The O'Neill Brothers for Mother's Day

The nationally acclaimed Minnesota-based pianists launched a national search for song ideas -- and the stories behind them -- in February, and were inundated with hundreds of song suggestions and stories, some touching, some sentimental, some inspiring. Lullabies: By Request is available at www.pianobrothers.com, iTunes, Amazon and gift shops across the country.

The idea for the new CD was initially sparked by an experience that affected the entire O'Neill family. Last May, older O'Neill Brother Tim O'Neill and his wife Annie celebrated the birth of twins. Owen and Gabi O'Neill were born two months prematurely, and spent more than seven weeks in the NICU. The twins are at home with mom and dad now, and doing well, and Tim and Annie attribute at least some of the babies' recovery to the piano music they played for them throughout their hospital stay.

Tim and Ryan were inspired to record the new CD to help provide a small measure of comfort to families who are going through a similar experience, or who have babies, toddlers or even older children who need help falling asleep. The soothing melodies are also a good fit for moms-to-be who want to play music for their babies in utero.

Arranged in The O'Neill Brothers' soothing, signature style, the lullabies on the new CD are specifically tailored to not only help calm babies, but may aid in their development, as well. The lullabies utilize repetitive melodies, rhythms of 60 - 70 beats per minute and little instrumentation -- elements common to the "Mozart Effect," which has been proven to aid in development, and assist with memory learning and spatial reasoning.

The music on Lullabies: By Request was developed in consultation with music therapist Christina Ufer, MT-BC, who has developed pediatric music therapy programs for the Mayo Clinic, Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital and Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

"Music can be an extremely powerful therapeutic tool, particularly with infants and toddlers," Ufer says. "The O'Neill Brothers' music is an excellent example of a style that really resonates with and calms children and their parents. I've used soothing lullaby music with my own patients, and I've seen it make a significant impact."