Music Together Jam Bay

Join us this Winter for Music Together!!! We'll have 9 weeks of music and movement with the STICKS Collection. Classes start Monday, January 21st on the South Hill-choose 9:30am, 10:45am or 4:30pm Thursday, January 24th in North Spokane -it's a 10:15am class Friday, January 25th in Liberty Lake at 9:30am. Register now online www.upbeatmusictogether.com/register.html or print out the form on that page and mail it in! Come and warm up with your little one:)

Here's an article from the NY Times about movement and music! It is the biology of the brain to get up and move when we hear music, NOT to sit still! Hooray for Music Together classes around the world, where children are enoucouraged to move to music!

Here's a link for the old African American Spiritual version of this song we'll do this week in class!

I'm sooooooooooo excited to have just purchased some additional instruments for our Play Along Basket...a set of NINO Percussive Instruments: NINO is considered the industry standard for the highest quality percussion instruments for children available on the market. All of the NINO products have been tested by the Landesgewerbeanstalt Bayern, Germany (LGA), Institute for the Testing of Goods and Quality Monitoring. All the NINO instruments have been awarded the LGA Test Certificate which certifies that they comply with the European Community Directives 88/378/EC and 87/357/EC for safety and quality—much stricter directives than their American counterparts. Most of NINO's wooden instruments are made of Siam oak. This fine hardwood is grown on plantations in Thailand, most of which were planted long ago for the production of latex. As a result, Siam oak meets all of the international standards (including CITES regulations) for environmentally friendly woods.

I love this time of year...and the Flutes Song Collection which we will be using has some lovely fall songs. Please note that the 10AM Monday class is now full! I still have some room in each of the other three classes, however. "We'll see you soon again and then we'll make music together again...."

ARTICLE Even in people who are genetically pre-disposed to perfect pitch, exposure to music as a young child is still the key!

Fall Registration is now open! Please note a couple of things: 1) The other South Hill class will be offered on Mondays as well...from 4:30pm-5:15pm. It starts getting dark so early, that this should be a nice time that working parents might be able to join us without running too late. 2) 10% off this semester for returning families! Hope to see you the first week of October! Melinda

One of these mornin's, You's gonna rise up singin' Then you'll spread yo' wings An' you'll take to the sky. But till that mornin', There's ain't nothin' can harm you With your Daddy an' Mama Standin' by.

Doing "She Sells Sea Shells" in a round was absolutely beautiful last week!!!! The harmonies were lovely and at the high point, created a wonderful GooseBump moment! WOW! We're going to do it again in classes this week, but families can try the same thing at home since we sang against the CD. You can read a little anecdote about the history of this tongue twister here :

This session is only six short weeks, so we have a lot of music to pack in!:) HIGHLIGHTS SO FAR: Monday night is full with Daddies and that is so awesome! What a great thing for these little ones to see and remember their dads making music right along with them. Tuesday morning is one full class! But we are loving all the mamas and babies! Remember, you can always feel free to make up a class that you must miss at any of my other classes including Wednesday morning in Liberty Lake, where we have a truly intergenerational experience with all the grandmas that join us! Happy Week! Melinda

What fun we had during the last week of classes! In case you all are wondering what exactly was that song you heard during the Bubbles (you know, the one that made you remember in that instant why you love your child so very much...)...well, that was Isreal Kamakawiwo' (see his bio ) singing a mix of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World. Several years ago, the Volkswagon folks did a great commercial actually of a little person in his carseat, riding along...blowing bubbles...just enjoying life! Children are incredible reminders to us to do just that...ENJOY LIFE! Have a great summer if I don't see you for Summer Session...which by the way starts the week of July 16th! Register online now!

I have to say that breaking a guitar string while jamming with my Monday class on "This Train" was way cool!!!! That makes me kinda like a Rock Star, ya? Only two weeks of Spring classes left...I've already planned my last session's tearjerkers as I have loved my classes this semester and hope all the mamas (and two da-das, and a grandma and a grandpa) and all the little ones have loved them too!:)

New Families: Welcome to UpBeat Music Together. We invite you to join us for a demonstration class in our currently enrolled Spring Session. Registration for Summer Session is now open for South Hill and Liberty Lake classes: www.upbeatmusictogether.com/classes.html ***************************************************************************** Returning Families: Continue to make beautiful music with your child! Next semester brings you the excitement of a new Music Together Song Collection - it's the yellow Summer Songs book and CDs .:) I've added a Monday evening class for South Hill families who have a night owl. Pajamas required!:) The morning class will be Tuesdays 10:45-11:30am. See you this summer! ***************************************************************************** Special Summer Rates are as follows: $95 for first child/$65 for each additional child (siblings 8 months or younger are free) Your cost includes a beautifully illustrated Songbook, two CDs of ...

Instead of just separating and sanitizing instruments that have been mouthed by our little babies, I've decided to throw them all in together after class and sanitize them all, since toddler hands can be pretty germy, too! So, just an FYI, Mamas!!!:)

People are already asking about Summer Session, so I need to decide some dates:) I'll add an evening class on the South Hill as well...the days get longer and the warm light sticks around...(in the real South, as in Georgia and North Carolina, the warm light actually does stick to you-hot and humid!) Stay Tuned for Summer Pre-Registration!

Spring Classes have begun with the Music Together Tambourine Collection! The first two weeks we were getting used to each other while learning some of the more spring-y songs of the collection. The next several weeks, we'll venture into the rest of the collection before returning to some of our favorites! While practicing "See the Pony Galloping", my Benny has really started approximating the words ALL TIRED OUT! Complete with a huge smile on his face!