The best way to make music is to just start playing! Unfortunately for many of us, it feels like that’s just not an option. Sometimes it seems like music making is reserved for the rich and famous, or the classically trained. Many only open our mouths to sing if we’re alone in our cars.

At Sound Play, we believe this is all wrong! Many cultures all around the world view music as a participatory activity. We agree. Music shouldn’t just be something that you let happen to you passively, it’s something that you join in on and contribute to. When you participate in music, it adds a whole new layer of enjoyment to the activity that many just aren’t familiar with.

That’s what we hope to teach the little ones that come to our music classes at Sound Play. When you enter our classroom, you’re welcomed by the giant gathering drum. Kids and adults alike are invited to bang on the drum as loud as they want to. It sends the message that making noise in a Sound Play setting is more than okay, it’s encouraged! As class begins, we hope to model for the kiddos the joy of singing and dancing with a group of friends. We encourage them to clap their hands, stomp their feet, dance around and participate in any way that they’re comfortable doing. Throughout the class, various instruments are brought out that allow children to participate in an even more involved way. Everything culminates in the jam session. We crank up the stereo and dump out our big bucket of instruments for everyone to play with. The kids and grown-ups are invited to grab something and jam out!

Why does it matter that we put such an emphasis on participation? Because if children feel as though music is a safe and inviting environment, rather than a place where there is judgement and shame, they are far more likely continue playing for their whole lives!