Just four weeks ago – like many others around the country – Matt Fernald found himself a little unsure of his next step.
His job as founder of Golden Acorn Music in Mountain View, California was to go into childcare centers – with his most notable client being the Google Children’s Centers – and provide young children that all-important introduction to music.
But with childcare centers and preschools closing down due to the coronavirus pandemic, Fernald suddenly was without a place to entertain and engage.
For Fernald it was more than just playing a few songs. He enjoyed working with the before-kindergarten age group, something he never envisioned while pursuing his music degree at Amherst College.
“I just fell into working with children,” Fernald said. “It just clicked for me.”
Then it came to him: why not move his work to an online platform. In 2018, he started a YouTube channel, but it wasn’t a high priority for Fernald, often only publishing a new song every week or so. But without a place to go and families staying home, it was the perfect spot to continue bringing music to the kids he saw every week.
Once centers and schools were officially closed, Fernald sent an email to everyone on his list and told them he was going to try livestreaming. Soon he was inundated with emails and song requests. Before all of this, Golden Acorn had about 120 subscribers to the YouTube Channel. When he did his first live performance on March 17, 300 people tuned in.
“We haven’t had a number like that since, but there was that initial interest,” Fernald said. “I thought there might be a lot of families looking for something like this.”
And as time has gone by, the number of subscribers has steadily increased and recently surpassed 1,100 for what Fernald calls Simple Songs for Stressful Times. For now, Fernald and the four other teachers at Golden Acorn are planning to either livestream or upload a new 30-minute episode Monday through Friday. The episodes, which include a little bit of original music, songs in the public domain like “Somewhere over the Rainbow” and lots of interactive themes that get the kids up and moving around.
“You always want them to be engaged in the activity,” Fernald said. “Our work has always been very interactive, involving the children as much as we can.”
They play a variety of instruments, sing in different languages and always end with a story. They have the live chat enabled during the shows and “can take some requests right there,” Fernald said. If they don’t get to all the requested songs, Fernald will put them on the list for future episodes. With five, half hour shows each week, there is no list of material long enough. And each week, there is a special guest.
“I wasn’t sure how to do it the right way,” Fernald said. “Once a day is a lot, but times like these are not the same.”
Like most, Fernald doesn’t know what next week will bring, but he plans to keep doing the daily shows during the week for as long as he sees there’s a need and an interest. He not only sees the benefit for children, but also parents, who can get a much needed break or move and groove alongside their kids.
“There are a lot of people looking for new things,” he said.
Simple Songs for Stressful Times can be found by going to https://www.youtube.com/c/GoldenAcornMusic at 1 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, as well as 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. There is no fee or sign up needed and the videos are available on the YouTube Channel after their release.
“YouTube doesn’t require an account to log in and watch videos,” Fernald said.