Little feet stomping, hands clapping, instruments shaking in rhythm and voices singing along are what it means to bring out the children’s musical side in Amie’s Music Together class.
Here, once a week, babies, toddlers and young children come together to learn a wide variety of tonalities and musical patterns through songs and instruments in an entertaining and relaxed way.
“The goal is to teach rhythm patterns in a fun way, so that the kids are learning the music and acquiring the skills, as well as to have acceptable rhythm and to sing in tune,” said Amie Yaniak, director of Amie’s Music Together. “The time frame to accomplish that is between birth to 5 years old. After that it gets much harder.”
The children, who attend the 45-minute class with their parents or caregivers, sing and move to songs.
“It is very interactive. We are always singing something to them, within the music context,” said Yaniak.
Instruments used during class include tambourines, a floor-tom, macarenas, triangles, bells, a big drum and even scarfs and parachutes.
A songbook with illustrations and activities, two CDs with recorded songs from the semester and a DVD explaining the child’s musical development supplement the program outside of the classroom.
“Even the babies get something out of it,” said Yaniak. “We have big balls that we put the babies on top of and roll back and forth with the song, and as long as the baby feels the rhythm, it is learning it.”
The parents are also learning.
“I am educating the parents on what they are seeing in their children,” said Yaniak. “They develop in different ways. There are different stages that I am looking for in children achieving basic music competence.”
Yaniak, who is a music therapist with a degree from the University of Miami, Florida, and is a registered Music Together teacher, also tries to incorporate her background into the session.
“I have had a couple of kids who have had different disabilities,” said Yaniak “I use my therapeutic skills within my class.”
Ava G. is 8 months old and is participating in her second semester. She had a stroke in-vitro, and her mother attributes her progress to the stimulation the music class provides.
“The doctor said that it is probably a big reason she is doing so well,” said Chris G. “She gets very animated, and sings. It has really impacted her, so we keep coming.”
