Children’s musician Jim Gill will appear in Champaign-Urbana in late April.
Gill bills his work as “music play for all young children.” His books and recordings reflect his work in graduate studies in child development and his professional experience working with families with young children with special needs.
Gill will perform in C-U on April 29-30. On the 29th, he will perform at Urbana Early Childhood, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. That night he’ll appear at Hessel Park in Champaign for a free show, sponsored by CU Schools Foundation, Champaign Park District and Chambanamoms. On the 30th, Gill will lead morning and afternoon shows at Champaign Early Childhood Center.
It won’t be his first experience in C-U.
“I have worked in the Champaign-Urbana area lots of times over the years,” he said. “During the pandemic the Urbana Free Library pivoted and changed what was supposed to be a live visit into a series of virtual events. They turned out to be really wonderful! I was so thankful for the opportunity to learn from that experience.
“I am so excited for this upcoming concert! The more people that are there to sing and play along, the more fun that we will have!”
Here are highlights of our recent interview with Gill:
Q: How does one become a child’s musician? What are your musical inspirations?
My path to children’s music is a bit out of the ordinary. My graduate studies are in child development, in particular, the study of play. I led developmental play groups for families with children with special needs for many years. At a certain point I began plucking out songs on my banjo that would be helpful in those playgrounds — and it became a career.
I was inspired by Pete Seeger, the folk singer, to pick up the banjo and make that my instrument. His concerts were all about singing along, and my concerts developed into sing-alongs and play-alongs.
Q: Children love music. In your opinion, what is so special about music that is especially for children?
Music is a great way to play. Among other things, they get to move! And it is a great way for children and caring adults to play together. My songs are, for the most part, musical games, so they combine two things that are important to children: music and play.
Q: What are some of your favorite moments during your concerts?
My special interest is in creating opportunities for children and family members to play together. So one of my favorite moments in a concert is when I play my song “Spin Again” and watch parents and grandparents spin the little ones around and around, and then stop, and then spin again. The children love the sensory play and the adults get to see the joy on the children’s faces.
Q: I think I love children’s music more than my kids. Is that the secret sauce for success? Hook the parents?
Ha ha! Maybe! If you listen to my songs on Spotify or any of the streaming services, you’ll hear some great musicians playing my musical games. I, myself, am a jazz fan, so I decided to hire jazz players to accompany me on my recordings. They are, truly, some of the best players in Chicago. So my recordings end up having a different sound from other children’s music.
Q: You’ve been doing this for more than 20 years. What has changed over the years?
What has changed is the way that folks listen to recordings. When I started recording music, I made LP records! Then there were cassettes and many years of CDs. Nowadays most people stream music on their phones or listen to my music on a device like Alexa.
I like that folks can stream my music but streaming doesn’t always lend itself to purposeful listening like a CD used to. There is often a mix of songs. So one of my active game songs will be followed by some other random children’s song without the same goal of being a play opportunity. So I have created playlists for families. There is a playlist for the songs I typically play in my concerts on both Spotify and Amazon Music.
Q: If a parent has never taken a child to a concert like this, what should they expect? What can parents do to prepare kids for this?
The children feel safer and join in better if you approach this as a family event and prepare to sit and play together. It can become a memorable family experience rather than just a “show to watch.”
Q: Anything you recommend that families bring to your shows?
Bring a blanket to all sit on together! Other than that, don’t bring a thing. One of my songs is called “Hands are for Clapping” so everyone needs hands free to clap along.
