Music Together Jam Bay

Winter Registration is now open ! Hooray! We look forward to having you and your child in one of our classes. Read the bios of our awesome teachers here: http://www.upbeatmusictogether.com/teacher.html Sign up today in order to get a spot! Spaces will be limited this winter and so will go really fast. Happy Holidays to you and yours!

The bumblebee, the ladybug and the caterpillar/butterfly were all made by a great Puppet Company called Folkmanis !:)

Well, our Fall 2008 classes are coming to an end. What a fun collection this has been! You are still welcome to makeup any missed class this week if you want to take a scenic drive to Liberty Lake (Friday 9:30am) or join us on the South Hill (Saturday 10:45am) After your last class, I will be emailing you an online survey to fill out so you can provide class feedback. Since Music Together is a research-based curriculum, this is valuable data that will be compiled and evaluated. The link to the survey is here: and the Organizational Number to enter is 1944. Thanks for taking the time to respond and... "we'll see you soon again and then we'll make music together again..." Winter Registration will be opening soon. Stay tuned! Melinda

Here is the video I referenced in class of the way Little Johnny Brown is traditionally played as a game! It's fascinating to explore the ROOTS where music has sprung out!! oh and LOL, my two announcements were: 1) Bring your songbook to class next week and 2) Hop over to Spokane Community College this weekend for the Fall Folk Festival ...multiple stages of multi-ethnic music of all kinds...a real treat all under one roof!

Is your little one loving their songbook yet?

Hello Music Together Families! Well...how's it goin' at home?? How fun that you are probably seeing your child respond to and recognize the music on the BONGOS CD! I always love to hear anecdotal stories about what you are observing at home and sometimes we share those in class. All new families this semester received a Parent Guide that is now on DVD format. If you are a returning family, you may still want to view the information and you can do that here ! Interviewed are Ken Guillmartin and Lili Levinowitz, the founders and researchers at Music Together in Princeton, NJ. So take a look and meet them too:)

A Music Together family-friend recently introduced me to www.pandora.com via her blog. What an awesome concept, to be sitting at your computer, listening to the kind of music you most want to hear in that moment, in a radio format, randomly selecting that same genre of music, but some that you may or may not have picked out yourself. So for example, my Sam is laying out here on the futon almost asleep, so wanting something sort of soothing...I type in Enya and it starts me off with Watermark (my favorite Enya composition) and then...I get to hear something new: a song called "When I See You Again" by a group called 2002 on an album called Deep Still Blue. Really lovely.

My South Hill Classes are now full...you may email me to be put on the waiting list, as sometimes a family needs to change/postpone and I also can let you know about winter pre-registration.... Liberty Lake classes still have room, though. These changes will be noted soon on the website:) "We'll see you soon again and then we'll make music together again..."

Monday morning is full! Saturday morning has 3 spots! Plenty of room in Liberty Lake. And two sample classes left this summer: Monday August 25th at Mobius 11am (although you have to pre-register with them and pay a small fee) and Friday August 29th at the Liberty Lake Library 1pm

I have one spot left for the Monday class and 5 spots left for the Saturday class....

Fall Registration is now open! I am streamlining a bit this semester and offering only limited openings (3 classes only). Sign up today for your preferred class! We'll get orange books this time (one of my favorite colors!) and this super fun collection is called BONGOS! Enjoy the rest of your summer! Teacher Melinda

Sooo sorry if you tried to access the website while it was down...we had a billing snafu and I didn't even realize it was not accessible. Steve (do you all know my hubby? Web designer extraordinaire, Gonzaga Graduate Student in Counseling Psychology and super daddy)...will be uploading Fall Registration tonight! And then we'll make music together again!

coming soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

For classes next week...don't forget to bring a Teddy Bear (or rat or doll or other favorite thing to hug) and your songbook.... And...here are the dates/places for our Summer Sample Classes: Mon. 6/23 11am @ Mobius - Downtown Fri. 7/18 10:30am @ Liberty Lake Library Thursday time, date and location to be announced for Northside families Sat. 8/16 10:45am @ City Yoga Mon. 8/25 11am @ Mobius- Downtown

So I have decided to take a break for the whole summer! WooHoo! So many of us all have summer plans including my other teachers Erinn (she's goin' back East for a visit) and Shannon (she's finishin' her thesis)...so we three will be taking a teaching break. If you find yourself missing Music Together tooooo much, you are welcome to join us for one of our few sample classes that we will be holding in various parts of town...(and if you are a Mobius member, watch for a class or two there) Otherwise, have a superb summer season and we'll see you for class in September. Stay tuned for pre-registration for the Fall...it will be happenin' online very soon!

