About East Bay Music Together

From Center Director and Founder Julie Tanenbaum

Since beginning in 1996 with one teacher (me) on the second floor of St John's on College Ave. in Berkeley, East Bay Music Together has grown to offer classes at 15 locations in Berkeley, Albany, Alameda, El Cerrito, Montclair, Rockridge, Oakland, Lafayette, Pleasant Hill and Moraga. Our staff of 15 wonderful teachers make music with up to 1200 families every session. The focus of our classes is to bring the joy of family music making to all families with children birth through age seven and the adults who love them. We have had the privilege of sharing music with over 45,000 East Bay families in our mixed age classes, big kid classes, preschools, Head Start Centers, Children's Hospital in Oakland, and a residential treatment/incarceration facility for women with young children.

How we began....

In 1996 I was a concert pianist, piano teacher of 20 years, wanna-be scientist, and the mom of an energetic four year old son.  As a mom and musician, I was passionate about offering my son the best possible musical foundation I could. As a piano teacher, I was intrigued by the wide variation I encountered in students? ability to sing in tune, move with accurate rhythm, and play expressively. Some came to lessons comfortable and competent in these areas, while others had to be remediated. The notion that only a few possess these mysterious abilities from an early age, through luck or a rare genetic makeup, never sat well with me. I felt that the enjoyment of music and the aptitude to be a music maker are integral gifts of being human. The mom, piano teacher and scientist in me all sought answers to the same questions: 

• How do very young children develop musically and become expressive, competent, comfortable music makers?
• How can I help children form a foundation to be a music maker early in life?
• How can I build a fun and comfortable musical community with other families that will best support my son's musical development?

I set about reading whatever I could find and attending any early childhood music programs available in the Bay Area hoping to make connections with other families, and learn more about young children?s musical development. My quest went unfulfilled until I read a short paragraph in a home published Mommy Club Newsletter announcing that Habitot Children?s Museum in Berkeley was sponsoring a training in a program called Music Together^?. There was something in the wording of the announcement that lead me to sign up for the 30 hour training on the spot with no other background information about the program. 

The Training

 In 1996 I successfully completed the Music Together^?  Teacher Training Workshop developed by the Center for Music and Young Children, Princeton, New Jersey. What I discovered was a program that I found satisfying and exciting for its organic, kid friendly feel, and for its intelligent musical repertoire, developmental approach and research basis. I was glad to know the program came from The Music Together Lab School at CMYC (opened in 1987), and that the school is still open, continuing their research into early childhood music development. I found the music to be engaging and interesting, while my scientific mind was fascinated by the information I was presented about brain and music development in early childhood. As a teacher I was thrilled to understand more about forming a strong musical foundation early in childhood and, moreover, I had lots of fun participating in the activities.

I was moved and amazed by the responses of the children, and the ease with which adults were made to feel comfortable participating, and the way a musical community formed among families who had not known one another before coming to class. 

I loved the way the program respects children, adults and teachers by offering substantial music that is accessible while being full of important musical content. I appreciated the flexibility and creativity built into the program. The class structure allows room for each teacher to bring their special strengths, style and passions, and even favorite music. There are tools and room for teachers  to be responsive to the different families in each class while building a strong musical foundation. 

I begin to teach....

As a newly licensed center director and teacher, I could not wait to try the activities with my son and to begin offering classes to share my love of music with young families. I offered many demo classes around the East Bay and was able to begin my first 10 week session with a set of five classes. The more I taught, the more my excitement grew. I saw children exploring and enjoying music as they gained tonal and rhythmic skills. Parents were sharing the joy of family and community music making, and gaining comfort and confidence in their own music making. Musical play was one of the highlights of the day for me and my son.

As the semesters went on families began telling one another about the fun they were having in class, the great music, and the musical growth they were seeing in their children. They shared stories of learning a whole library of songs of all styles, of playing musically at home in new ways, and of including music throughout their daily lives. I was told by one mom that, 'Music Together is the talk of the playground!'

