In an iPod-wielding generation, Lizz Anderson wants to make sure children learn that someone is creating the music that comes from their headphones or boom box.
“I say to parents: ‘Do you know anyone who is musical and wishes that they weren’t?” Anderson said.
Anderson is the pioneer who brought the Music Together program to the West Coast in 1996. The program provides weekly classes for children from birth to 6 years old and their parents. It uses song, movement and basic musical instruments to encourage the love of music among children at a young age.
“It’s not about consuming music, it’s about making music,” Anderson said.
The program has caught on with young children and their families, who learn to enjoy music as a lifelong pursuit.
“Local music teachers, they love getting my students because these students have musical minds,” Anderson said.
Class sessions are once-a-week for 45 minutes and each session is 10 weeks long. However, the 45 minutes in class extends across the whole week in many parents’ experience.
Kate Rodenbaugh travels from Los Gatos to take Music Together classes in Ben Lomond with her daughter, Ella.
“She really responds well to our music at home,” Kate said.
By the end of the class session, Ella sang and danced during the week at home.
“She loved it and had so much fun with it,” Kate said. “We all know all the songs.”
Parent education and participation are keys to the program’s success. With between six and 12 children, each with a parent, the children have a chance to interact with each other while singing and dancing to the music.
“They can tap into music,” Anderson said. “They sing in tune and dance in rhythm. It will be a foundation for the rest of their lives. What they can do with that is really exciting.”
Class sessions are fast-paced and squirmy children dance, sing, play with streamers and instruments, all the while learning how to keep with the rhythm and singing in tune.
Anderson has been teaching for 13 years and in addition to teaching the music, she shares research, concepts and ideas of how to make music and why it’s important at a young age.
In fact, Anderson has a personal connection with the program. Her 15-year-old son has a disability, and teaching him music has helped tremendously with his growth.
“It’s helped him so much with language and a sense of self and what he’s good at,” Anderson said. “It’s given him a sense of accomplishment.”
Classes run year-round at 10 locations in the county with 10 teachers and more than 1,000 students. This summer, classes are being held in Ben Lomond and Scotts Valley beginning Monday, July 6. In the fall, classes will continue in Boulder Creek as well.
“Most families when they come in, they stay with us for a few years,” Anderson said.
For information: www.musicalme.com or 438-3514.