Many of you have asked where I purchase things we use in class. Here are some ordering links for you: 1) Step Bells 2) Animal Casinets 3) Those favorite red drums !

As the weather will be getting nice (again) and hopefully staying nice, think of which songs from this collection will be great to sing OUTSIDE! May there always be sunshine ...and blue skies Cloud Song -lay on your backs on a grassy hill and find pictures in the clouds! Sad Little Puppy -have you hugged your dog today? Hop Old Squirrel -on your nature walks, at the park, in your backyard Hello Everybody-don't forget to say hello to the sun!

is now FULL! We still have availability at other classtimes however. Registration continues next week!

Check out this amaaaaazing story of a young musician!! Heartwarming and inspiring!!!

Want to try out a class? We'll be doing a demo class at the Liberty Lake Library during their Storytime on Friday, April 18th at 10:30am. It's a great way to experience Music Together!

Hi everyone! Meet our new teacher at Upbeat Music Together!! Erinn and I are excited to have you in class! Melinda P.S...and Happy St. Patty's Day!

Hi All, My web designer hubby will be adding Spring Registration this week, but wanted to first post all that MARACAS info here: Spring Classes start in Mid -April beginning with our very first Saturday class on April 19th on the South Hill. Erinn Epp, my new friend and colleague right from Princeton, NJ, will be teaching that class for me. Stay tuned for her bio...she was trained by and worked right with Ken Guilmartin, the founder of Music Together, for several years. We are sooooo lucky to have her! I'll be teaching the remaining classes at the same times and locations beginning April 21st: South Hill classes will be on Mondays again at 9:30am, 10:45am and 4:30pm. Northside class on Thursdays at 10:15am and Liberty Lake on Fridays at 9:30am. Next semester's classes run 9 weeks as well! Stay tuned! Melinda

Husha My Baby is towards the end of your CD, so make sure you are getting to those ending songs...isn't it a beautiful story-song? Some of the other music you heard in class was from Ladysmith Black Mambazo...off their Warner Bros. Collection: and also from the South African Story thru Music, Gift of the Tortoise:

We are approaching week 5 out of 9 of the STICKS collection...are you noticing that your child is becoming more and more familiar with the songs in her book? Does he ask to listen to the CD constantly? Repetition is the mother of all learning, hence the reason I encourage you to listen/sing/read the songs often. They are making the connection now that they know the songs we do in class!!! I love this timeframe of our learning together. You can continue to help your child experience a love for music by: 1) playing the CDs in the car and at home...start it in the middle or push random too! 2) reading through the songbook like a regular book on her bookshelf 3) turning the CD off sometimes and playfully singing with your child a capella (without any other music-just your voice) The goal to all of this is that your child achieves Basic Music Competence, which is the ability to sing in tune and keep a beat. But really, it's not a goal...because the playful, non-performance approach th...

So this Valentine's week in class, we'll be doing some songs about love that are not in the STICKS collection...like the traditional sweet children's song: A tisket a tasket a green and yellow basket I wrote a letter to my love but on the way I dropped it I dropped it, I dropped it, and on the way I dropped it a little boy picked it and put it in his pocket As far as Music Together music, we'll be free-dancing to the Love Song of Kangding before we try some Tai Chi with it next week. See you soon! Melinda

Well, mamas and papas, I am gearing up for the start of the winter session (which begins the week of January 21st) ...and I just have to share my most recent purchase for our class: these adorable balls from Crocodile Creek, out of Durham, NC... They are so cute and the best part: natural rubber, no PVC's, vinyls, etc. I love supporting companies that care about our kids and our environment! See you soon! Melinda