February 2, 2010
Children's Music on Pandora
We're proud to announce that we've officially added a new genre to Pandora: Children's Music!
We've hunted down some truly excellent children's music for our collection, and our Music Analysts have spent months listening to every one of these songs. They've categorized the songs along hundreds of musicological traits so playlists are kid-friendly, musically interesting, and combine a great mix of familiar songs and fun new discoveries.
With Pandora's built-in variety, never again will you have to listen to the same CD on repeat for weeks at a time. Anyone who's under the impression that most children's music is cheesy or that there isn't much out there, is in for a treat.
Steve Hogan, our Music Operations Manager and co-curator of the stations below, has been listening to these stations with his 4-year-old son Brady. He hands the iPhone over to thumb-happy Brady, who has become quite enthusiastic about crafting his personal radio station. Sometimes he thumbs downs a song after only a few notes, but he's always decisive. :) At left, he's giving a thumbs up to a Raffi song.
If your child has a favorite children's artist, start a station from that artist's name. Or, read on to try some of the kid-tested stations Steve and I made for you.
Radio for Kids --- Meant for kids 7 and under, this station is fun, educational, and not too baby-ish. For kids who are moving on up from Toddler Radio. Many musical genres are included here, and due to the variety and quality of songs, it's enjoyable for kids and adults!
Rockin' Kids Radio --- Meant for kids 7 and under. This one is my personal favorite; an energetic station good for dancing, room-cleaning and high-energy play. This station is a winner for kids (and adults!) who love upbeat music. Rock out, kiddos.
Toddler Radio --- Meant for kids 4 and under, this station is educational and fun! A variety of toddler-friendly themes and music genres are explored. Look for Sesame Street, Disney, & The Wiggles among others. :)
Sleepy Time --- Meant for kids 5 and under, this station is designed to prepare your tyke for a nap or bedtime (or any time you want to bring the energy level down a notch). It's full of mellow sounds and sweet lullabies.
Kid's Folk Music --- Meant for kids 7 and under, this station features quality kid-friendly folk music. It's a pretty mellow station... a nice quiet-time alternative to Rockin' Kids.
Tween Radio --- Meant for ages 8 to adult. This station is appropriate for those too old for children's music but a bit too young for rock 'n' roll's more adult themes. It includes pop music like Miley Cyrus, the High School Musical cast, The Jonas Brothers, and the cast of Glee.
Personally, I'm thrilled we've been able to fulfill this frequent listener request.
And for "aunties" like me, it's very handy to have all this children's music right at my fingertips.
Enjoy!
:) Lucia
(community manager)
Posted by Lucia at 10:57 AM | Comments (4)
January 26, 2010
Secret Insights into the world of Jazz Drumming
The "Musicology Show" is back, with a new show about jazz drumming. Pandora music analyst Jeff Anthony pulls back the curtain on our jazz genome to show us the signature styles of Elvin Jones, Tony Williams and "Philly Joe" Jones -- arguably three of the greatest drummers who ever picked up sticks.
This show was edited and recorded by Tyler Brown at Bellboy Recording, a studio that has served as home to many fine Bay Area jazz recordings.
As always, it's free to subscribe to "The Musicology Show" in iTunes or in any other feedcatcher (Google Reader, Juice, etc.)
Just scroll down on the main podcast page to hear those 50 earlier episodes, or jump straight to the category pages for Composition, Styles, Singing, Instruments and Rhythm.
Posted by Kevin Seal at 3:34 PM | Comments (11)
December 18, 2009
Happy Holidays from Pandora
Merry Christmas and all that jazz.
I hope you're enjoying the holiday season so far!
Here's some great holiday stations we've made for you:
Jazz Holidays
A Classical Christmas
There's many more holiday stations, including Hanukkah, here.
To make your own holiday station from scratch, all you have to do is type in the name of an artist + the word holiday. Like so:
Vince Guaraldi Trio Holiday (A Charlie Brown Christmas!)
Or, you can start a station from a holiday song, picking which version you'd like:
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow
From all of us here at Pandora to all of you out there enjoying the music, Happy Holidays!
-- Lucia
(community manager)
Posted by Lucia at 4:10 PM | Comments (84)
December 14, 2009
Global Giving, and a Choice of Pandora Gifts
For this week only, we are offering these three artist-designed Pandora posters as gifts. One or all of these can be yours if you donate to Global Giving, a charitable group that supports three different music-education programs.
Grand Prize Winner  Artist: Amanda Tafuro www.drivengraphics.com | Runner-up  Artist: Jason Wyatt www.jasonwyatt.com | Editor's Choice  Artist: Luis Medel Online Portfolio |
Please donate now to one of our Global Giving projects to get a poster. With a minimum $10 donation, you can select which poster to receive. Donate at least $20 and receive all three. Paper the whole place!
--- Kevin
(executive producer)
Posted by Kevin Seal at 4:02 PM | Comments (24)
December 9, 2009
Happy Hanukkah
Happy Holidays!
This year, we're delighted to present a Hanukkah station on Pandora.
Also known as "The Festival of Lights," Hanukkah begins this year on December 11 at sundown.
This is a special, curated station that solely features Hanukkah-related music. While you won't be able to personalize it like other Pandora stations, we hope that the music we've collected adds to the fun and festivity of your celebrations. Enjoy the music, light the lights, and have a wonderful Hanukkah.
Jem
Listener Advocate & Hanukkah station music curator
...For those who are looking for Christmas music, you'll find some here.
Posted by Lucia at 12:29 PM | Comments (20)
