Pre-Piano

Many families want their children to be involved in music lessons from a very early age. They ask me how to evaluate whether their kids are ready for formal lessons. This varies a lot individual to individual. Not every teacher is a good fit for the very young child, due to training and preference. I have worked with children from age 3, but these sessions do not look like a traditional piano lesson. We sing, we dance, and we make art. We gradually develop basic music skills and piano technique through playful means. All of this is in service of gaining the foundations of musical understanding and expression. It is both unproductive and unpleasant to ask a child to perform and learn music in ways that are not developmentally appropriate.

My major training in early childhood music came from growing up in a musical family, in which we heard our violinist parents practicing; attended rehearsals and concerts; sang and danced to live family music from babyhood; and were exposed to musical instruments in our home. I also learned from the Music Together® early childhood music program.

I cannot say enough positive things about Music Together®. It is a family music world that is so joyful and so effective in its practices. Many of my best students have started out in this program. Music Together® defines these musical foundations as Basic Music Competence (BMC), which should be accomplished before any formal music lessons. BMC is the ability to sing in tune, keep a beat, and participate with confidence and pleasure in the music of our culture, including instrumental study if one so chooses.

Here is a picture of my sister, Alison, teaching a Music Together® class in the Burlington, VT, area. The mixed-age group setting, which involves parents in the process, and the research-based curriculum lead to amazing music development.

Registration is now open for Music Together® Songiver classes in Burlington, VT.