Learning Music with MYC

The new year is fast approaching, and with it comes the resumption of school — and the kids’ enrichment activities!

If there’s one thing in relation to which parents in Singapore are spoilt for choice, it is enrichment classes. It can be truly mind-boggling for a first-time parent as you try to sift through the various offerings to figure out what might be useful, interesting, and beneficial to your child. I certainly started and stopped a variety of different classes with Noey before finding what works for him, and for me too!

This second-time round with Mei, I am a bit more focused. I decided to wait a bit till she was 3.5 years at least to start her on classes, but I always knew that music would be on the list. I kind of started Noey off on the piano by default, but having been on this journey with him over the past two years and watched him learn and develop musically, I knew that I wanted the same for Mei and that I would be enrolling her with Music For Young Children (MYC).

Mei started Sunshine 1 at MYC Orchard (operated by Music Zoo Studio) in November, and going through the programme the second time round with the benefit of hindsight reaffirmed the many things I like about the MYC programme:

1. It is well-rounded and systemically covers different aspects of a music education

There are many aspects to a music education that extend beyond simply learning to play an instrument. These include singing, and learning about pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and musical terminology, to name a few. These different components are covered every week in MYC lessons. The children sing songs, learn solfege, are taught to listen for and create rhythm stories and patterns, play with percussion instruments in an ensemble in addition to learning musical notation and playing the keyboard. Through regular and progressive reinforcement, the children pick up the relevant skills and learn the necessary concepts without even knowing it. Noey is midway through at Sunbeams 2 and he can now play by ear fairly accurately and has learnt to harmonise melodies in several keys, so he can play songs which he likes. He certainly derives great satisfaction from that. As for Mei, after learning the italian terms for quiet and loud over the past few weeks, she now loves to point out  ‘p’ and ‘f’ and would gleefully tell me “p-piano-quiet” and “f-forte-loud!” when she sees the letters.

The curriculum even extends to composition, with the children as young as 3 years in age being taught composition techniques. These they put into practice by participating a worldwide MYC composition festival held every year.

Children who complete the MYC course will be at the standard to take the ABRSM Grade 2 practical exam and Grade 3 theory exam.

2. The programme is age-appropriate

One of the unique things about the MYC programme is that it has been specifically tailored to specific age groups. Each stage has been carefully calibrated to the ages of the students, such the programme actually has different entry points depending on the age of the child. Mei is in Sunshine 1 (for 3 to 4 year olds) and there’s plenty of movement and actions involved, which is the way these little ones learn best!

I was also initially surprised to learn that the children are not taught to read musical notation until the end of Sunshine 1. Instead, they are taught the notes pictorially. So D is a Dancing Dinosaur, F is Fireman Fred and C is Creepy Crawly Critter, and so on. With pictures and stories to go along, the children easily pick this up. Within two lessons Mei was consistently picking out the D note on the keyboard and playing it.

3. MYC teachers use lots of wonderful props

A lot of the engagement comes from the wonderful props used by the teachers at MYC Orchard. From playing with dinosaurs when learning about the D note, to dressing up as a fireman to learn the F note, it’s not hard to understand why Mei is always eager and excited to go for music class!

Mei was so excited to roll fire trucks in class that when she came home, she zeroed in on Noey’s fire truck and spent some time playing with it. she even took out the xylophone to sing and play along!

4. You get to learn along with your child

The MYC programme is parent-accompanied for the entire duration of the course. That does require a fair bit of commitment from the parent and could be a sticking point for some parents. But I choose to see this as an opportunity to learn along with my children. Especially since every other class they attend they do so alone, MYC is an opportunity for me to watch them, cheer their little successes, and give comfort and encouragement where necessary. Being in the class, I am also better able understand their strengths and weakness and reinforce their learning during practice time at home. A fellow parent who did not have a music background used to joke that she was getting 2-for-the-price-of-1 since she learnt some music too while sitting in with her daughter!

5. It is fun!

As you can probably already tell, MYC makes the process of learning music a fun one. In addition to creatively planned lessons, they have also built-in incentives (stickers! toys!) to encourage kids to practice and do their homework. Learning to play the piano does require hard work and discipline that isn’t always fun, but I think this programme does what it can to train, support and motivate the children on this journey.

Don’t just take my word for it — go attend a trial class to get a taste of the MYC programme yourself! Click here to register yourself for trial classes offered periodically at MYC Thomson and Orchard.

EXCLUSIVE PERKS FOR READERS!

• Get 50% off fees for a Trial Class (U.P. $50) conducted at MYC Thomson or MYC Orchard!
• Get a waiver of your $30 registration fee upon enrolment in any MYC programme at MYC Thomson or Orchard!

Music For Young Children (MYC)

Thomson Branch
24 Sin Ming Lane, #07-97,
Midview City,
Singapore 573970

Orchard Branch
19 Tanglin Road, #05-22,
Tanglin Shopping Centre,
Singapore 247909

Tel: 61002587
SMS/Whatsapp : 98249348
Email : musiczoosg@gmail.com
Website : www.mycthomson.com

* Mei’s Sunshine 1 term fees were partially sponsored by MYC Orchard for the purpose of this review. All opinions, as always, remain my own and are based on my personal experience as a parent who has spent more than 2 years in the MYC programme.