Storytelling through Music for Children

Ella Jenkins

Known today as the “First Lady of Children’s Music”, Ella Jenkins was the first successful folksinger in the music genre especially for children and families (Smithsonian Folkways, 2014). In the 1960s, Jenkins began collecting folksongs appropriate for use with children, and also began writing her own. As she collected songs, she also collected stories. While working with children across countries and cultures, Jenkins would share songs and stories that she had learned from children from other cultures. According to the musician storyteller, “Songs from foreign languages and cultures have such interesting rhythmic patterns that children like to play” (Smithsonian Folkways, 2014). In order to teach the songs of other languages to children, she introduced them through a “call and response” method, encouraging children to repeat her example. Ella also incorporated storytelling to connect children to unfamiliar languages and songs.

Bill Harley

Bill Harley began storytelling through song in 1975, and continues today. Harley combines humor with music and true stories from his own childhood to reach out to people of all ages. Stories that are told among families and friends act as his inspiration. Harley says, “What I've really learned as a storyteller is that those stories that we tell over and over again, whether in the family or among friends or in a school, are really kind of a definition of what we are. It's a culture. It's the web that holds us together and reminds us who we are” (NPR, 2005). It’s the humorous view of the everyday story of life that makes his stories powerful.hat I've really learned as a storyteller is that those stories that we tell over and over again, whether in the family or among friends or in a school, are really kind of a definition of what we are. It's a culture. It's the web that holds us together and reminds us who we are” (NPR, 2005). It’s the humorous view of the everyday story of life that makes his stories powerful. 

Tom Chapin

Tom Chapin began his musical career as a folk musician. He became a musical storyteller in the mid-1980s, when his children were eight and six, after he noticed that there wasn’t much music for grade school aged children. This led him down the path toward becoming a “family artist” (Musicguide.com, 2005). Chapin weaves in life lessons through fun musical stories that offer an underlying moral. His first family album, Family Tree (1988) included songs about home life, family history, and taking care of the planet. He continues to write and perform songs and stories for audiences of children and families today.     

The Ballad of Dirty Joe (spoken):

Diane Ferlatte

Diane Ferlatte is a modern-day troubadour who tells stories for all ages through song, dance, recitation, and sign language. She includes stories which include legends, folktales, tales of history, and true life stories which connect to the listener. Ferlatte has travelled to many countries, sharing her stories with many cultures and ages, but the storyteller says that telling stories to school-age children is her favorite. Through the use of rhythm instruments, such as drums and her signature African rhythm stick, Ferlatte connects back to the days of the original Griots of Africa (Young Audiences Arts for Learning, n.d.). She has said that for her, storytelling is about the opportunity to learn from the experiences that others have gone through and finding encouragement in that (Ferlatte, 2000).