This month’s blog entry features comments by Lili M. Levinowitz, Ph.D., Director of Research for Music Together. Along with her work at Music Together, Dr. Levinowitz is also a Professor of Music Education at Rowan University in New Jersey. She is an authority on early childhood music and teaches very young children as well as graduate students. Dr. Levinowitz’s articles appear frequently in professional journals and widely-circulated publications.

Recently, I gave a presentation at the Princeton Public Library to discuss how developmentally-appropriate music learning enhances learning in all domains. I was so pleased to talk with caregivers and teachers about the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social benefits that are gained through active music-making experiences. In particular, I spoke about Music Together’s early childhood curriculum and our deep commitment to helping families and preschool professionals understand the multi-faceted value of informal musical experiences. The presentation included plenty of music time, too—we sang, played instruments, and made good use of our “Silly Quotients.”

Music Together teachers know how music-making supports all the ways children are learning. They see children recognize the objects in songbook pictures. They see them bouncing confidently to a beat. Every day, in Music Together parent-child classes and preschool programs around the world, we see evidence of cognitive, language, physical, and social-skill development right alongside music development. And now, there is solid research that validates our everyday observations. 

In Bridgeport, Connecticut, a study showed that children who participated in the Music Together Preschool program made significantly greater progress in cognitive, language, and physical learning than children who did not participate in the program. Participation in Music Together® Preschool also seems to have helped these children in social-emotional development.

Another study, in Trenton, New Jersey, affirms that, in addition to supporting the skills necessary for school readiness, music-making activities bring families closer together. 96% of the parents who responded to a survey reported that their children asked them to play the Music Together CDs (which are sent home as part of the preschool program model), either sometimes or all the time. 

Classroom teachers who participated in the Trenton program were also enthusiastic about the opportunity to learn Music Together teaching strategies and curriculum and to integrate music-making into their daily routines. 85% of the teachers who responded to a survey reported a desire for Music Together to return to their classrooms. 

Our greatest goal at Music Together is for families to love making music, whether it’s in the classroom, at home, in the car, or at the grocery store—not because it’s “the right thing to do,” but simply because making music feels good! When people participate in the music of their culture, and do so with ease and joyful abandon, it’s life-affirming. Yes, music learning supports all learning—and it also supports our inherent need to be expressive, creative human beings.

For our first entry, I’d like to talk to you about the idea that is fundamental to the Music Together approach—that parents and caregivers are a child’s most important teachers. Children learn music by seeing people they love model how to be active music-makers. And, in turn, the adults become more and more adept at interacting with their kids in musical ways. By modeling musical behaviors, you become your child’s most important music teacher and help them develop the disposition to be a music-maker. That’s why we call it Music Together: the Together is You.

Of course for many adults, this is easier said than done. If you are a parent who doesn’t consider yourself to be musical, the notion of active participation probably seems pretty unnerving—“You mean you want me to sing and dance? In front of other people?” But parents discover it’s a lot easier than they think to become a music-making family. Regardless of your own musical ability, just by singing along, dancing along, or joining your child in instrument play, you are helping him gain the desire to be a music-maker. And somewhere along the way, you’re likely to discover or reclaim your inner music-maker, too.

In fact, to some parents, it can seem that they like coming to class even more than their kids do! I love it when I hear parents confess that they listen to Music Together songs in the car even when the kids aren’t there. And I love to watch them gradually shift from trying to supervise their child’s learning or behavior in class to having fun making music themselves—that’s success! Not only has another adult reclaimed her musical birthright, she’s also become a better role model for her child. She’ll be better able to follow through on what was sparked in the classroom, just by singing and enjoying music at home. It’s what all our Music Together teachers all around the world work so hard to achieve—encouraging parents to enjoy being music-makers, so they, in turn, can “teach” their children to love making music, too.

So if you’ve attended Music Together classes, how was your first experience? Were you nervous, or worried that you’d be “flunked” for singing out-of-tune? Did that change over time? Do you spontaneously hum or sing or tap the beat more than before as you go through your day? How has the Music Together experience become a part of your family’s daily life?

Kenneth K. Guilmartin
Founder/Director, Music Together LLC

Do you have an anecdote you’d like to share, a song you and your child love to sing together, a question, or a comment? We’d love to hear from you and look forward to learning about all the ways our families are making Music Together.