Did you know that all children are musical?
Music Together classes build on the young child's natural enthusiasm for music and movement. With our informal approach, developmentally appropriate and well-researched curriculum, each child's musical growth demonstrates how important - and how much fun - active participation is in this process.
In a Music Together class you will see from six to twelve children from newborns through five years old and their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other caregivers having fun while they sing, move, rhyme, dance, and play instruments. In a 45 minute class, you'll see songs presented through a variety of musical activities incorporating fun, playful, interactive ways to focus on the tonal and rhythmic elements of music, free expressive dance, small and large movement, prop play, and opportunities for improvisation by children as well as parents.
Music Together focuses on the family unit engaged in many different types of musical involvement. Having fun with music is more important than musical performance.
All are encouraged to participate regardless of musical skill, talent, or training. Children are allowed to particpate in their own style at their own pace. Some children use the class time to study the experience as they absorb all that is happening. Others will sing and dance freely. Parents discover what a powerful role model they are to their children, simply by having fun with music themselves. Families continue their musical experiences outside of class with a professionally recorded CD of the semester's songs and a beautifully illustrated songbook.
The Music Together Song Collections contain fun, simple, and musically interesting songs, rhymes, rhythm patterns, and "play-alongs". They include both traditional and original music that appeals to adults as well as children.
There are currently nine different song collections that rotate over three years. A child's musical development is stimulated by the rich variety of tonalities and meters in the musical material. The quality, digital recordings are accompanied by a beautifully illustrated songbook that includes color graphics, chord symbols, percussion accompaniment ideas and piano arrangements. This is a powerful reinforecement of the classroom experience and an aid for family involvement at home.
Music Together classes are grounded on the belief that
music is as much a basic life skill as walking and talking
and that
all children can learn to sing in tune, keep a beat, and particpate with confidence and pleasure in the music of our culture.
By emphasizing actual musical experiences rather than concepts about music, children experience the pleasure of making music instead of passively receiving it from CDs or television. The active participation of their parents and caregivers encourages children to respond to music naturally and freely - an essential part of the rich musical environment they deserve.
