When I first became pregnant at the age of 41, I worried about a lot of things but my silliest concern (given the scope of what new mom's worry about) was the fact that I was out of touch and had a crummy memory. I remembered just a few nursery rhymes and very few kids songs. How would I sing my little boy a lullaby if I didn't know any? (Hey...I was a kid a long time ago!)
Music was a very big deal when I was growing up - my family listened to everything from The Beatles to Opera (on 33 vinyl recordings and even a few 78's). I want my son to have music in his life as well. It's not that I want him to grow up to be the Mozart of the 21st Century or anything, but I do want him to associate music with memories throughout his life.
So I went online to find out what kind of music parents were playing for their kids these days which is how I found out about Music Together classes.
Now, I know many moms have known about Music Together for over 20 years...but I did mention I was out of touch! So for those of you who are just venturing into the land of motherhood knowing as little as I did: Music Together is an internationally recognized method of teaching music to children starting at birth through about five years old. The idea is for children, along with their parents (or caregivers), to actively experience music versus absorbing it passively through CD's and television. Along with an adult role model and an experienced teacher, children sing, dance, and play musical instruments. Music Together believes that all children are musical - and we've all seen babies innately bopping up and down to the music we play for them - so this idea did not seem outrageous to me at all.
The best thing about this music class for me, beyond spending an hour pounding on an oversized drum with my gleeful two-year-old, are the CD's! At the beginning of each season of classes, you are given a two-CD-set of original musical arrangements that you will learn along with your child. You will also be given an illustrated songbook with the music and lyrics written out and even some instruction about how to use the songs at home.
There are nine song collections in all. Each collection is represented by a specific instrument like bongos, bells, drums, and this season...for me...the fiddle. The songs, and the arrangements of the songs, are absolutely wonderful. The collections are culturally diverse from Native and African American folk songs to Latin dance tunes, and Irish ditties.
So now I don't mind that I don't remember who took whom in The Farmer in the Dell or how to do the Hokey Pokey because I can drum the macrobeat of Sweet Potato and Hine Ma Tov...and you thought these classes were for my son! That's ok...so did I until I found myself not only singing the tunes to myself all day at work, but I keep one of the CD's in the car that doesn't have the car seat!
To learn more about Music Together and to find a class in your area, go to their national website: www.musictogether.com.
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