Easily Make Up a Simple Original Song With Your Kid

One day, when my stepdaughter was two, I had an idea to ask her to make up an original song on the spot and record it. I sat her down in front of my microphone on a whim and said,

“Hey! Want to make up a song for Dada for his birthday?”

She was all about it. I just let her go, giving her a few ideas along the way (keep reading for a step-by-step guide to create your own song).

After we finished recording, I went in and added piano to accompany the random melody she made up. It definitely added to the cuteness and hilarity (since her melody was all over the place), but it would have been extremely cute and meaningful, even without that!

Making up and recording these simple, sweet songs became an annual tradition with my stepdaughter, and I’m so excited to soon be able to do this with my son, too!

Here’s that very first song, that started it all:

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, DADA”

By Aliya (age 2)

December 20, 2018

Here’s how to make up and record your own simple, original song with your kid!

1. Pick a topic or reason for the original song

Ideas:

• A special occasion (birthday, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc.)
• An “I love you” song, just because, for a loved one
• A “get well” song for a loved one
• A “just because” song about ANYTHING (i.e. “I like dinosaurs”)

2. Start recording (the voice memo app on your phone works great!) and just go for it.

This could be a trial run — OR you might get some improvisational magic on the first try. Kids, especially young children, are often so uninhibited that, once you give them a little direction, they will just run with it.

Listen to this short adorable clip of my stepdaughter (two years old at the time) asking me what she should sing about before we recorded the song you heard above:

“What am I gonna sing?”

“Whatever you want!”
“Okay!”

“Why don’t you sing, ‘I love you, Dada’?”

“Okay!”

Then, she just went for it!

*NOTE: Your child may feel a little shy or uncertain and need extra prompting. Given the topic you’ve chosen, help them as needed by suggesting some simple lines. Encourage them to make up whatever comes to their mind first.

Also, did you notice how simple the lyrics were to our original song?

“Happy birthday to you, Dada

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to…. you

Happy birthday to you, youuuu

I love you Dada

I love you Dada

I love you Dadaaaaaaa”

See, we’re not going for poetic genius, here. No rhyme (literally) or reason.

I do teach songwriting to kids and am excited to do a post on that soon, but that is not the point of this activity.

Simplicity and freedom are key to this being fun!

3. Edit, if you want.

If you have an iPhone or Mac computer, you can access GarageBand for free.

Not tech-savvy? Never edited audio before? Listen, you might surprise yourself if you are able and willing to take a few minutes and give it a go.

Once you import that voice memo file into GarageBand, you pretty much just need to click, use Command+T, and drag the clips to move them around how you want.

Check out this tutorial for a simple example (and there are hundreds more on YouTube!)

This could help for cutting out dead space or “mess-ups” (though I think those “mistakes” are sometimes really cute to leave in!)

If you are accustomed to editing reels on TikTok or Instagram, guess what? You are not going to have a hard time learning this. And, if you’re determined to figure this out, but you feel stuck — comment below or contact me. I’d truly be happy to help!

Also, if you simply don’t have the time or desire to mess with editing, do not let that stop you from trying out this activity. Even just making up and recording a rough draft of the original song is a worthwhile, fun, creative way to spend quality time with your kid. And that makes it special and memorable, no matter how the “finished product” turns out.

4. Optional Extra Step for Musicians

If you are musically inclined, you can take this project to a whole new level by adding in some simple musical accompaniment to follow whatever random melody your child has made up.

Although I play guitar as my main instrument, I find that piano is easiest for me when adding in accompaniment to my stepdaughter’s *unique* improvised melodies. They’re all over the place, and the keyboard is a more straightforward instrument for following them.

Here’s how I use piano to add in accompaniment to her melodies:

1. Listen: Once I have edited her a capella vocal track, I go through each phrase and carefully listen to the notes she’s singing and the rhythms she’s made up.

2. Play Melody Only: I take the song phrase-by-phrase and try and plunk out the same pitches and rhythms on the keyboard, trying to match her as exactly as I can. I only focus on main melody and rhythm, recording one phrase at a time as I work through the song.

3. Build Chords Around the Melody: Once I have recorded the keyboard melody in unison with her voice, I try and listen for a through-line and build chords around those pitches. I don’t worry too much about it flowing together. I just play what makes the most sense to my ear.

4. Add Harmony Lines and Transitions Between Phrases: I also try and build in little harmony lines and add transitions between her musical phrases, as most of them jump from one key to another and are wild!

Here’s what I love most about improvising an original song with a young child in this style:

It does not matter if this child is musically inclined. It does not matter if they have perfect pitch or a sense of melody or rhythm.

By fostering and supporting their creativity in this way, you are letting them lead the way. You’re giving them reigns, and that’s huge for a kid. It gives children such a sense of pride to have made something completely unique and original.

Plus, the recording of that sweet little voice is an adorable time capsule that you can cherish forever.

If you try this out and are interested in having me edit and/or add musical accompaniment to whatever your child sings, I would be honored to help! Connect with me here and we’ll get started!

Think you’ll try this out with your kiddo? If you do, please me know how it goes in the comments!

Playful Heart Parenting

Hi! I’m Mia.
Mom, stepmom, wife, songwriter, performer, and theater educator.
I love sharing ideas, tips, and templates for connecting with kids through low-to-no budget, waste-free, creative play.