In recent years, educated parents have fought back against school system cutbacks of music programs, both those intended for all children and electives such as instrumental lessons and band. Besides the obvious pleasures and cultural enrichment of music, parents cite research showing that musical participation aids the development of mathematical and spatial intelligences, teaches consistency and perseverance, encourages solitary endeavors as well as teamwork, and enhances creativity.

Much less well known, however, are the effects of pre-school musical participation. Indeed, special attention to music and movement benefits children, even babies, well before they can sing or play an instrument. Educational opportunities for parents and infants at Music Together of Newton, among other places, reinforce this connection.

A relaxed, process-oriented music class for infants encourages parent/child bonding, promotes large and small motor development, cultivates concentration and focused listening, and bolsters self-awareness and confidence.

All children are born with musical potential, and a rich musical environment in childhood makes the difference between those who grow up to achieve their potential to sing or play an instrument for personal pleasure, and those who go around for the rest of their lives saying, “You don’t want to hear me sing; I can’t carry a tune. I love listening to music, but I look geeky when I dance.”

Indeed, one of the ways my classes benefit families is that the adults painlessly increase their musical confidence. The people who claim to be tone-deaf usually end up realizing that their early music development was neglected or, in some cases, arrested by a few harsh words from a parent or teacher.

American babies are bathed in verbal language. Their caregivers talk to them and read them boardbooks. Babies overhear adult conversations, phonecalls, radio and television. They see adults reading books, newspapers, magazines, and even doing crossword puzzles. However, since our culture places less emphasis on non-verbal communication, most babies are not bathed in musical, non-verbal communications—which are the language that babies most naturally comprehend and utilize.

As a new mother, I tried almost every mom-baby music class I could find. After eliminating those with a mind-numbing repertoire or a deafening sound-scape, I found Music Together®, a national program with child-friendly music that excited and engaged me as an adult. In 2001, after enjoying several semesters with my son, I trained and became a Music Together teacher. Every morning in class, I see how parents delight in their children’s musical responses; parents often share stories about memorable musical moments from outside of class, too. Sandra L., a native of Portugal, now raising her family in Waltham, MA feels that Music Together has enhanced her bilingual three-year-old’s language skills. “Many times I’ve been pleasantly surprised when I hear Yahni carrying a tune. She’s able to decipher the correct words of a song before I do. The roles get reversed: suddenly she’s telling me what the words are and how the music goes. I love it!”

Amy S., a Newton, MA mother of three, says, “We can’t drive in the car with Johnny without playing a tape of Music Together. He goes to sleep at night with it on. Whenever he starts to fuss, I just sing and he is readily distracted and redirected. We dance all the time to the CDs. . . I think I love it more than the kids.”

So what are my classes like? Six to twelve children are brought by their moms, dads, or caregivers. Everyone—and this means the grownups, too—participates at their own comfort level. A ritual Hello Song gets everyone settled in, warmed up, and relaxed enough to engage in constructive silliness.

We might start with a fingerplay (think “Eentsy Weentsy Spider,” or something more elaborate) and move into a lap bounce song such as “Riding in the Car.” Kids LOVE the vestibular sensations of bouncing in the air, and parents love to see their children’s glee. At some point we stand up to do a dance with simplified choreography for the faint-hearted, and those whose arms (or legs) are tangled up in children. A circle dance can transform disparate families into a cohesive community. The energetic climax of the class is an instrumental jam session, in which each person plays the percussion instrument that most intrigues them while playing along with fun, engaging background tracks.

Based in Princeton, NJ, Music Together supplies all enrolled families with recordings and matching songbooks which expand on the class experience at home. The Princeton “mother ship” publishes a compact catalogue of high-quality musical instruments and props. Lili Levinowitz, co-author of the Music Together curriculum, produces much of the ground-breaking research on which today’s best practices all around the field of early childhood music education are based.

