Take Note Studio Blog

We know that Kindermusik is an investment in your child, and we want to ensure that you make the most of it. So, we put together a list of tried-and-true ways to help you do just that! 9 ways to make the most of Kindermusik:  Show up. Sounds easy enough, right? But we know it’s not. We understand how busy life can be. We also understand that children and adults get sick. Or it snows or rains or your little one finally takes a nap (30 minutes before class!). It happens. Do your best to attend each week. If you can’t make it, just let us know, and sign up for one of our make-up classes. Arrive 5-10 minutes early. Most children need a few minutes to transition into something new. Those extra few minutes give your child the opportunity to take off shoes, find a spot to sit, interact with others in class, or even to explore the room. Connect with other parents in class. When you arrive a few minutes early, it gives you time to get to know other parents who understand the unique joys (an...

     As you child warms up to the classroom (or right off the bat), you may see him/her start to become more active in our large spaces, ie RUNNING! We staff often see looks of helplessness, frustration, embarrassment, or oblivion on the faces of parents :) Let us first say, YOU ARE NOT ALONE, and we want to help make your experience at Kindermusik a joyful one for both you and your classmates.  Here are a few tips: Level 1 (ages 0-2.5):  Once those little legs start moving, they just don't want to stop (and they get faster!) This is age appropriate. You have two jobs at this stage:  Moving WITH your child -- follow them, find ways to engage with class wherever they need to be: hold their hand, pick them up, and MODEL inhibitory control (the ability to STOP when you want to GO). This takes LOTS of practice at this stage. It's exhausting, we know, but so important and you will see the results in time, we promise!  Keeping everyone safe. If your child is...

It has been so lovely hearing the sounds of piano, singing, and laughter in the halls of Take Note Studio this fall! After a year and a half of uncertainty, we are thankful to be together again.  The class I teach, theatrical singers , was fully virtual last year, and transitioning back to in-person learning has been both wonderful and challenging.  My co-teacher, Miss Heather and I have been brainstorming ways to help our students remember how our class works through meaningful interactions instead of lectures. We’re not a typical classroom, we like to keep things loose and fun to encourage participation, but with a group of elementary school students, you might imagine that things can veer off course rather quickly.  One thing we find that works to keep things on track is the power of noticing. Ms. Heather and I are both devoted Conscious Discipline followers, so noticing has become second nature to us.  This, I assure you, has not always been the case.  How ...

  We’ve all heard the idea that classical music can make you smarter.  We’re told that listening to music while studying for a test can improve your score, or that playing music for a child in the womb can increase their IQ. In truth, the link between music and intelligence has yet to be proven. But while playing Mozart for your child may not give them a genius-level IQ, recent studies show that music can play a vital role in brain development. Music enhances cognitive, emotional, and social development, especially when babies are exposed to it from an early age.  Let’s take a closer look at how music boosts brain development in babies. Music Exposure Improves Pattern Recognition  A study done by the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS) found that playing music for 9-month-old babies while they played with their parents improved their brain’s processing of rhythm in both music and speech . Christina Zhao, lead researcher on th...

  Love of music is a universal thing.  Whether we listen to music in the car, strum a guitar around the campfire, sing in a choir, or tickle the keys of a piano in our free time, we all enjoy music in some way. But did you know that music has the ability to enhance every part of our lives? It’s true — music has physical, mental, and emotional benefits. This is especially true when we learn to play an instrument. What’s more, when children learn an instrument at a young age, it can boost their development in a number of amazing ways. Here are just a few of the ways that learning to play a musical instrument can enhance your child’s life : 1. Improves Memory Skills Learning any new skill forms new neural pathways, keeping our brains healthy and agile. Learning to play an instrument is no exception.   Playing an instrument is to the brain what a total body workout is to the body . It uses every part of our brain, including our motor, auditory, and visual cortexes — important...

      Every parent knows the frustration of trying to get a fussy baby to sleep. You try everything...bouncing, swaying, feeding, back rubs...and nothing seems to work. You’re stressed and exhausted, and you feel heartsick for your poor little one. Whether it’s due to colic or any number of reasons, when sleep eludes your baby, you both suffer.   There are a number of techniques that can help your child get their much-needed rest, and one of them is music. Let’s look at how music can soothe your baby so they (and you) can get some sleep. Music Affects Babies Even Before Birth Music has an effect on babies even before they’re born. As early as 16-18 weeks, a baby hears its first sound; at 24 weeks, their ears are developing more, and they will respond to voices and noise. In the final months of pregnancy, a baby can recognize their mother’s voice, language, word patterns, and even rhymes.   In the 3rd trimester, your baby can definitely hear and respond to the mu...

Music and play bring a lot of joyful fun to life — a good enough reason in itself to make sure we give our children plenty of time to play and fill their lives with opportunities to engage with music. But singing, dancing, playing instruments, listening to music, and playing with other children can do even more for our kids than help them have fun. In fact, music and play are vital to a child’s healthy development. Here are a few reasons why kids need music and play. Music Enhances Brain Development and Boosts School Readiness From swaying and bouncing as infants to making up songs as preschoolers to group singing or learning to play instruments in elementary school, music makes up a vital part of the way our children learn, grow, and develop. Numerous studies have shown the benefits that music plays in child development. For instance, a 5-year study done at the University of Southern California showed that childhood musical experiences can accelerate brain development. This was parti...