Registration is now open for our first-ever Jingle Jam! Join us for this two-week session in December. Check out the schedule of Jingle Jam classes held throughout our four locations. This is also a great way to try our classes before you commit to a full session. You’ll learn lots of musical ways to connect with your little one through music, and you’ll bond with the other parents in the class, too. We hope to see you there with bells on!

We are so excited to welcome Susanna “Susie” Corona-Esparza as our newest teacher. Susie will be making music accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing children through sign language. Linguistic research reveals that babies, whether they are hearing or deaf, acquire language quicker if they are exposed to both sound and manual signs, including the use of body language, such as gestures and facial expressions. Singing through sign language also encourages babies to develop stronger communication and expressive skills, and this program will focus on teaching different songs through rhythms and vibrations. 

Susie is profoundly deaf herself, and she is eager to show how to engage your children in creating music through sign language as if we are creating “visual poetry” by using our eyes, hands, and bodies. She will be sharing a wide variety of stories and videos of different songs in sign language to both create inclusive experiences and introduce your children to different cultures and disabilities as well. Suzie will be teaching mixed-age classes at all of our locations. Registration is now open for our Winter classes. See what classes Susie and our other teachers are teaching this Winter. We hope to see you in one soon!

I am excited to welcome Susanna "Susie" Corona-Esparza as our newest teacher. You may have seen her in our Music Together^® classes for babies under 6-months or as I call them, classes for babies "not-yet-crawling-fast".

Linguistic research reveals that babies, whether they are hearing or deaf, acquire language quicker if they are exposed to both sound and manual signs. The use of body language, such as gestures and facial expressions is why our music classes are taught with movement and hand gestures. Singing through sign language also encourages babies to develop stronger communication and expressive skills.

Susie is deaf herself, and she is eager to show parents and caregivers how to engage in creating music through sign language as if we are creating "visual poetry" by using our eyes,
hands, and bodies. She will be sharing our songs and chants in sign language to both create an inclusive atmosphere and introduce your families to a richer experience. Susie will be co-teaching all of our classes for Babies under 6-months for the entire year. 

Here’s what Susie has to say:

For two decades, I have dedicated my life working with children and their families. I spent more than 15 years as a nanny, primarily for deaf and hearing children ranging from newborns to seven-year-olds. My passion lies in nurturing children, providing them with opportunities to grow, explore, and learn. This rewarding journey continues to fuel my enthusiasm as I care for children of various ages.

Music is my sanctuary. I adore how the notes pirouette around the lyrics, creating a harmonious dance, whether it's soothing my troubled mind or fueling my energetic jam sessions, music has a profound effect on me. I can feel the rhythm pulsating through my hands and feet, and if the volume is high enough, it resonates in my chest, mimicking a second heartbeat.

I firmly believe that one doesn't need to be a skilled singer or musician to encourage a child to participate. Despite being profoundly deaf, I can still perceive sound when there are no other noises interfering. Although I rely on lip-reading to understand spoken words, I enjoy listening to music repeatedly, memorizing the lyrics, and visualizing a storyboard in my mind. Deafness is often misunderstood. A common misconception is that deaf individuals live in a world devoid of sound. Another fallacy is the belief that deaf people cannot appreciate music. This is far from the truth. Myself, much like my hearing counterparts, enjoy listening to music, playing musical instruments, and creating my own tunes. Music should be an inclusive experience accessible to all. It is crucial to make music as accessible as possible for deaf people, providing them with opportunities to fully engage in music creation. Everyone deserves the chance to revel in the joy of music.

In addition to my nanny role, I have also served as a teacher in private schools, instructing students from preschool to 8th grade. I earned my degree in Family and Child Studies and Spanish from Gallaudet University in 2007. I see myself as a creative individual who takes pleasure in crafting unique items for my loved ones. My interests include listening to a wide range of music genres, dancing, and meeting people from diverse cultures. Engaging with children through games, outdoor activities, and arts and crafts projects is something I truly enjoy. My priority is to ensure they have a fun and safe environment. It's a privilege to care for the children I meet and to make a positive difference in their lives. The time I spend with children is the only job I've ever had that doesn't feel like work. 

Babies and children instinctively know that music makes them feel good, and they don't question it. They know what they feel. Adults often wonder why though. So why does music feel so good? There has been a lot of research on the subject of how music affects us mentally, physically, and socially.

A recent Gabb article explores "How Can Music Bring Us Together? Five Ways to Connect as a Family." Music can help us give our kids a sense of belonging. They suggest Five Ways You Can Connect with Kids Through Music. 

We can think of another way. Try taking a class with us! Here at Mister Mike's Music, we are all about helping families connect through music. Check out our latest class schedule and join us at one of our many locations in and around Capitol Hill. 

What do you think is your first and most important instrument? You! Did you know that less than 50% of kindergartners can distinguish between their speaking and singing voices? If we want our children to learn to use their voices and their bodies to express themselves musically, we need to give them opportunities for independent music-making. By paring away the distraction of an instrument or recording, we model make music using our voices and bodies—our first instrument. So, when you’re singing and dancing with your child here and at home, don’t feel that you always need to have the CD playing, or an instrument in your hand. Instead, use YOU!

There are several steps you can take to make the transition to preschool easier for your child. Zero to Three provides a timeline of steps you can take.

Registration for our next session of classes is open, but they are filling up fast. We are offering classes for infants and afternoon classes too. Join us!

Registration

Have you ever noticed when a song has a different feel to it, especially children's songs? That’s because it’s in a non-major tonality—it has a different “recipe” of notes that make up the scale of the song. It’s just like food recipes—your chicken soup might taste very different from your friend’s chicken soup, even though they’re the same dish, because you use different ingredients. With the song we just sang, the different notes ("ingredients") make it sound different than typical Western children’s music which is mostly written in major tonalities. Music Together offers many songs in a variety of tonalities, thereby providing good “nutrition” for your child’s ears.

Most Western children's music is in a mode called Phrygian (Lydian, etc.). I don't know if you've ever noticed, but most songs that we think of as "children's music" tend to sound pretty much the same—that's because most are written in what's called a Major scale. From an educational perspective, this doesn't make sense. That's similar to what happens when we only play Major songs for young children. 

The music of our culture—and of the world—has a diverse palette of tonalities. In order for children to begin to audiate (or think musically) songs in many tonalities, they have to hear them and play with them...with you! Our collections have songs from many musical traditions, in a wide variety of styles, to balance out the Major-heavy world of Western children's music with lots of songs in other tonalities.

Guitarist Christy Bannerman breaks down different modes of rock music and provides several examples of each mode. Check out his list.

Our next session of classes begins on March 27. We offer 40 classes at several locations. Find the one that's right for you and register today! 

Registration is now open for our Spring classes! Our families recently sent Valentine videos to our teachers--we thought you might like to hear why our children and parents love our classes. Hope to see you in a class soon!