Music Togethet, etc. Questions & Input needed

[MariposaMami]

I am researching young childrens music programs for my husband. He's a full time musician and music teacher and for the longest time I've been telling him how great it would be if he could offer workshops and classes for the little one's. He's got a fun and easy going style and is so good at doing music activities with our own 5 children and children that are part of our homeschool co-op. He's finally had a chance to really think about it and truly loves the idea of providing the children with instruments to learn to keep rhythm with and to freely explore. I'd like to get some feedback from parents who have taken their children to music and movement classes such as Music Together (sadly, not offered here), or Wiggleworms in Chicago, Gymboree music, etc..

What do you like the best? The least? What would your ideal classes be like? So far, it looks like most places charge about $15 per 45 minute class. Does this seem reasonable to you? Any other input?

Thank you so much! I'd appreciate your comments! I'm hoping I put this in the right section, I wasn't sure!

[MissSJ]

We go to Music Together class and haven't experienced the others you listed. As far as Music Together we love it because:
- It is a multi-age class so I can take both boys whereas the Kindermusik class in my area was split ages and both boys would have been in separate classes
- There is NO pressure on the kids to participate nor is there a "right" way for the kids to do different activities
- I find the music enjoyable to listen to so it isn't a chore to play the cds for the boys
- I've found that the music is in different keys as well as different time signatures (for example some is in 5/4 time, while generally you hear music in 4/4, 2/4 or 3/4) which gives
- Both of the teachers we've had are really creative and fun!

Like I said I don't know how some of those points compare to the other classes you listed. Maybe your dh should ask to observe some of the other types of classes if there are any in your area to compare them or go to some of their websites and email some instructors.

Good luck and kudos to your family - I think it is a tremendous gift to be able to share the gift of music with others!

[philia]

Music Together

We love it so much. My girls have learned a lot.

[DaughterOfKali]

My son hated Music Together. The group was always too big and it was just too loud and chaotic.

We prefer smaller groups and better music.
I didn't like how they didn't disinfect the instruments between lessons.

[Mama Mko]

Originally Posted by DaughterOfKali

My son hated Music Together. The group was always too big and it was just too loud and chaotic.

We prefer smaller groups and better music.
I didn't like how they didn't disinfect the instruments between lessons.

Wow, that's the opposite of my experience! Our teacher offers clorox wipes for people to clean their instruments after they've used them and she washes them between classes. The class we go to now is fairly large whereas the last class we had was pretty small. So it must vary a lot by location and teacher!

We love our Music Together classes. The kids dance and sing and if they don't feel like participating, they sit back further and do their own thing and it doesn't matter. There's a big bin of instruments used every class and there's always a free dance (sometimes with scarves). The kids love the routine of it - the first and last songs are always the same - and they really enjoy the music.


We've also done Kindermusik. I liked it too, but I prefer the Music Together teacher and the time Music Together holds its classes, so we switched to that.

[Laurel]

I have a master's degree in music, and I LOVE Music Together! I looked into being a kindermusik teacher... but I have to say if I were ever to pursue anything like that, it would be Music Together.

I like that it's multi-age and a family style class.
The activities were such that a 4-year-old and a baby could both have an experience suited to their age and development.
It's based on very sound pedagogy, kind of a combo of Orff, Kodaly, and Dalcroze (all very respected people in the field of music education) plus more. It's heavily based on the work of Ed Gordon, another biggie when it comes to music education.
I love, love, love that basically the only focus is on learning to sing in tune and learning to feel rhythm/keep a beat. Every single activitiy is geared toward doing these things. Those are the foundational skills that any person needs to go further in music.

I think the standards for Music Together teachers are stricter. You have to go to their in-person training. I believe Kindermusik you can just do it through online courses and submitting video of yourself. At least that's how it was 10 years ago when I was looking into it.

Also, I understand that with Music Together, you have to buy a franchise or be employed by a franchise. You can't just take the training and start up your classes. This would be a bigger financial output... but again I think it would help maintain quality. People who have to put out more money are hopefully going to be more invested.