The Wiggles - Musical Style

Musical Style

The Wiggles have written new music each year since their inception; they have tended to sequester themselves for a month each summer and write three albums' worth of original children's music based on simple concepts familiar to young children, and upon several genres of music and types of instruments. Most of their songs were short and started with the chorus because the group believed that it was necessary to provide young children with the topic of each song in its first few lines. They wrote songs individually at first, but eventually wrote them as a group, often with John Field, trumpet player Dominic Lindsay, and Paddick. John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival, who appeared in a Wiggles video in 2002, was "very impressed" with their songwriting, especially with their drum sound.

According to Field, the transition from writing music for an adult rock band to writing children's music was not a big one for The Wiggles. "The Wiggles music isn't all that far removed from what we did in The Cockroaches, just a different subject matter" Field stated. "The Cockroaches sing about girls and love and stuff like that; The Wiggles sing about hot potatoes and cold spaghetti." For example, they approached a topic like eating as they would in a pre-school setting, including encouraging children to eat healthy foods. Field also reported that because both The Wiggles and The Cockroaches were inspired by 60s pop music, the main difference between the groups was "just the lyrics". The Wiggles' songs were influenced by nursery rhymes, folk music, and rock music that both children and their parents could enjoy. Moran stated that The Wiggles wrote songs they liked and would listen to, and then made them "child-appropriate".

Page reported, "First and foremost, we're entertainers". The Wiggles captured the interest of children by first entertaining them, and then by presenting them with educational messages. The group decided to write and perform children's music that was different than what had been done in the genre previously. They were not tied to one style or genre of music and often experimented in the studio; while some of their recordings were orchestral, others had a more live feel. The group was aware that their songs were often children's first exposure to music. Cook was conscious that he was probably the first guitarist children would see, and said, "I always think that if it inspires kids to play guitar later on that would be great. I think it would be really nice if in 15 years I read that somebody got into guitar playing because of Wiggles".