You may already know that besides being a basic life skill and expressive art form, music is good for the brain-- especially the young child's brain which is developing at a rapid rate during the infant and preschool years. In a Music Together class, infants are taking in the joyand singing all around them (in a wide variety of modes and rhythms) while older children are experimenting with their own music-making and following the lead of the adults and preschoolers in class. In each eight to ten week session, parents and caregivers learn techniques to foster an enriched music environment at home and ways to create a lasting bond with their children through music. Basic Music Competence (moving with accurate rhythm & singing in tune) is learned through play, repetition and experimentation. Freedom is encouraged within a structured set of developmentally appropriate activities involving movement and props (such as rhythm instruments, streamers, hoops, scarves and more) while all types of learning styles are respected and included. Multicultural traditional music, along with music composed especially for this research-based program, provides a wide variety of rhythms, tones and modes/styles so that the musical patterns we learn are varied and rich. This wide pallet of musical styles will contribute to the child's future ability to be more creative with music and with patterns in general (such as those used by other areas of the brain, math for example). In fact, studies have indicated that music activities combined with movement involve more areas of the brain than ANY other activity!
Materials are included in tuition (CD, parent guide and song activity book containing all of the songs, rhythm chants, “play-along” music and tonal and rhythm patterns done in class). Classes are 45 minutes long and are offered for Mixed Ages (0-5 years) in ten week sessions each season (8 wks in summer).