What is Music Together
Music Together is an early childhood music and movement program for children from birth through age five—and the grownups who love them®! First offered in 1987, our music classes help little ones develop their innate musicality—and much, much more.
The Music Together Philosophy
Most people think being musical is a question of talent—you either have it or you don't. While that may sound reasonable, it's completely untrue! All children can learn to dance and sing just as naturally as they learn to walk and talk. With this in mind, we formulated four basic principles that guide everything we do.
We're All About Community
Music Together brings families of all kinds together in a warm, supportive environment where everyone feels comfortable singing, dancing, and jamming. Creating lasting family and community bonds through music is a huge part of our programs.
We're All About Family
We also know that young children learn best from the powerful role models in their lives. That's where you grownups come in! Our family music classes show parents, teachers, and caregivers how to help their children become confident music-makers just by having fun making music themselves.
Registration Information & Tuition
Sessions: Our fall session, Fiddle Collection, will begin in September.
Fall Session:
- Begins the week of September 9th and ends the week of November 14th. This is a 10 week session.
Our fall session registration is open!
Tuition: Classes are open to children ages birth through age 5 with a parent or caregiver
Fall Tuition: $190 for the first child/$115 for each additional sibling* for the 10 week session
*Every session holds up to 12 children. Babies 8 months and under are free with a registered sibling. There must be a minimum of 6 registered children to run each class.
Location: Our classes are located at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Naperville. The church is located at 750 Aurora Avenue, Naperville, IL 60540.
Payment is due at the time of registration. You will receive confirmation of your enrollment by email. Refunds are not available after the first class, but make-ups can be arranged based on availability.
*If you receive a message that a class is full, please contact our office and we will do our best to assist you with your class choice.
Would you like to try a free Music Together demo class?
Teacher Biographies
Amy Parry graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, WA) and Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Denver. Prior to teaching in the school setting, Amy taught Music Together classes in Denver, Colorado for two years and absolutely LOVED the experience! During her public school career, she taught both elementary general music and middle school choral/general music. She left her full time job to be a stay-at-home mama to her two girls, Elizabeth and Alice. Now she stays busy making music at home with her daughters and husband, directing two intermediate YNS choirs (Brillante and Cantabile), and getting creative in her at-home bakery business and cookie decorating classes. Amy is THRILLED to bring the joy of early childhood music to the Naperville community and can’t wait to make music together with you and your littles!
Melissa Tomei has a BA in Music Education from North Central College and a Masters in Music Education from Northern Illinois University. She is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early and Middle Childhood Music and also has her Orff Schulwerk certification (University of Nevada Las Vegas). Melissa taught K-5 general music and choir in Naperville for 15 years before taking a break to homeschool her daughters and teach music lessons from home. Melissa loved attending Music Together with her children when they were young and is so excited to experience it again as a teacher. She is honored to join the YNS community!
Jacquie Penfold Shaikh began her choral music studies as a chorister of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buffalo, NY after which, she furthered her musical studies at New York University (BM ’05) studying under professors Lori McCann, Ira Shankman and Francisco Nuñez. Furthering her work in the choral classroom, she earned her Masters of Music in Music Education (MMME ’16) in Kodaly Methodology for the Secondary Choral Classroom from Capital University. Teaching highlights have been working with Mustard Seed School’s middle schoolers in Hoboken, NJ and undergraduate music majors in Sweden! In 2019, she left her full-time job working with high school students in Chicago to stay home with her two boys, Taim and Rabi (5 & 2). Jacquie currently teaches private piano and voice lessons and is excited to partner with parents in the YNS & Music Together communiites in Naperville!
Accessing Music Together
To make it as easy as possible for your family to play along with Music Together® at home, families may take the Music Together songs anywhere with the “Hello Everybody” app and get more activity ideas on the Family Music Zone®. Professional recordings of all songs are in the current Music Together song collection; you will receive both a CD and a digital access code to download or stream the music on any device.
Hello Everybody App
Check out the free “Hello Everybody” app for iPhone/iPad or Android. It’s an easy way for you to access your Music Together songs, whether you are at home or on the go! Log in with your Family Music Zone® account (or create a new one on the app) to get your songs into the app. Then, have fun singing and dancing along from wherever you are.
