Brenda Iacocca’s Preschool Music Plus Music Together Classes
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What can I expect to do in a Music Together class?
You can expect to have a fun time interacting with your child, the instructor and other families in each
45 minute class. Activities include, singing, dancing, rhymes, clapping, using props, being silly, walking,
skipping, keeping a beat, playing rhythm instruments, dancing with scarves and props or instruments,
making silly faces, learning new songs, revisiting old favorites songs and learning new ways to play with
your child at home. Music Together classes nurture learning in a play based, informal instruction, family
friendly, classroom environment. Children participate at their own age and ability and interact with
parents/role models.
What is the class like?
We always begin with the “Hello Song” where your child’s name is sung and end with the “Goodbye
Song” where your child’s name is sung again. The beginning of class includes lap songs, fingerplays,
instrument and prop play, swaying, bouncing, clapping, and using our imagination to create new verses
or actions for songs. The middle of the class usually involves a dance, movement game, song, instrument
or prop use (egg shakers, bells, scarves, dynabands). Toward the end of the class, we have an
instrument “Play Along” where children can choose their favorite rhythm instruments to play along with
a song on the CD. We follow that by cleaning up and singing a lullaby to calm everyone down before we
leave the class.
What is the music like?
Music Together believes children should be exposed to all sorts of types and styles of music. Just as you
feed your children a rich variety of nutritious foods and expose them to new foods, we do the same in
Music Together classes. Your child will received major, minor and modal tonalities, duple, triple and
mixed meter rhythm, old songs, new songs, American folk and classical songs, songs from around the
world, Songs With Out Words (SWOW), rhymes, fingerplays, vocables and silly songs. There are 9
collections of music which rotate in a three per year cycle with a corresponding summer collection for
each year comprised of favorites from all the collections. We title these collections with an instrument
name (Bongos, Bells, Triangle, Summer #1, Fiddle, Drum, Tambourine, Summer #2, Flutes, Sticks,
Maracas, Summer #3). You can take classes for three years and not repeat a collection.
Why are the classes mixed ages?
Music Together classes are created for infants through 6 year olds. Music Together Early Childhood
Music Research and 25 years of practical experience has shown that the mixed age approach to music
classes, are family friendly and promote the most music making. Little ones learn from watching older
children, older children learn to be leaders and sharers of their musical abilities and actions. Families can
enjoy and share the same music with their whole family just as we did long ago before we all became
mainstream music consumers. Children take their learning cues from their age and ability. Older
children can revisit songs they learned at an earlier age and compare and contrast, add to, explore,
create movement for or new words to songs they already know. We have found Mixed Age classes to be
beneficial for maximum early childhood music achievement.
What do I do with the materials at home?
Your materials include: 2 CD’s, an illustrated songbook, parent guide DVD and growth chart. There are 2
CD’s so you can have one at home and one in the car for continued exposure. We want you to listen to
the CD’s together as a family and to read the songbooks. The CD’s and songbook are in the same order.
Please read the books, look at the pictures, talk about the illustrations, look and show how to follow
words and notes with your finger. This gives your child a pre-reading experience and allows them to
learn how to follow a book, songbook and music notation.
Please take a few minutes to view the short DVD parent guide. Ken Guilmartin and Lili Levinowitz, our
co-founders have a lot of great information to share with you. You can understand how to best support
your child’s music learning and development. Create opportunities to sings, dance and make music with
your child at home. Encourage your child to play music by taking out instruments or the songbook or
singing songs during bath time, clean up time, playtime, activity time etc. By creating a musically rich
environment for your child, you create a music maker!
What if my child is too active and can’t sit still for 45 minutes?
We never expect children to sit still for 45 minutes! Children move to learn and learn to move! Infants
may sit or lay but usually will move their arms, legs or torso when music is on. They show their
enjoyment by sharing their “signature movement”. Infants often will coo or vocalize on the resting tone,
median or dominant tone of a song. Toddlers love to walk around and explore but can be drawn into a
fascinating activity or instrument experience. They often sing word endings and love to hear things again
and again! Preschoolers love to move and use large motor muscles. They know the way the class routine
works and anticipate the rituals. We ask them to help think of new ideas for movement or song ideas.
Older children, can use their imagination, language, music skills and experience to add new verses, new
movement, new words, lead tonal or rhythm patterns, and show younger kids how to do activities in
class. There are plenty of movement opportunities in class for all ages. Parents can participate at their
own comfort level. Parents should assist in redirecting children who lose focus in class by bringing the
activity to them and encouraging their return to the group. The instructor will also have creative ways to
redirect a child, so please ask!
Do we sing the same songs every week?
With over 25-30 songs in each collection, we couldn’t possibly do each song each class. Typically we will
cover 11-14 activities per class. There will be repeats of songs from class to class but may have a
different activity in the second or third class. We will cover the entire song collection in the 6 -10 or 12
week sessions. Summer session are shorter and have less songs.
Remember, repetition is good, repetition is good, repetition is good! New learners enjoy the repetition
and reinforcement. You may get tired of a song but your child might not. Please take your cues from
your child. They may be learning the words or melody, finding out the rhyme or rhythm of the song,
listening to the tonality, comparing and contrasting the tonality or rhythm with another song, audiating
the music, hearing the chordal changes, thinking of a new way to sing the words or making up new
verses or movements for a song. The possibilities are endless! Please support their requests for
repetition!
Can I bring my older child(ren)/visitors to class too?
Throughout the semester there will be days off from school for older siblings. Please ask the instructor if
your older child(ren) may attend. It usually is not a problem and is natural for you to want to bring them
with you. Often it’s fun for older siblings to see their little sibling in class and in fact, may create more
musical interaction at home. It is also possible that your enrolled child may act differently when in the
presence of their older sibling. Please be mindful that this should be an occasional event.
We welcome relatives and are happy to have them be a part of class rather than just a spectator. Please
inform your guest that they should try to interact with the rest of the class rather than be just observers
or photographers. Chairs will be available for those who cannot stand. Visitors can still be a part of the
class by clapping along, singing and showing enjoyment in the activities.
What if I’m not a good singer or music maker?
It doesn’t matter how accomplished you are at music. By sharing your enthusiasm and modeling
enjoyment for music making, your child will be musical! If you want to have a reader, then you model
reading and going to the library, read to your child at home and encourage reading. The same is true for
music. Model music making at home, in the car in class and your child will become a music maker. Pitch
and rhythm competence will develop naturally with repeated exposure to a rich musical environment!
Children don’t often realize whether their parents can sing on pitch until much later in life. Several
Music Together instructors have told stories about their parents lack of pitch but enthusiasm making
music in their home, helped them enjoy music and led them to become musicians!
What if my child doesn’t want me to sing with them?
Often children, especially toddlers and preschoolers, tell parents not to sing with them. Sometimes is it a
power struggle, ownership issue or possibly your child is pitch sensitive. This is a common occurrence
and in most cases is temporary. Our best advise is to continue to sing and share music making with your
child. If they are verbal enough, you can ask why they don’t want you to sing or you can just sing softer
or listen to your child sing. If this continues for more than a couple of weeks, please consult your
instructor for other strategies you can try. Sometimes children develop perfect pitch and react
negatively to a song they have heard it repeatedly on pitch via a recording. If you sing the song in a
different key than the child is anticipating, they may feel uncomfortable and may ask you not to sing.
Again, please discuss this with your instructor if the behavior persists.