Chord Theory
Certified Teachers
Solfege Ear Training
Age Appropriate Methods
In our introductory class for babies and toddlers in St. Louis the youngest students learn nursery rhymes, instrument play, games, stories, singing, movement, and ear training. After completing Sound Beginnings children are prepared for additional Let’s Play Music programs and Kindergarten.
Education through musical play
Pink Piggies Student Materials - $35
(plus sales tax for AZ residents)
Student Materials
Crafted to
Educate & Engage
Children are all musical with the proper tools!
We've Struck a Chord!
What Parents Are Saying about Sound Beginnings!
Sound Beginnings has exceeded my expectations. It packs so much into each half hour class with an understanding of what it takes to keep preschoolers engaged and interested in musical activities. I am convinced that Sound Beginnings and Let’s Play Music will lead my two young children to musical success.
Kristin C.
I love the Sound Beginnings class for toddlers because it provides a fun, structured environment for my children to discover and learn music. The lessons are active and playful and involve singing, movement/dancing, musical stories, listening, puppet play, and much more. We have so much fun at the lessons, but best of all, we can continue having fun making music at home because we attend together.
Lisa S.
St. Louis kids ages 0-4 will enjoy Sound Beginnings, an introductory program that teaches music to them and a caregiver. Through games and songs they gain experience with foundational music skills. The Sound Beginnings classes for babies and toddlers in St. Louis runs for six semesters with each semester lasting for four months. Each semester focuses on a unique concept and includes activities, stories, singing, games, and movement. We also introduce a new percussion instrument, use Foundational Elements for learning, and specialize in three preschool topics every semester.
Preschool Concepts
Taught Through Music
Why Sound Beginnings?
Real Face Time
When Kids feel loved and nurtured they learn best. So, we make this foundation of Sound Beginnings. Parents receive the necessary tools to connect with their children through play. Our St. Louis classes for babies and toddlers have a built-in framework that allows kids to thrive. And we also strongly encourage making time for play at home.
The Let's Play Music curriculum is centered in the teachings of the music masters Kodaly, Orff and Dalcroze. These men were revolutionist who changed the attitudes of teaching music to children. Their philosophies are at the heart of our curriculum and you will see their methodologies in each detailed lesson plan.
Zoltán Kodály
In the Kodály Method children are first introduced to musical concepts through playful, natural experience. He emphasized the use of the folk song in all early music education, stating that they are the ‘mother tongue’ for teaching music. Melodic patterning, the repetition of certain notes in a row, trains both the ear and the eye to read the patterns on the staff. Adding solfeg handsigns and syllables further enhanced the learning experience. He used both folk music and songs that are based on the pentatonic scale to help teach the art of singing in tune.
Émile Jaques-Dalcroze
The Dalcroze method, taught in his Eurhythmics schools, is another approach music educators use to foster music appreciation, ear-training and improvisation while improving musical skills. In this method, the body is the main instrument. Students learn rhythm and structure by listening to music and expressing what they hear through spontaneous bodily movement. (I.e. walking to quarter notes, skipping to dotted notes.)
Carl Orff
In the Carl Orff approach, children are taught concepts through improvisation, composition and a natural sense of play. He taught using folk music and music composed by the children themselves. All musical concepts were taught through singing, chanting, dance, movement, drama and the playing of percussion instruments. He believed the order of instruments should be: 1. Body Percussion 2. Voice 3. Simple Percussion Instruments 4. Barred Instruments
(For example, our tone bell set is an Orff instrument!)
Let's Play Music was founded in great educational philosophies
Learning From the Masters
Program Costs
The Sound Beginnings program has two distinct costs: the student materials fee and class tuition.
The student materials fee is paid online at the time of enrollment, and is paid directly to Let's Play Music.
The tuition fee for Sound Beginnings is paid to your local Salt Lake City music teacher in monthly installments. It is approximately the same investment as beginning piano lessons. For detailed information, please email your local teacher. Tuition includes parent training and communication, classes, teaching tools, and classroom instruments.
Foundational Elements
In class we read stories, practice our ABCs and letter sounds. we also are going to learn about weather, seasons, and words that rhyme!
We use our bodies as instruments to feel and perform a steady beat. Steady beat is crucial to developing rhythm skills and supports math skills.
We are surrounded by correct signing on the semester CDs and in class. Students are encouraged to participate in appealing vocal play, make high and low sounds and use the minor third to learn to match pitch and sing in tune.
Fingerplay to nursery rhymes helps students focus on and enjoy fine motor movements. We also practice making the ABCs in sign language. Younger students enjoy the observation and will attempt the skills which is great practice too!
Full body movement builds muscle strength, hand/eye coordination and develops balance. Gross motor also connects the two hemispheres of the brain, promoting improved cognition.
We expose students to the finest music literature. Our "Smart Moves" dances involve the whole body in an enjoyable classical music experience. Each semester, we study the specific timber of different instruments and group them by family.
This class is for children and their "grown up" to enjoy together. We will focus on building and strengthing these relationships in class. We provide partner activities with intentional eye contact, trust elements, and physical touch to nurture the highly significant relationship.
Sound beginnings includes research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum.
