New for May 2022 Penny Sings – Baby and Toddler Music Classes
Here at Music Gym, we are so pleased and excited to be offering new classes for babies and toddlers. So come along with your child and have fun with music. Musical experience at an early age is extremely important in a child’s developmental process. We have three classes, please see the details below and book on for the classes appropriate to your child’s age.
Baby Birds – for ages 3 months – 12 months old – Mondays 10am
This class is an engaging and interactive music sensory class, to gently introduce music and singing for your baby. Learn new songs and actions alongside your little ones with baby-friendly props and instruments to explore.
Book on here for a free taster trial
Chirpy Chicks – for ages 1 – 2 1/2 years old – Mondays 11.15am
This class is exciting and involves music plus movement. Using movement and instruments to feel rhythm and beats. Learn new songs and actions to go with each song to keep your little ones and you, singing and moving all class.
Book on here for a free taster trial
Playful Penguins – for ages 2 1/2 – 4 years old – Mondays 1pm
This class is for toddlers who already enjoy movement and music. It’s a creative and fun class to learn more about singing and music. They will use musical instruments and props independently to learn songs and copy rhythms for our favourite songs.
Book on here for a free taster trial
When to Start Music Lessons?
There is a growing (and convincing) body of research that indicates a “window of opportunity” from birth to age nine for developing a musical sensibility within children. During this time, the mental structures and mechanisms associated with processing and understanding music are in the prime stages of development, making it of utmost importance to expose children in this age range to music.
The important question then is not when to start lessons, but what is the goal of music lessons for young children? For instance, very young children are not exposed to instruments in order to master them but to gain experience and learn to develop meaningful relationships with music at a young age. If this is your goal, then the “lessons” can and should start soon after birth and certainly within the child’s first year.
MORE ABOUT MUSIC GYM
We start our formal music lessons from ages 6 on keyboards and drums, ages 7 for Guitar, and singing lessons from ages 5.
We start our kids on Group Lessons from Age 5 on keyboards and singing and at age 7 for Guitar and Drums.
By age 10, the child will have a variety of skills associated with their instrument of choice. They’ll also have the physical strength to try a different, bigger instrument, such as a brass or large string instrument that requires a higher level of strength and stamina. Around this time, the goal of lessons appropriately transitions from gaining experience with music to improving performance ability.
In summary, there are three answers to the question, “What age should children begin music lessons?” Informal activities with music should start soon after birth, followed by more systematic classes around age three, and lessons with the goal of learning the instrument should start between six and nine. Keep in mind that these are only guidelines; exceptions will undoubtedly occur based on the child and/or teacher. Musical experience at an early age is extremely important in a child’s developmental process. Like riding a bike or learning a language, these skills can be learned later in life, but they will never be “natural” in the way that is so important for fluid musical performance.
Our Penny Sings, baby and toddler music lessons, are fun and age-appropriate.