Background of the Music Together Program

Music Together^® is...

Children and adults sharing songs, chants, instrument play, dancing and movement in a relaxed, community setting during weekly classes.

Music learned through carefully researched, developmentally appropriate activities that support and respect the unique learning styles of very young children while emphasizing and facilitating adult involvement.

A mixed-age format, with children ranging from newborn (yes, newborn!) up to kindergarten in the same class for a family-style learning environment where siblings can participate together.

Parents and caregivers learning to recognize musical behaviors and to understand the stages of musical development in early childhood.

Two copies of a new Music Together CD and an illustrated songbook to bring home each ten-week session.

FUN! Singing, dancing, laughing, playing and learning.

All Children Are Musical!

The ability to sing, to dance, to express oneself musically is a wonderful part of being human. Before recorded music, many homes had pianos, guitars, or drums and people knew how to play them. Family gatherings, special moments and daily routines were frequently accompanied by homemade music, and children learned the basics of singing and dancing naturally—by watching their parents and family members and joining in the fun.

Times have changed. We are now more likely to be consumers of music than active participants in creating it, and many children are growing up without the early musical experiences they need to learn to sing in tune, keep a beat, and participate with confidence and pleasure in making music.

Music Together^® is an early childhood music and movement program that helps children develop their natural musical abilities by providing a rich, stimulating musical environment during the critical period between birth and five years. Through exciting weekly classes, quality supporting materials and parent involvement, Music Together inspires families to bring music-making back into daily life, giving children the foundation for a lifetime of musical expression and enjoyment.

An innovator in the field, Music Together began in 1987 as an educational project of the Center for Music and Young Children^® in Princeton, NJ, whose sole purpose is to do research on early childhood music development. Out of this research has come the four basic Music Together principles:

1. All children are musical.

2. Therefore, all children can achieve basic music competence which we define as the ability to sing in tune and in rhythm and to be able to have rhythmically accurate movements.

3. The participation and modeling of parents, regardless of their musical ability or experience, is essential to a child’s musical growth.

4. This growth is best achieved in a playful, developmentally appropriate, non-performance-oriented learning environment that is musically rich and diverse yet immediately accessible to the child’s—and the adult’s—participation.

Putting these principles into action in Music Together classes, we focus on the actual experience of music rather than teaching concepts or information about music. Research shows that children need to reach basic musical competency first, before stepping into learning about music. They need to first unlock the code for the music of our culture and they do this by listening to and experimenting with music.

If you would like to learn more about the history and educational philosophy of Music Together, call us at 651-439-4219. We would be happy to discuss the program in more detail. You can also visit the Music Together national web site at www.musictogether.com You’ll find there an in-depth description of how the program was developed and the research upon which it is based.



		Background
			Music Together^® is... Children and adults sharing songs, chants, instrument play, dancing and movement in a relaxed, community setting during weekly classes. Music learned through carefully researched, developmentally appropriate activities that support and respect the unique learning styles of very young children while emphasizing and facilitating adult involvement. A mixed-age format, with children ranging from newborn (yes, newborn!) up to kindergarten in the same class for a family-style learning environment where siblings can participate together. Parents and caregivers learning to recognize musical behaviors and to understand the stages of musical development in early childhood. Two copies of a new Music Together CD and an illustrated songbook to bring home each ten-week session. FUN! Singing, dancing, laughing, playing and learning. All Children Are Musical! The ability to sing, to dance, to express oneself musically is a wonderful part of being human. Before recorded music, many homes had pianos, guitars, or drums and people knew how to play them. Family gatherings, special moments and daily routines were frequently accompanied by homemade music, and children learned the basics of singing and dancing naturally—by watching their parents and family members and joining in the fun. Times have changed. We are now more likely to be consumers of music than active participants in creating it, and many children are growing up without the early musical experiences they need to learn to sing in tune, keep a beat, and participate with confidence and pleasure in making music. Music Together^® is an early childhood music and movement program that helps children develop their natural musical abilities by providing a rich, stimulating musical environment during the critical period between birth and five years. Through exciting weekly classes, quality supporting materials and parent involvement, Music Together inspires families to bring music-making back into daily life, giving children the foundation for a lifetime of musical expression and enjoyment. An innovator in the field, Music Together began in 1987 as an educational project of the Center for Music and Young Children^® in Princeton, NJ, whose sole purpose is to do research on early childhood music development. Out of this research has come the four basic Music Together principles: 1. All children are musical. 2. Therefore, all children can achieve basic music competence which we define as the ability to sing in tune and in rhythm and to be able to have rhythmically accurate movements. 3. The participation and modeling of parents, regardless of their musical ability or experience, is essential to a child’s musical growth. 4. This growth is best achieved in a playful, developmentally appropriate, non-performance-oriented learning environment that is musically rich and diverse yet immediately accessible to the child’s—and the adult’s—participation. Putting these principles into action in Music Together classes, we focus on the actual experience of music rather than teaching concepts or information about music. Research shows that children need to reach basic musical competency first, before stepping into learning about music. They need to first unlock the code for the music of our culture and they do this by listening to and experimenting with music. If you would like to learn more about the history and educational philosophy of Music Together, call us at 651-439-4219. We would be happy to discuss the program in more detail. You can also visit the Music Together national web site at www.musictogether.com You’ll find there an in-depth description of how the program was developed and the research upon which it is based.