Music Center of the Northwest - Seattle Baby and Children's Music Classes

Music Center of the Northwest – (206) 526-8443 - 901 N 96th Street, Seattle, WA 98103

Offering private lessons, classes and workshops for kids of all ages, Music Center of the Northwest is a great resource to Seattle parents wanting to bring music into their children’s lives.  Programs for early music development are Music Together, Music Together Big Kids and Suzuki Academy. 

Music Together – (6 months – 4 Years) Music Together^© is an internationally recognized early childhood music program for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners, and the adults who love them. Music Together is based on the recognition that all children are musical, and that all children can learn to sing in tune, keep a beat, and participate with confidence in the music of our culture, provided that their early environment supports such learning. To learn more about the program, visitwww.musictogether.com. Central to the Music Together approach is that young children learn best from the powerful role model of parents/caregivers who are actively making music. The program brings families together by providing a rich musical environment in the classroom and by facilitating family participation in spontaneous musical activity at home within the context of daily life.  Music Together is committed to helping families, caregivers, and early childhood professionals rediscover the pleasure and educational value of informal music experiences. All our teachers have successfully completed Music Together’s training program. Music Together applies the latest research in early childhood music development to the program.  This program intended for children as young as six months up to four years of age. Older children, ages five to seven, may try our new Music Together Big Kids program.

$180 per student, $145 sibling rate)

Music Together Big Kids – (5 Years to 7 Years) As a parent, you may be making choices about extracurricular activities that complement their new school experiences and support their growth—in music and in life. The Music Together Big Kids program helps your child take the next step in music development by blending the elements of Music Together that parents and children love with new activities, skills, and challenges that are developmentally appropriate for 5- through 7-year-old children. Big Kids classes focus on Basic Music Literacy, laying the foundation for formal music instruction in school or in private instrument lessons, as well as a lifetime of joyful music making. We recognize your older child's new capabilities and provide a developmentally appropriate curriculum that includes solfege, instrumental solos and ensembles, choreography, harmony singing, vocal development, and keyboard and drumming skills. The Big Kids classroom is a safe, familiar, fun environment where your child can experiment with new musical activities like conducting and improvisation, story songs, "silly operas," and game songs. Parent participation is the hallmark of the Music Together program, but many children of this age are ready for more independence in the classroom, so parent attendance in each Big Kids class is welcome but not required. You and your child will receive a songbook, CD, and HomePlay activities so that the entire family can continue the fun and learning at home and you can stay connected with what your child is learning in class. Music Together Big Kids Classes.

($180 per student, $145 for siblings)

Suzuki Academy – Music Center of the Northwest offers a Suzuki Academy within our programs. The Suzuki faculty are specifically certified in Suzuki instruction and have passed the standards set by the Suzuki Association of the Americas to teach this method.Dr. Suzuki, a violinist and teacher in Japan, marveled that all children learn to speak their native language (a complex and sophisticated skill even for adults) and began to apply the basic principles of language acquisition to the learning of music and called it his mother-tongue approach. He felt that the concept of inborn talent was artificial and limiting. He believed that given the right set of circumstances, all children could learn to play music and learn to play well. One of those circumstances is starting early, thus Suzuki students often begin taking lessons at 3 or 4 years old. A common misconception of Suzuki method is that children do not learn to read music. However, in the same way that children don’t learn to read books before they learn to speak, Suzuki students learn specifics of good tone and making beautiful music before learning to read music. Reading music is introduced at a natural time and comes easily for the student. Suzuki learning is based on individual and group classes. Our Suzuki students have individual lessons weekly and group lessons twice monthly. The group lesson is an important element to the Suzuki process, and greatly motivates the students, provides a forum for parents to share ideas and is a fun and positive experience for everyone. All Suzuki students are involved in the group classes. In the lessons, both individual and group, parents play an active role. They attend lessons and take notes. They learn enough about practice techniques to be able to be a coach for the child during the week. For all Suzuki learning, the teacher instructs the parent on how to help the child practice at home. Students develop musical skills as they advance through the Suzuki repertoire. Early pieces are learned by ear and performed in group classes and recitals. Suzuki string students regularly join junior orchestra or ensemble groups as they mature musically and many progress to become excellent players in symphony orchestras.