About Music Together®

Music Together® is an international early childhood music and movement program for children from birth through age 7 (age 5 for Music Together Mixed-ages classes offered at First Notes Music). First offered to the public in 1987, it pioneered the concept of a research-based, developmentally appropriate early childhood music curriculum that strongly emphasizes and facilitates adult involvement. Now serving more than 3,000 locations in over 40 countries, Music Together connects families and communities across the globe as they express and explore the basic human instinct for making music.

About Katie Charna

First Notes Music was founded in 2016, and is reopened with Katie Charna as director in 2023. First Notes Music is the only center of it’s kind in the Columbia, Spring Hill, and Thompson Station areas.

As a child, Katie Charna loved all things music and was involved in many musical activities: piano lessons, dance classes, voice lessons, band, choir, and even musical theater. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Arkansas in 2011, and went on to teach elementary school music in public schools in Arkansas and Tennessee for six years. Katie is mother to Eleanor (5) and Andrew (2), and discovered Music Together® in the Fall of 2022 when attending her first Music Together Mixed-age class with her son. When First Notes Music closed shortly after, Katie knew Music Together was too valuable of a resource to families in the area, and became a Music Together teacher and center director herself. She is so thankful for this opportunity and loves spreading the joy of music with other families in Spring Hill!

FAQ

What is Music Together®?

Music Together® is a research based, developmentally appropriate music and movement program for children ages birth through five, and the adults who love them. Music Together was founded in 1987 by Ken Guilmartin and Lili Levinowitz. Music Together centers can now be found in 3,000 locations in over 40 countries! For more information about Music Together, visit the Music Together website here.

How does music learning support all learning®?

Our research-based curriculum develops basic music skills such as singing in tune and moving with accurate rhythm. It nurtures creativity, self-expression, and confidence and supports social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Because these benefits build over time, children enjoy the fullest growth in each of these areas when they participate in Music Together classes as consistently as possible up through kindergarten. In fact, as more studies point to the benefits of music learning for young children, more schools are offering the Music Together Preschool program to complement and enhance their curriculum.

What types of activities will we do in class?

In class we sing, dance, chant and play along with instruments to a variety of musical styles, melodies and rhythms. You and your child will also participate and experience creative movement, improvisation, finger play and lap songs. Above all else, we have fun while creating a rich and lively musical community!

How is the health of myself and my child protected?

All instruments and mats used are thoroughly cleaned after each use. We do not require, but allow face masks to be used during classes at the grown-ups’ discretion, and we provide hand sanitizer for all attendees to use before, during and after class. We recommend washing hands thoroughly after each class as well. We take the health and safety of our families very seriously, but we also understand that it is developmentally appropriate for children in our class to taste and touch whatever they can. We ask the grown-ups monitor their child(ren)’s activity throughout the class and remove an item if it has been touched or tasted, so it can be appropriately cleaned after class.

Is my child too young for music class?

All children are musical. The same way that a child has the innate ability to speak and understand his native language, children also have the ability to do the same with the language of music. Do you wait to talk to your child until you are sure that he/she can answer you back? Children talk when they are ready, because they have been immersed in a language from birth. They walk when they are ready because they have felt your movement while in yours arms. Giving a child this same kind of immersion in musical experiences will provide him/her with opportunities to not only learn to sing in tune and keep a steady beat, but to develop his/her own special way of expressing music through movement.

May I bring my 3-year-old as well as my 10-month old to the same class?

Not only may you, but we encourage it! Research shows that preschoolers learn best in a mixed-age environment. The little ones learn by watching and imitating the older children. The older children love being the “big kids” and showing the little ones how it is done. This family-style learning environment facilitates participation and involvement in the music for every child, at whatever developmental stage they may be.

What is my role in the class and why is it important for me to be there?

Because you are your child’s most important role model, he/she will learn best by watching you and listening to you. Therefore, your participation as a music-maker is vital to your child’s developing love of music.

I am tone deaf! Won’t I ruin my child musically if I sing to him?

No! We promise that you will not hurt your child’s musical prowess by singing to him, even if you are not always in tune. Your child will hear plenty of “in-tune” music through other mediums, but your voice and your presence are most precious to him or her. What you (and/or other primary caregivers) do, they want to do, too. Although we as teachers are able to help your child learn skills, your child must gain the positive disposition toward active music making from you. “Your child will never learn to sing badly if you think you sing badly. They’ll only learn not to sing if you never do.” - Deeana DeCampos, Music Together Trainer and Workshop Leader

My child just sits there in class (or my child just wanders around in class). Is my child bored?

There are many different learning styles. Some children may be visual learners who need to watch before they experiment on their own. Others are aural learners who are listening, even when they are across the room. Kinesthetic learners need to move! Tell a kinesthetic learner that he can’t move and you are actually hurting his learning process. Therefore, a child’s learning in class happens in a multi-layered way – through active participation, watching others move, experimenting with instruments and even by just being there and listening to you sing. Instead of waiting for your child to do something in class, let yourself go and do it yourself. Then, watch and listen to him/her at home, and you will see and hear how much he/she is learning and absorbing in class!

What happens after we complete a semester?

There are nine song collections. A different song collection is used each semester, so when you register for your next semester, you can look forward to new songs and chants, taught with the same kinds of activities. Because your child will be at a different place developmentally, an activity will be exciting to him/her whether it is because of its familiarity or because he/she can grasp it in a new way.

What if I don’t start this session? Will my child miss something?

Because the semesters are non-sequential and the activities are designed to be accessible to a child at his/her own developmental stage, a child can enter the Music Together program at the beginning of any semester, and at any age.