Levinowitz says, “Singing is the single most effective way to soothe, engage, relax, or energize a baby. Research suggests that the average parent in the U.S. today knows about five songs. As a new parent, the day can seem never-ending if you only know five songs. A music-and-movement class for parents with newborns and infants broadens the parents’ repertoire of fun, engaging songs to use and to adapt for their family’s specific needs.”

Singing also strengthens the immune system. When researchers used Q-tips to take saliva samples from singers before and after singing, they found that singing increases secretion of immunoglobulin-A. The more passionately the singers sang, the more of an immune protein boost they got. This result suggests that moms and dads should sing to keep themselves healthy, and to model for their children a behavior that will increase their children’s chances of leading healthy lives.

Lauren L. of Newton, MA has been bringing her first child to music class throughout her second pregnancy. Baby #2, Cheri, was born in the fall of 2005. While Lauren was still otherwise occupied, father Sam crooned the Music Together Hello Song to the newborn girl. Cheri quieted almost instantly and was soothed. Research shows that babies can hear while still in the womb. Having heard the Hello Song so many times, Cheri was already able to recognize her favorite song!

Many parents take advantage of their children’s musical favorites by varying the words to fit the needs of the moment. Diaper changes and other daily routines go more smoothly when there is a private ritual song to distract the baby. As a baby becomes a toddler, other songs can elicit cooperation in all the mundane necessities, such as putting on shoes or brushing teeth. Personalized songs are the more effective if you’ve laid the groundwork for them from the child’s earliest months.

Although recorded music can be a convenient short-term pacifier, and a great way to expand your parenting repertoire, nothing is as good as a live performance, by you, for and with your baby. Research shows that babies prefer human sounds to mechanical sounds; melodic vocal contours to prosaic, matter-of-fact speech; and of course, their own parents’ voices to anybody else’s voice.

Early music activities include object-permanence games such as peek-a-boo. Early childhood educators can show parents how to provide their baby with grist for the development of cause-and-effect understanding: if I wave my arms around like this, Mom starts up again with that song I love. Even pre-verbal babies love to have their pretend-play growth stimulated when their parents hold them in their laps and act out “experience songs”—songs about driving the car, riding a horse, washing the dishes, taking a bath. Parents are delighted to discover their latent improvisational abilities.

When parents feel confident in playing musically with their babies, it’s a fantastic experience for both of them. Imagine it from the baby’s point of view: the most beautiful face in the world smiling a huge smile at me, sparkling eyes, my favorite voice crooning a soothing melody, being held by warm, soft hands, moving gently through the air, tracking how the sounds and movements fit together rhythmically. For the parent, there’s the terrific sense of improved parenting efficacy, the beautiful feeling of getting to know each other through music and movement, and building loving, memorable experiences for the two of you.

Julia Priest’s parents sang, listened to LP’s, and recited nursery rhymes. "My mother, Christine Priest, hoped to be a concert pianist until Multiple Sclerosis stopped her. I begged her to teach me to play piano, but of course I wouldn’t let her tell me what to do! So she got another piano teacher to come to the house." Now the Director of Music Together of Newton, Julia has been a singer and teacher since 1987. Her B.A. in Classical Languages and Literatures is from Yale; her Masters degree in Voice Performance is from B.U.; her Masters of Science in Speech and Language Pathology is from the M.G.H. Institute of Health Professions. Julia has also maintained an Alexander Technique teaching practice. As a soloist, Julia leads music activities at synagogues and churches around the Boston area. Julia says, “What I’ve learned about pacing, energy, and making eye contact by teaching Music Together has brought my life as a performing musician to a new level. There’s something very spiritual about getting people into sync with each other.” In May, 2004, the Center for Music and Young Children in Princeton, New Jersey awarded Julia Music Together® Teacher Certification Level I status for outstanding achievement in teaching, musicianship, program philosophy, and parent education. Information on upcoming Music Together of Newton, MA classes can be found at http://www.musictogethernewton.com/ or by calling (617) 928-0190.