From Music Together Summit Founder/Director, David Palomo:
What I experienced when I attended a Music Together® training changed my life. First of all, it was very clear that the research behind this program was first rate. Then came my big “Aha!” moment when I learned that children acquire tone and rhythm the same way they acquire language and motor skills. This was even more exciting when I saw it in action in the demonstration classes where I saw young children in the various early stages of tone and rhythm development—little sprouts of music just starting to be seen and heard!
Most exciting was seeing how the music engaged the children emotionally. Not only did the music evoke positive emotions in the children, it also made for very sweet moments of emotional connection with their parents. In my own life I knew that if you had a solid emotional foundation in the family, a family could weather just about any storm.
What I saw in the demonstration classes was really the tipping point for me. I saw three things going on simultaneously in the classes: 1. The children were being engaged vocally at their individual level of development. 2. The children were being engaged in their motor skills at the individual level of development. 3. As I mentioned above, I saw the children being engaged emotionally, both in their own emotions and in their emotional connection with their parents.
What other activity would engage young children in a developmentally appropriate way in all three of these areas? When I left the training, I knew I was going to give Music Together a try. Having lived with health issues since 1989, here was a way I could work within my limitations and still make a positive contribution to the lives of families in my community.
In the years since, I’ve learned that early childhood music learned supports learning and development in other areas. We know from neuroscience that the system that processes music in the brain is the same system that infants use when they hear their mother's voice. Not only are we born musical, the musical brain helps us learn language! Also, studies by the educational research company, the Cohen Group, in New York has shown that consistent involvement in Music Together classes has a very positive impact on two important developmental domains for 2 and 3 year olds: 1. Expressive and receptive language skills and 2. Interpersonal and coping skills.
Since I began teaching, I’ve heard many wonderful stories from families about how Music Together has played a positive role in their family life and in their child’s development. Also, over the years I've noticed that as they got older, our Music Together children could not only sing the songs they were hearing, but could also make up their own songs. To commemorate my tenth anniversary of teaching Music Together, I distilled these two experiences into trademarked phrases that portray the most inspiring things I've seen as a teacher. One says, Music Making From The Inside Out®, and the other says, Weaving Family Ties Through Music®. I'm looking forward to the next 10 years!