Imagine a group of infants, toddlers and preschoolers gathering together actively making music with their mommies and daddies! The vibe feels like a great big famiy celebration! There is egg shaking, singing and silliness! The music is fast and slow, high and low; singing about Johnnie’s blue shoes and Kendra’s striped leggings. The group gets up to dance a Nigun from the Far East. Adults and big kids follow around in a circle, in and out, while the newly walking toddlers and infants catch a ride in mommy or daddy’s arms, feeling the beat all the while. Some independent little ones hang out in the middle, visually absorbing all the motion and music. Everyone makes joyful “whoop” as the group steps towards the middle and a little baby shrieks with excitement. A toddler, no longer wishing to be in mommy’s arms, wiggles down and chooses to bounce around on the outside of the circle, still actively participating and engaging in the music. This is a typical scene one might encounter if visiting a Music Together class.
All children are musical! Just as babies are born with the ability to learn to walk & talk, we are also born with the potential to sing and dance; it’s a life skill!
If this is true, why do so many grownups and older children declare themselves as musically “un-talented”? A child’s musical ability, like any other ability, needs to get nurtured in order for it to grow! This is what happens in a Music Together class. Six to twelve families with young children gather together with a teacher who is trained in early childhood music to actively make music for 45 minutes each week. The learning continues through out the week as the parents/grandparents are encouraged to play the CD’s and sing frequently with their children as a part of their day. Children get to learn in the most natural way for them: with their loving grownups as role models, using lots of play and repetition!
Parents also get a chance to have fun. Since children most naturally learn from their most important role model, mom or dad, we not just include, but really engage the adults in class. It is not unusual to hear a beautiful round or for daddy give ideas for a verse that shares his daughter’s favorite animal. If parents are worried that their voices are not good enough, they are immediately encouraged to sing along anyways; to a child, mommy or daddy’s voice is the most magical and lovely voice in the world.
Children get to participate at their own developmental level without any performance pressure. Some children learn by observing and others choose to jump (literally) right in! “I truly enjoy when I get to hear from a mommy that their sweet quiet-like-a-mouse, 2 ½ year old, sings ALL the songs when they get home!” says Kathy Rowe, director of Music Together in Phoenix. There are many different learning styles and it is wonderful to honor both the moving-kinesthetic learner as well as the aural-careful-observing learner. Lastly, it is very common to find a bit of silly quotient in each class; children love to see mom be silly and sing a whole verse making bug sounds and having the rhythm sticks perched up high like antennae on her heads!
Music Together is excited to offer family music classes Monday through Saturday with various locations around town. The Fall BONGOS semester begins September 15th with free sample classes offered in the weeks previous.
Interested in discovering how fun and important your role can be in your child’s musical growth? Sign up to visit a free sample class or save your spot in a Fall class at www.MusicTogetherInPhx.com. We hope to make beautiful music with your family soon!