Here are some of the features for you to explore:
- Stream or download all of your Music Together songs
- Show or hide on-screen lyrics
- Turn the vocals up or down—or off completely for an instrumental track to make up your own words
- Try Music Together karaoke and use your device’s camera to record to the music and share
- Flip through the award-winning Singalong Storybook
Download the “Hello Everybody” app from the App Store or on Google Play today!
Music Together Family Music Zone®
As a member of the global Music Together family, you have access to the Family Music Zone® on the Music Together Worldwide website. Here, you’ll be able to download your music, view a digital copy of your songbook, get new activities to try at home, and learn more about your child’s music development.
To log in, you’ll create an account using the code on your family songbook. Contact us if you need help!
Go to Family Music Zone®
FAQs
As a parent, what is my role in class?
Sing, dance, and have fun! You might be surprised to hear that you are your child’s most important music teacher right now—and it doesn’t matter whether you think of yourself as a great singer or dancer. Young children develop dispositions for certain behaviors, including learning to love music, by observing and imitating their loved ones. Simply by participating enthusiastically during class and playing with the ideas at home, you’ll give your children the modeling they need to learn to love to make music. Please wait to socialize or use your cell phone until after class and instead help us create a music-only environment.
What's expected of my child in class?
At Music Together®, children are never required to sit in the circle or expected to conform to an adult’s idea of participation. We know that children learn differently from adults. They learn instinctively and constantly, through observation, interactions with adults and older children, and through imitation, play, and, especially, movement. One hallmark of Music Together is the insight that children will naturally develop music ability simply when they are immersed in a community of families all making music.
Children’s responses depend on their most dominant learning style and temperament as well as their age and developmental level. Some might follow the teacher right away. Many will simply want to watch and absorb, particularly in the first few weeks of class. Some might crawl or toddle around; others are stimulated by the music and respond more actively, running, jumping, or dancing. All are perfectly natural responses to the new, musically rich environment. Throughout the semester, your teacher will help you tune in to how your child learns best so you can support their music development in class and at home. Feel free to ask if you have questions!
How should we use the Music Together materials?
Play your songs at home and in the car frequently, especially during the first few weeks of class. Make it available to the music available for your child to listen to while she is playing or before nap or bedtime. Create your Family Music Zone® account and download the Hello Everybody app for digital versions of the songs and more activity ideas to try! Activities experienced in class will give you great ideas for how to incorporate music into your home and we encourage you to make music together every day!
What is the class size?
Each class has between 6 and 12 registered children, plus their caregiver(s).
Can I switch to a different class?
Requests for class changes must be initiated within the first three weeks of the session. Depending on class availability, changes are made at the discretion of YNS and teacher involved. Changes are not made after the third week of the semester.
Can we eat in class?
Please feel comfortable to nurse or bottle-feed your child in class, but we ask that you not bring food or drink into classrooms. If you want to nurse while you sing, you are welcome to do so.
Will classes be canceled in inclement weather?
Can I bring a guest or an unregistered older sibling to class?
Music Together® classes may be in session when older children have a school holiday, and it is natural to want to bring them with you to class. The more, the merrier when it comes to making music together! Please try to let your teacher know ahead of time to ensure adequate space in the class.
Is it OK for more than one adult to come to class?
Parents, grandparents, or caregivers are welcome to attend class at any time—we welcome all who would like to sing with us!
Why aren't there classes for specific age groups?
Classes with children of different ages have intellectual and social benefits for both younger and older children. In fact, it’s the learning environment recommended by many early childhood researchers. Older children learn empathy and awareness of others, while developing leadership qualities and gaining self-confidence. Younger children learn by imitating the older ones and often show more complex behaviors earlier than usual. Even babies benefit by being in an environment that gives them lots of opportunities to observe the behavior of children of varying ages. Plus, it allows everyone—siblings, parents, grandparents, caregivers—to share in the musical experience together!
Do you offer gift certificates?
Gift certificates toward classes can be purchased at any time. They make fabulous baby shower, birthday, or holiday gifts. Please contact the YNS office if you’re interested in purchasing one (info@ynschoirs.org).
Music Together art & logo design copyright ©1992–2024 Music Together LLC. Music Together is a registered trademark. Young Naperville Singers is licensed by Music Together LLC. For more Music Together locations: www.musictogether.com.
Young Naperville Singers is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Donations made to Young Naperville Singers are tax-deductible. Many employers offer a contribution-matching program.