Eventually I was teaching 25 classes a week at five locations in three cities, and carrying instruments with me from place to place. The more I taught, the more I felt like I had been invited to a wonderful party. The classes were fun and musically engaging. I saw young children, infants, parents, grandparents and caregivers lighting up musically. Friendships were forming out of the shared musical experience. I heard both little and grown up voices singing Music Together songs at the grocery store, in cafes, and at the park. Children were singing the Hello Song to me on the street.

How we grew...

I wanted to invite others to participate in this marvelous experience, both as teachers and participating families. I noticed that along with families enjoying the musical communities and activities in class, the program particularly appealed to parents who were passionate about making music with their children, and about music education. They recognized the strength and depth of the program in the ongoing research, developmentally appropriate approach and rich musical content. I was fortunate to have many musicians, dancers, and teachers among the parents attending. I decided to look for new teachers within my classes.

Our center grew in quite an organic fashion, and many of the first teachers who joined East Bay Music Together are still teaching with us 13 years later. I began by asking Lisa Bush Finn, then a mom in one of my classes, a professional dancer to take the training and teach with me. Shortly after Lisa began teaching, she met Allegra Yellin (an Olde Timey musician) and told her about the program. Allegra happened to have a cousin attending with her son, and Allegra signed on to teach. My feeling of wanting to invite and encourage others to participate was shared by my teachers and parents attending classes.

Allerga brought in Ryk (musician and composer), who brought in James (percussionist and salsa dancer). Allison (a mom in my class and professional soprano) agreed to teach with me. Allison suggested I invite her good friend Andy (Andrea), also an EBMT mom and professional singer, to teach. Holly Schneider (a mom in my classes) signed on to teach. My son was getting too old to need an after-school babysitter, and so Renee Benmeleh, his nanny of 6 years and a wonderful singer, agreed to join our teaching crew. Our teaching staff grew as friends of teachers and other Music Together parents wanted to become involved. Among those who started out as EBMT parents or friends of other teachers now teaching with us are Lisa Berman, Taun Miller Wright, Cheri Hudnut, Chelsea Feldman and Eowyn Mader - among them dancers, musicians, teachers and musical theater performers. Our first website was built by Eliot Smyrl (Twist and Twirl) who was a dad in our pajama class and a Lead Animation Scientist at Pixar Animation studios (where we held classes). He called to tell me he was enjoying the lullaby so much lying on the floor with his son that he thought, ?This is great - she needs a website!? 

Why our teachers and families keep coming back...

Families tell us they keep coming back for the joy of the classes, and because of the musical growth they see in their children. Even when revisiting one of the nine song collections with their fourth child, they find that different teachers share different gifts, and that there is always a new way to play with a song.

Teaching Music Together? is an exceptionally satisfying experience as teachers have room to challenge themselves and to grow, and the program itself keeps evolving. It remains musically interesting and creative, and seeing the love of music, musical skill and the habit of music making grow in children and families is addicting for parents and teachers. This is why our wonderful teachers continue with the program year after year. Most of our crew has been with us for at least five years, many for 10+ years. 

All of us at East Bay Music Together are committed to bringing music to as many families as we can reach, regardless of their circumstances. We are committed to teaching families how music can be an ally for bonding, and a help in challenging times. We have never turned away a family for inability to pay the full fees. As our center grew and word of the depth and value of the program was understood more widely, we were offered opportunities to bring Music Together? to a residential incarceration and rehabilitation facility in Oakland, Head Start centers in Richmond, and Children?s Hospital in Oakland. We have been privileged to offer classes in these settings, bringing in music as a tool for bonding, community building, early literacy and English language support, and salve, comfort and fun to families in extremely challenging situations. We have formed relationships with many arts education organizations such as Danspace, Crowden Center for Music in the Community, Lamorinda Music, and Julia Morgan Center for the Arts among others.

We continue to offer mixed age and infants' classes, and are delighted to be including the wonderful Music Together Preschool program, and this fall we will help pilot the new Music Together Big Kids classes for 5-7 year olds.   

Thank you for reading our story. We look forward to welcoming you and your little ones for song, dance, music making and laughter.