by a visit to her ancestral village in India. Whilst there she became curious about how early life and local soundscapes shaped how we listen, a curiosity which led to the immersive music piece  Lullaby — Sonic Cradle. The piece began with ‘community lullaby booths’ in which local lullabies were collected that would eventually be transformed into sound-and-light pieces. ‘That experience showed me how powerful and universal lullabies are,’ she explains ‘and inspired me to create immersive musical experiences that both children and adults can share’.

The drive to create music that can be shared between generations was also an inspiration for Day, who, as someone working in children’s television and loved music, soon found that making music for kids ‘felt very natural, but I always wanted to make music that could be enjoyed by the parents too.’ Day first partnered with Rob David and Dan Delor – the music producers behind the theme music for his multiple Andy’s Adventures television series – for the album Who Invited This Lot?. And from there, through the suggestion of business partners Tammy Skan and Jon Turner came the idea to start an actual band. Andy and the Oddsocks were born.

Davies’ guiding light was her mantra that everyone has the right to be creative and create. As a pianist and composer she found herself ‘drawn to making music in community spaces. It felt joyful and real and far away from the competitiveness and damaging perfectionism of formal training’. Through this, Davies began writing songs with young people in schools across the UK, and so as she explains, ‘my route into composing for young people has been through composing with young people. I love listening through young ears. Young people create music with clarity and energy and truthfulness and they are the best storytellers. I hope I am always connecting to young people in some way in my career’.

Is making music for children different to making music for adults?

Given each of these artists have experience of creating music for broader audiences, not just children and young people, does their process differ at all depending on the age they’re writing for? The answer, it turns out, is not really. ‘I don’t write differently whether I’m writing for adults or young people,’ confirmed Davies. ‘I don’t believe it needs to differ much,’ agrees Nagarajan. ‘If a piece is well-crafted, immersive and honest, audiences of any age can connect with it. The one key difference is context; family work often needs to accommodate very different attention spans.’

Day is also in agreement, noting that the only thing that really differs is the subject. ‘Kids love the same music as adults do. They may not understand the lyrics of some songs, but a good song will give something to everyone listening’.

What’s the first step in writing music for children?

Every musician is different, and that’s certainly true of each of these artists, from Nagarajan’s soundscapes to Day’s bouncy band numbers, and Davies, whose work often involves producing musical numbers. And so, understandably, each of them begin in slightly different ways. Day, for example, will ‘always start with the subject matter, try to get a catchy chorus together and go from there.’ Whereas his fellow bandmates Delor and David, tend to ‘write and write and write, to siphon out the bad lyrics and get to the good ones’.

Davies on the other hand begins by looking at the character who will be singing this particular song and asks herself ‘how do they feel? What do they want? Who are they singing to?’ From there she’ll move on to the words, and will ‘play with the rhythm and feel of those words, which usually gives me the rhythm and feel of the whole song’.

‘I first sit with the brief and run it like a short film in my head,’ explains Nagarajan of her process. ‘From that internal film I choose a raagam (mode) that feels right for the mood, then I begin developing phrases and motifs that will form the piece. Because I experience sound synaesthetically, textures and colours often guide decisions as much as melody or rhythm’.

What’s the most important aspect when creating a piece of music for children?

In a digital streaming age, children, young people and parents can access music more easily than ever, so how do you make your music stand out? What’s the secret to a good piece of music for children? ‘I think people want to feel engaged and transported,’ says Davies. ‘I want to write music that tells the story, that captures a mood and I think adults and children can enjoy that equally… I want the audience to feel connected to the music and the characters and to each other’.

A sense of connection is also something Nagarajan strives for. ‘Children are open listeners and will enjoy many kinds of music, so for my family-focused work I prioritise immersive, high-quality sound that creates calm and space for shared listening. I aim for atmosphere, clarity and a sense of wonder – music that soothes but also invites attention and imagination’.

Whilst Nagarajan looks to create a calming vibe through her work, it’s fair to say that Day is operating at the other end of the scale. For him the secret to great music for kids is ‘the energy; a catchy chorus, something they can possibly repeat and sing a long to’. That singalong-ablity is also high among Davies aims; ‘I love the idea that an audience would be humming some of the tunes on their way out of the theatre. Music that stays with you, that’s powerful. Catchy melodies, infectious rhythms and interesting harmony that can take the listener by surprise’.

What’s the key thing anyone who is looking to create music for children should know?

As each of these artists have found their own route into creating songs for young audiences, it’s interesting to hear what they’ve learned along the way; what the process of writing music for children has taught them that they might not have known from the outset. And the common factor appears to be that the audience, no matter how young, still deserves respect.

‘Don’t underestimate what kids will like musically,’ says Day. ‘It doesn’t have to be simple. But if it has energy and you can dance to it, it will generally appeal to everyone. Kids will like different songs for different reasons as we do as adults, but the subject matter helps with the engagement, so write music you like to listen to and keep the content clear; create something that kids can sing themselves’.

That core point is reiterated by Davies, who says, ‘don’t water down or baby your music. Young listeners don’t intellectualise but they are sophisticated. Don’t be complicated or clever for the sake of it, but don’t feel you need to keep it simple’. And also by Nagarajan who encourages anyone else writing music for children to ‘treat it with the same seriousness as any other art form, keep an open mind and involve your audience.’

In addition Davies also stresses that it’s important to ‘be yourself’. As she explains further, ‘young people can spot authenticity a mile off. That’s the biggest thing I’ve learnt working with young people across my career. So write music you love and can put your energy and enthusiasm behind wholeheartedly. Children are ready to feel and play and connect. They don’t hide their creativity. So don’t hide yourself when you’re writing music for young listeners to engage with’. It’s a point reiterated by Nagarajan; ‘focus on creating music that is honest, high-quality and immersive. The rewards are rich — for you and for the children and families who experience the work’.

What’s the best thing about writing and creating music for children?

So, we’ve heard about why musicians chose to create music for children, and how they approach it, but what’s the pay-off? Why keep doing it? ‘Young audiences are really exciting to make music for, because they do not stand on ceremony, explains Davies. ‘They’re not following guidelines or etiquette. If they don’t feel the music, they won’t fake it and clap along politely like a concert hall of adults might. You can tell if something is connecting or not. So it means a lot when they connect with music I’ve helped create. When a child remembers a song and keeps singing it long after the show is over or when they are wholly caught up in the music, whether moving to it or listening intently, that’s a real honour’.

For Day, despite all his television work he maintains that ‘performing in a band is the best feeling,’ and so the added appeal of doing so for children comes from ‘knowing that it brings joy to those who like it, parents as well, and that it may then influence them to pick up an instrument or be inspired in some way’. Nagarajan agrees; ‘seeing children respond with curiosity and calm is deeply rewarding; those experiences can plant the seeds for the next generation of artists and listeners. It’s a privilege to create moments that feel timeless and small all at once. It takes me back to the origins of my own love for music and performance’.