Music for Little Mozarts was written to provide appropriate piano instruction for four, five, and six year olds. Singing and listening skills are developed simultaneously with an appreciation for a variety of musical styles. A lot of interactive learning accompanies this class, including movement & rhythm activities. The materials in the course combine to create an exciting and imaginative atmosphere both in the lesson and at home.
The story of Beethoven Bear and Mozart Mouse sets the stage for music study at the beginning and continues on each subsequent page. Other characters throughout the book 
serve as a springboard for introducing students to major composers from the four musical style periods. New concepts are introduced and carefully reinforced throughout the curriculum. Each lesson contains a fragment of the story as background for each new concept or new piece of music. The music was written to develop finger dexterity in young children and includes clever lyrics that will appeal to the student's imagination.
Singing is another important skill developed in this class. There will be songs to sing for fun, motion songs to introduce musical responses to music, songs to reinforce specific rhythm patterns, and songs to aid in the development of musical expressiveness. The songs are a mixture of familiar folk songs and original music for young children. Appealing classical music, marches, circus music and adventure music are used for music appreciation activities. The music introduces students to a variety of musical styles, tempi, dynamics, moods and feelings. "Listen and sing" pages include melodies for singing (using solfege) with interesting accompaniments to aid with pitch and interval study.
Playing and listening to music at a young age imroves learning, memory, reasoning abilities and creativity. Research supports the theory that young children who are exposed to music develop enhanced cognitive skills. Music also increases the quality of the child's early life experiences. It can soothe, stimulate or entertain children. Music provides pleasure, joy and an outlet for creative expression; it helps develop listening and auditory discrimination skills; it contributes to motor skill development (both large muscle and small muscle); and it increases the range and flexibility of the voice. Music can soothe emotions, invite enthusiasm and bring immense pleasure to the listener.
The Importance of Early Childhood Music
Educators and psychologists from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present have attested to the value of music study on the development of the child. According to Jean Piaget, the noted Swiss psychologist, a child’s early years are the optimum period for intellectual development. He believed that children and adults think in different ways. During the “pre-operational” learning stage (ages 2-7), children begi
n to think and react through symbols (language, drama, drawing and dreams). This stage is perfect for starting the process of learning music.
The study of music at a young age is supported by the humanist theories of Abraham Maslow and leads to a fully realized, completely human, person (self-actualized). Several recent studies show improved spatial-temporal task scores and pattern-recognition scores for children in different age groups who had received piano instruction as compared to same-age control groups without piano instruction. These studies report that piano instruction is far superior to computer instruction in enhancing a child’s abstract reasoning skills necessary for learning science and math.
Just the Facts
Students entering the Music for Little Mozarts program will at least need to know letters A-G, numbers 1-5 and their colors. The students will also need at least a 60-key keyboard, if not a piano to practice on (full-scale keyboards have 88 keys). The 55-minute, weekly classes will be held at 212 Danielle Court, York. The classes are small group format. There are four levels to the Music for Little Mozarts program, each taking roughly 6 months to complete. Upon successful completion of level 1, students will be eligible for the level 2 class, so on and so forth. Tuition is $65.00/month and paid quarterly throughout the year. The registration fee is $30.00/child and is non-refundable. The registration fee will need to be submitted with the registration form in order to hold your child’s spot. New classes will start March 2012. So, please call for more information 717.779.0099!
