Putting Lullabies to Bed - The Effects of Screened Presentations on Lullaby Practices

Oct 15, 2026

Lullabies, long used across cultures to soothe babies and support sleep, are increasingly adapted into screened audiovisual repertoire as screen media permeate family life. This paper examines how Australian children’s lullaby practices evolve through YouTube clips, apps, and television using an ethnographic methodology analyzing content, production, and responses. Findings show YouTube and app lullabies are often economically produced and insufficiently reflect young children’s social and developmental needs. Television lullabies more often signal settling within daily routines than lull babies to sleep.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction and theoretical framework

Research questions and ethnographic approach

Related literature

Characteristics of lullabies across cultures

Putting lullabies to bed: The effects of screened presentations on lullaby practices a u s t r a l i a n a s o c i e t y s f o r m u s i c m e d u c a t i o n e i n c o r p o r a t e d Wendy Brooks Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music Abstract Lullabies have existed since ancient times, and are sung across all most all cultures to soothe babies and lull them to sleep. As screen media use pervades contemporary familial lives, it is perhaps inevitable that lullabies have been adopted and adapted as repertoire. This recording of lullabies in audiovisual modes has transformed the ways in which these songs are learned, transmitted, experienced and used within young children’s lives. As part of a larger study investigating music and screen media in the lives of young children, this paper reports on evolving lullaby practices in the lives of Australian children. Using an ethnographic methodology, content and production of, and responses to, lullabies presented via YouTube, Apps and television have been analysed. Findings indicated that lullabies presented via YouTube clips and Apps tend to be economically produced, and demonstrate a lack of understanding of young children’s social and/or developmental needs. Televised lullabies tend to function as signals for settling, rather than for lulling babies and young children to sleep, and their use plays an increasingly significant role in families’ everyday routines. Key words: lullabies, early childhood music education, musical interactions, audiovisual music Australian Journal of Music Education 2016: 50(2), 83-97 Introduction and theoretical framework Lullabies are perhaps the best-known genre of music for infants, and have been traditionally sung by parents and carers to soothe, calm, and lull babies to sleep, fostering an emotional closeness, and forming an association between music, comfort and security (Baker & Mackinlay, 2006; Mualem & Klein, 2012; Trehub, 2002) . As screen media have come to play increasingly significant roles in the daily routines and musical lives of babies and young children, lullabies have been adopted and adapted as screened musical repertoire. As part of a larger study investigating music and screen media in the lives of young children, this paper examines this repertoire through analysis of the content, production and responses to several pieces of screen media featuring lullabies. In so doing, it addresses the following questions: • In what ways are lullabies and their associated performance practices altered or transformed through presentations as screened media content? • How have screened presentations of lullabies affected musical interactions within families? The study uses an ethnographic methodology to analyse and describe lullabies presented via YouTube, Apps1 and television, and considers 1. “Apps” are self-contained programs or pieces of software designed to fulfil a particular purpose; an application, especially as downloaded by a user to a mobile device (Oxford Dictionaries, 2013) . the implications of the ways in which babies and young children experience and respond to these presentations through a sociology of childhood lens. In so doing, it recognises children as active agents in the construction of knowledge and meaning, and emphasises the currency of children’s being within the social category of childhood (Morrow, 2011) . As young children interact, play and negotiate, they process and interpret the experiences and objects with which they are involved. Young children’s daily routines and practices, together with their reciprocal interactions and negotiations, form the raw materials for their social participation and their developing conceptualisations and understandings ofthe world around them (Kampmann, 2014). Their familial routines, which increasingly incorporate screen media use, provide a framework within which family members can interpret, produce and display sociocultural knowledge.

FAQs

What does the study investigate about lullabies and screen media?

It examines how lullabies presented as screened media content change performance practices and how these presentations affect musical interactions within families.

Which screened platforms were analyzed in the ethnographic study?

The study analyzes lullabies presented via YouTube, apps, and television, focusing on their content, production, and responses.

What are the key findings about YouTube/app versus television lullabies?

YouTube clips and apps tend to be economically produced and show limited understanding of young children’s social and developmental needs. Television lullabies function more as signals for settling and play a significant role in everyday routines.

Oct 15, 2026

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