Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star music box
If a child knows one tune, it is usually this one. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is short, gentle and built from simple steps, which is exactly why it has been a favourite music box melody for generations.
- Tune
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
- Composer
- Traditional French melody; words by Jane Taylor
- Origin
- Melody published 1761; poem 1806
The story behind the tune
The melody is older than the words. It first appeared in Paris in 1761 as the French song “Ah! vous dirai-je, maman”. Around 1781 Mozart wrote a set of twelve piano variations on it, which is why the tune also turns up in classical recitals.
The English words come from “The Star”, a poem by Jane Taylor published in 1806 in Rhymes for the Nursery, a collection she wrote with her sister Ann. The same melody also carries the Alphabet Song and Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, so many children learn it three times over.
How it sounds on a music box
The tune moves mostly by single steps and stays within a narrow range, so it suits even a small comb without losing any of its shape. It is also short enough that a listener hears the whole phrase, start to finish, in a few seconds. Final arrangements for the Musical Drawer are still being developed.
Lovely for
- A nursery or first big-kid room
- A baby’s first Christmas
- A little one who asks for “the star song” every night