How to use the lullaby player
- Press Play (or the Space bar), or tap any song in the list to start with it. Each song plays twice before the next one begins.
- Choose an Instrument: Music box is bright and delicate, Soft piano is warmer and rounder, and Glockenspiel rings like small metal bars.
- Pick a Playback mode. Play all goes through the list in order and starts again at the top, Repeat one keeps playing the current song, and Shuffle picks the next song at random.
- Move Tempo to set the speed. It starts slow, which suits bedtime; most babies are soothed by a calm, steady pace rather than a lively one.
- Set the Volume low and choose a Sleep timer. It is set to 30 minutes the first time you visit, and the music fades out gently over the last 45 seconds.
- Switch on Soft white noise underneath if your home is noisy. It fills the pauses between songs and keeps a steady background sound.
Your song, instrument, playback mode, tempo, noise, volume and timer are remembered in this browser for next time.
The lullabies
All of the melodies are traditional or were written long ago, so they are in the public domain. We encoded each tune note by note and the music is synthesised in your browser; nothing is a recording. We play the melody only, without words.
| Lullaby | Origin |
|---|---|
| Brahms' Lullaby (Wiegenlied, "Guten Abend, gut' Nacht") | Johannes Brahms, Op. 49 No. 4, published in 1868 |
| Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star | The French melody "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman", first published in 1761; Mozart later wrote variations on it |
| Rock-a-bye Baby | Nursery rhyme first printed around 1765; the tune most people know dates from the 1880s |
| Hush, Little Baby | Traditional lullaby from the southern United States |
| Frère Jacques | Traditional French round from the 18th century |
| Golden Slumbers | Words by Thomas Dekker from the play Patient Grissel (1603), sung to an old English tune (not the later pop song) |
| All Through the Night | Welsh folk melody "Ar Hyd y Nos", first printed in 1784 |
| Schubert's Lullaby (Wiegenlied, "Schlafe, schlafe") | Franz Schubert, D 498, composed in 1816 |
How the music box sound is made
A real music box plucks tuned steel teeth on a comb. Each tooth rings with a strong fundamental and a faint, quickly fading higher overtone, which gives the bright "tink" at the start of every note before it settles into a pure, slowly dying tone. The player imitates that with a sine-based tone that decays naturally, plus a short, quiet overtone well above the note. The soft piano adds a few gentle harmonics and stops each note when the next is due; the glockenspiel uses the slightly out-of-tune overtones of a metal bar for its bell-like shimmer. A short, softly filtered reverb, generated in your browser, adds the feeling of a quiet room.
Notes are scheduled a moment ahead on the audio clock, so the rhythm stays even while you scroll or switch apps.
Why lullabies can help babies settle
Singing and playing soft music to babies at bedtime is found in cultures all over the world, and it is easy to see why. Lullabies tend to be slow, simple and repetitive, with a gentle rocking rhythm and a narrow range of pitch. Some research suggests that infants can become calmer while listening to lullabies, and that music can be a pleasant, predictable part of a bedtime routine. The studies are mostly small, though, and results vary from baby to baby. Think of lullabies as one comforting tool to try, not a guaranteed sleep aid.
Your own voice matters too. A recording or a music box is handy when you are tired or need your hands free, but many babies respond most to a familiar voice, so feel free to hum or sing along. There is no need to sing well.
Using lullabies at bedtime
- Make it part of the routine. Start the music at the same point each night, for example after a feed, a bath or a story, so it becomes a signal that sleep is coming.
- Keep it slow and quiet. Leave the tempo low and the volume soft: roughly as loud as a soft shower in the next room, or quieter.
- Keep the device away from the cot. Place your phone or speaker at least about 2 metres (7 feet) away, never in the cot or on the rail, and silence notifications. Never use earphones or headphones on a baby.
- Let it fade. A 15 to 45-minute timer usually covers falling asleep. If your baby wakes when the sound stops, try steady sound instead (see below).
- Follow safe-sleep advice. Music does not change how and where your baby should sleep; follow your health service's safe-sleep guidance.
For a steady sound through the night, our white noise for babies page offers shushing, heartbeat and womb sounds that keep playing even with the screen locked. The guide is white noise safe for babies? explains volume, distance and timers. Grown-ups who want something calm for themselves can try pink noise, brown noise or the rest of our sleep and relaxation sounds.
Privacy: the music is generated on your device by your browser's Web Audio engine. Nothing is recorded, downloaded or uploaded, and the only data stored is your settings, in this browser's local storage.
Frequently asked questions
Will the lullabies keep playing when my phone is locked?
Not always. The notes are scheduled by the page a few seconds ahead, and many phones pause a web page's scripts soon after the screen locks, so the music may stop. Keep the screen on (dimmed) while the lullabies play, or use white noise, which keeps playing with the screen locked, for all-night sound. The optional soft white noise here also continues if the melody stops.
Are these lullabies free to use?
Yes. The melodies are traditional or long out of copyright, and the versions you hear are generated live in your browser, so there is nothing to buy or download.
What is the most famous lullaby?
Brahms' Lullaby, published in 1868 as "Wiegenlied" (cradle song), is probably the best-known lullaby in the world, alongside Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Rock-a-bye Baby. All three are in the list.
Why are there no words?
We play the melodies only, as a music box would. Many families like to sing or hum along, and many babies find a familiar voice the most soothing sound of all.
How loud should lullabies be for a baby?
Quiet: roughly as loud as a soft shower in the next room, with the phone or speaker at least about 2 metres (7 feet) from the cot. Start with the volume low and check the level from where your baby lies.
How long should I play lullabies?
Long enough for your baby to fall asleep, usually 15 to 45 minutes. The sleep timer fades the music out gently, so it does not stop with a jolt.
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