Music Together of Marblehead, Salem & Beverly Farms

Every child’s music development benefits from early exposure to music and movement. Because the early months are so important, Music Together®® offers two options for babies. Infants may attend a mixed-age class, whether registered on their own or attending free with an older sibling. They may also be registered for the special “Babies Class” offered as a one-semester introduction to Music Together. The music activities and materials are specially designed for parents who want to learn as much as possible about music development in infants. Meet other parents of newborns and learn fascinating music activities you can recreate at home with your baby. Babies must be under six months old on the first day of class. Most babies in this program range from 3-5 months at the start of the semester. We recommend infants older than six months register for mixed-age classes. This class cannot be repeated.

This is the essential Music Together® class, one that a child can attend from birth through age four through all nine song collections. Early childhood educators consistently recommend mixed-age groupings as an optimal learning environment for children under five years. In this setting, older children learn from being in a leadership role (a role they may not take when they're in a group of their peers), and younger children benefit from the example of an older child. Classes have a family feel, rather than a school orientation, an environment your child will have ample opportunity to experience when he enters the world of formal education in a few years. In addition, children of the same age are not necessarily in the same stage of music development and a mixed-age environment creates a space for exploration and discovery, rather than peer pressure. The Music Together curriculum is designed to teach on many levels of complexity at once, and Music Together teachers are trained in the art of mixed-age learning.

Music Together Big Kids™ is a 60-minute class geared to the interests and abilities of 5-, 6-, and 7-year-olds. The program blends the elements of Music Together that parents and children love with new activities, skills, and challenges that are developmentally appropriate for this age group. Big Kids classes lay the foundation for Basic Music Literacy, complementing music instruction in school or instrument lessons, and leading to a lifetime of joyful music-making. The curriculum includes solfège, solos and ensembles, folk dances, harmony singing, vocal development, and drumming. In a safe, fun environment, your child can experiment with new activities like conducting and improvisation, story songs, and game songs.