My little one, Smiles, is growing and I am anxious to introduce more music into his life. Our stereo got broken, and while we are working on a fix, I decided to join a mommy and me music class. Besides, Smiles tends to feel really excited in the most bizarre and overcrowded situations, so a few friends for a playdate just don’t cut it.

First of all, some links:
Music For Aardvarks official site.
Music Together official site.

Some YouTube videos:

Music Together Family Classestaxi taxi by David Weinstone
Music for Aardvarks “Grumpy” as seen on Nick Jr. TV
Music for Aardvarks “Splashing in the Tub” as seen on Nick Jr.
Music for Aardvarks “Race Ya to the Corner” as seen on Nick Jr

In our area, we have mostly Music Together classes.  Each class begins with a “Hello” song, has a few poems without songs in the middle, has shaker-egg activity or stick activity, one carousel song with a parachute or some other props in the middle of the class, lots of toy musical instruments available for one song at the end and a “good-bye” song at the end.

We are currently taking Music Together and I am far from thrilled: I think kids can handle and respond better in more fun settings! I like the format, and I understand, that it really (again!) comes down to the teacher to bring energy and vibe into the class, but I think there are a few things that can greatly improve kids response.

Since this is a music class, not just tap-and-dance gymboree session, I’d love to see more classical music introduced: kids don’t know classical music is considered boring by the majority of the adults today, they respond to its harmony with great enthusiasm and enjoy it no less, then contemporary music! When our friends’ kids come over, they jump around, march, clap, tap as happily when I put Toreador by Bizet or Can-can by Offenbach, or Figaro, as they do for children’s tunes! At home we play music of all musical periods: I can put Chopin at the background when we are drawing, or rock-n-roll when we are doing exercises (I am yet to find something more energizing then the old silly “Tutti-fruity” or “Rollover Beethoven), or jazz, when they’d like to dance around.

With my older one we used to take “Music for Aardvarks” classes with songs by David Weinstone. We still love the CDs. The teacher has been extravagant, playful, very charismatic – terrific. The structure used to be very similar to Music Together, but the songs were a lot more contemporary, with Jazz, rock-n-roll, even hip-hop renditions! Simple and fun lyrics, excellent children’s rhymes. No wonder his songs are all over Nickelodeon channel now.

What strikes me in Music Together classes, is that kids are not paying attention most of the time – they wander around, play. It’s normal for their ages, it is impossible to hold their attention 100%. Nevertheless, when we were taking classes in Music for Aardvarks, all the kids were participating 90-95% of the time! I don’t remember anyone wandering off the circle for more then a minute! And not because of some coercion – nobody wanted to leave. The teacher in Music for Aardvarks insisted, that parents shouldn’t guide their kids’ hands in movements, they should only model the movements themselves and let the kids join once they are ready. This “no pressure” approach worked very well.

I think kids were more into the class for many reasons.  For one, they are using props more often – sticks, shakers, scarves, are part of every session and used in a more predictable pattern, and kids LOVE predictability.  Sometimes we had big inflatable balls for kids to roll towards each other, some times – balloons, sometimes even a tunnel!   But the greatest part of their success comes from the parents’ active participation! Parents enjoyed these classes no less then the kids: dancing, marching, playing with scarves, banging, singing.  True fun – real, not staged for somebody’s benefit – is contagious! I think this is partially due to the nature of the music: I love to sing, but I find songs in “Music Together” CDs too high pitched. It is hard to sing them.  I noticed that parents in the class either feeling too shy to sing, or sing very quietly, move very little, doing only the required movements in very small gestures. The whole class looks a little staged: parents pretend to like it for their kids’ sake… and kids, being kids, come and play with instruments when they are offered, clap for some songs, and wonder around for most of the class. Songs are not catchy, modern either. And every verse in a song is repeated waaay too many times. Kids love repetitions, but parents get so tired of them! Again, parents can mask their emotions, but I think kids could sense that it’s not real.

So, I am rather disappointed in the Music Together classes. If you manage to find a fantastic teacher – I guess it would work.

Or may be I am just spoiled by the great experience I had in the Music by Aardvarks class.

Or, again, to each – his own!

I’d love to hear about your experiences in different music classes (or other classes for parents and kids).

As for us, we are going back to “aardvarks” as soon as we find the class that can fit into our schedule and we have one close again…