Classical music in Bluey: the pieces, episode by episode
Updated 2026-11-14
Bluey, the Australian cartoon about a family of dogs, uses classical music in many of its episodes. The best known is “Sleepytime,” which is built on “Jupiter” from The Planets by Gustav Holst. This page lists ten episodes, the piece in each one, and where to hear the full music with your child.
The list
| Episode | Season | Piece | Composer |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Magic Xylophone | 1 | Rondo alla Turca | Mozart |
| Bike | 1 | “Ode to Joy,” from Symphony No. 9 | Beethoven |
| The Claw | 1 | Canon in D | Pachelbel |
| Mums and Dads | 1 | “Sheep May Safely Graze” | Bach |
| Featherwand | 2 | “In the Hall of the Mountain King” | Grieg |
| Stumpfest | 2 | Music by Bach | Bach |
| Bingo | 2 | Piano Sonata No. 16 | Mozart |
| Sleepytime | 2 | “Jupiter,” from The Planets | Holst |
| Ice Cream | 2 | “Waltz of the Flowers,” from The Nutcracker | Tchaikovsky |
| Faceytalk | 3 | Music from Carmen | Bizet |
This is not a full list. Episode numbers differ from country to country, so the table gives the season only.
Who writes the music?
Joff Bush is the show’s lead composer. He writes original music for each episode and works the classical pieces into it. The show’s creator, Joe Brumm, shares his love of classical music.
Bush has a name for what the classical pieces do. He calls it “taking the domestic into the sublime.” A small family moment, such as a child learning to sleep in her own bed, is made to feel as large as the sky.
Four episodes to start with
Sleepytime. Bingo dreams that she travels through space with her toy rabbit. The slow, grand tune from “Jupiter” comes in bit by bit and arrives in full at the end. Bush and his fellow composer David Barber arranged it. The New York Times named it among the best television episodes of 2020. Read The Planets listening guide.
Bike. Bluey cannot ride her bike, and she watches other children keep trying at things they find hard. The “Ode to Joy” starts out halting, the way a student plays a new piece, and grows into a full version when everyone succeeds. Bush has said it was among the first pieces he taught his own piano students. Read Ode to Joy for kids.
Ice Cream. Bluey and Bingo argue over licks of each other’s ice cream while both cones melt. The “Waltz of the Flowers” plays under the whole scene. Read the Nutcracker Suite listening guide.
The Magic Xylophone. A toy xylophone freezes Dad in place. Mozart’s quick Rondo alla Turca plays when he gets his own back. Read Mozart for kids.
Where to hear the other pieces
- Canon in D: read the Canon in D listening guide.
- “In the Hall of the Mountain King”: read the story and what to listen for.
- “Sheep May Safely Graze”: read Bach for kids.
- Carmen: read Bizet for kids.
How to use the show as a way in
A child who loves an episode already knows its tune. That makes the full piece easy to offer.
- Watch the episode together.
- The next day, play the first minute of the real piece with no picture. Ask, “Where have you heard this?”
- Play a little more each time.
- Tell them the name of the piece and of the composer.
Bush has said that children hear “Jupiter” and say that it is not Holst, it is Bluey. That is a fine place to start.
Things to do together
Same or different? Play the show’s version and then the real piece. Ask what changed. Is it faster? Are there different instruments?
Find the tune. In “Sleepytime,” raise a hand each time a bit of the big tune from “Jupiter” appears.
Draw the planets. Holst wrote seven pieces for seven planets. Draw Jupiter, and then listen to “Mars.”
Make a bingo card. Put the ten pieces from the table on a card with the listening bingo maker. Mark each one as you hear it.
Print and play
Draw what you hear on a listening journal page. For more music from the screen, see classical music in cartoons and the Fantasia music list. For a second show built on classical music, read Little Einsteins music.
For more pieces, see classical music listening guides for kids.
Sources
Checked in November 2026.
- Apple Music. (n.d.). Bluey: Favourite classical music.
- Apple Music. (n.d.). Up Here (The orchestral album).
- BBC Music Magazine. (n.d.). Bluey: The cartoon sensation selling classical music to millions.
- Kaplowitz, M. (2023). Watching Bluey gives kids one surprising educational benefit. Fatherly.
- Shaw Roberts, M. (2023). Bluey soundtrack: The most memorable times classical music featured in the hit cartoon. Classic FM.
- Shaw Roberts, M. (2024). “Kids say, that’s not Holst, that’s Bluey!” Composer Joff Bush on Bluey’s classical music obsession. Classic FM.
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This article is part of Classical music listening guides for kids: famous pieces, one at a time.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.