Mini Music is an action-packed music workshop experience for babies, toddlers and young children aged 3 months to 8 years old. Affiliated with The Church town School of Music, we run our Toddler and Baby classes in the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland.

At Mini Music we introduce your child to age specific songs and activities that *will help nurture their inner musician*. Each class is led by a specially trained Mini Music teacher using *our own unique curriculum,* designed to bring your child from a young baby all the way to being prepared to learn an instrument.

Enhanced language capabilities

would you like your child to have larger vocabulary and enhanced reading comprehension skills? Studies show consistent music education improves both areas.

How does it work?

Emerging evidence suggests the area of the brain controlling both musical ability and language comprehension are more related than previously thought. Music education requires students to recognize and repeat pitch, tone or enunciation of words.

Especially Child Music clasess, directly benefits the ability to learn words, speak them correctly, and process the many new sounds they hear from others.

Music offers each of us a deeper experience of the world around us. Whether we are just enjoying the background music playing in the stores around us, listening to the radio, sitting in the audience of a live concert, or maybe even playing on stage ourselves, music enriches our everyday lives.

What does music education do for children?

Helps children improve motor skills and confidence

Improves socialization behaviors such as leadership, turn-taking, cooperation, patience, and executive-function and emotional regulation

Gives children a positive, creative outlet to express a full range of emotions

Enhances memory and language and vocabulary development

Makes learning fun

Time to Sing

Every class is led by the one instrument we all have, the voice. This section of our class is a perfect time for parents and children to bond using familiar songs and nursery rhymes with a twist!

Time to Move

*Beginning with* moving to the beat using simple gestures and movements in our baby class to more complex circle dances in our Maestros class. We often use colourful props, such as parachutes, scarves & ribbons, to help us express what we hear in the music eg. Jumping, creeping, dancing, marching

Time to Play

In this section our Mini Musicians get to perform, using a variety of fascinating and colourful percussion instruments, especially made for little hands. Starting with emphasising a steady beat, progressing on to creating rhythmic patterns and exciting accompaniments to the music, and finally learning how to *read and play* music notation.

Improve Self-Confidence And Self-Esteem

When a skill builds incrementally, at a speed that is directly related to the amount of work put into it, a child will soon see benefits from his labors. It's empowering for a child to realize that the extent of his own achievement lies squarely in his own hands.

Also, since music is meant to be performed, developing the courage to stand up in front of both friends and strangers to exhibit achievements is good way to brace for the business meetings and first-job-interviews of the real world.

Improve Discipline And Teamwork

The value of hard work is a lesson that a child has to experience on her own. A schedule of daily music practice is an honest discipline that will show your child that hard work leads to true benefits.

For older children, joining a small ensemble, a large Church town School of Music, or even a rock band encourages teamwork as well as the overall positive feeling that comes with collaborating with a greater community toward a common goal.

Improved memory

Music education involves a high level of memorization. Students must be able to read music by sight, play the proper notes on their instrument or recall lyrics. This process benefits the overall memory center of the brain.

In one study, musicians outperformed non-musicians in auditory, visual, and memory tests.

Music is also easily stored in our memory. Have you ever had a song stuck in your head? You can use music to help children remember things. Examples include using common tunes to memorize facts, playing meditative music during study time, and using music resources when presenting materials.

Powerful study habits

As children grow and are exposed to more rigorous courses of study, time spent reviewing and retaining is essential to success. More and more time in the classroom is spent on introducing new subjects and ideas, requiring students to work at home to ensure they have grasped onto the necessary information.

When children are exposed to proper music education, they learn powerful study habits. Mastering their specific musical craft takes a concerted effort, consistent practice and patience. These disciplined habits translate into other areas of study.

Teamwork

Music is often thought of as a way to foster individual expression. While it definitely is that, music can also teach teamwork. No place is this more evident or powerful than in schools.

Students work together to create a cohesive, technically correct performance. Together, they form a community of like-minded individuals who can help each other reach goals. Many students find a sense of belonging in school music programs.

Time to Sleep

At the end of every class, your child will enjoy some quiet time to sing, learn a poem, cuddle and listen to some beautiful classical music. In the older age groups this is a perfect opportunity for our budding musicians to practise active listening and learn all about the different instruments of the orchestra.