Singing, Movement, and Connection: Early Childhood Music Groups at Soundwave

Join Us at Our New Clinic in World Golf Village

Babies & Beats and MiniBeats are inclusive parent-child music groups for young children and their caregivers. Families may search for this type of group as a “mommy and me” music class, but our groups welcome moms, dads, grandparents, guardians, and caregivers.

Each group uses active music-making to create opportunities for singing, movement, rhythm, shared attention, communication, and social participation. Children do not need previous music experience. Caregivers do not need to be “musical.” The focus is participation, connection, and developmentally appropriate musical interaction.

Source note: Gerry et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2024; Newman et al., 2022

Active Music-Making in Infancy

Infants can participate in music through listening, movement, eye contact, vocal sounds, gestures, and shared routines with caregivers. In a randomized study of 6-month-old infants, active participatory music classes with parents were associated with stronger development in prelinguistic communicative gestures and social behavior compared with a passive music exposure condition.

In Babies & Beats, music becomes an interactive experience between child, caregiver, and therapist. A caregiver may sing, bounce gently to a steady beat, pause for a response, or help the child explore a small instrument. These simple musical moments give infants repeated opportunities to notice, respond, and connect.

Source note: Gerry, Unrau, & Trainor, 2012

Active music-making gives babies and caregivers opportunities to notice, respond, and connect through rhythm, sound, and shared attention.

Music as a Setting for Back-and-Forth Communication

Early communication begins before fluent speech. Babies and toddlers communicate through sounds, gestures, facial expression, movement, gaze, and turn-taking.

A recent study of a community-based parent-child music program found that families in the music group showed greater increases in conversational turns and parent verbal quality compared with a playdate control group. This supports the use of parent-child music groups as a setting for responsive, back-and-forth interaction.

In Babies & Beats, this may look like a caregiver singing a short phrase and waiting for a baby’s sound or movement. In MiniBeats, it may look like a child echoing a rhythm, answering a musical question, or choosing what sound comes next.

Source note: Smith et al., 2024

MiniBeats gives preschoolers a structured music setting to practice listening, turn-taking, movement, and shared group participation.

Singing, Movement, and Caregiver Connection

Singing, rhythm, and movement can support caregiver-child interaction by giving families a shared structure for noticing and responding to one another. A systematic review of music interventions for young children and parents found support for attachment-related outcomes such as bonding, emotional co-regulation, interaction quality, and parental sensitivity.

In early childhood groups, familiar songs and repeated musical routines can help caregivers engage with their child’s cues. A greeting song, movement song, or calming rhythm can become a shared moment of attention, response, and connection.

Source note: Newman et al., 2022

Parent-child music groups create opportunities for responsive interaction through sounds, gestures, facial expression, rhythm, and turn-taking.

Group Music for Preschool Social Participation

Preschoolers are learning how to participate with others: waiting, listening, joining, sharing space, and responding to group cues. Music gives these skills a concrete structure. Children can start and stop together, take turns with instruments, copy a rhythm, lead a musical idea, or contribute to a shared group sound.

Experimental research with 4-year-old children found that joint music-making increased later helping and cooperative problem-solving compared with a matched non-musical condition. Group music therapy research with preschool children has also examined musical experiences as a context for developing social participation.

In MiniBeats, group music activities are designed to support participation through rhythm, movement, singing, instrument play, and shared routines.

Source note: Kirschner & Tomasello, 2010; Blanky-Voronov & Gilboa, 2022

Group music gives preschoolers a structured way to practice listening, turn-taking, cooperation, and shared participation through rhythm and musical play.

Led with Developmental Intention

Babies & Beats and MiniBeats are led with attention to developmental fit, caregiver involvement, communication opportunities, and group participation. Activities can be adapted so children have different ways to join: moving, vocalizing, pointing, tapping, choosing an instrument, following a cue, or responding to a caregiver’s singing.

The goal is meaningful participation. Music provides the structure, and the therapist shapes the experience so children and caregivers can connect, respond, and participate together.

Source note: Newman et al., 2022; Blanky-Voronov & Gilboa, 2022

Early childhood music groups offer multiple ways for children to participate through movement, singing, rhythm, listening, and shared musical play.

Now Enrolling: Weekly Early Childhood Music Groups

Join Us at World Golf Village

Babies & Beats is for children ages 0–2 with a caregiver. MiniBeats is for children ages 3–5 with a caregiver. Both groups are inclusive parent-child music groups offered at Soundwave Music Therapy’s World Golf Village clinic.

Groups begin July 14, and space is limited.

Groups are led by board-certified music therapists (MT-BC), who are trained to use music intentionally to support developmental, communication, social, and relational goals.

Due to strong early interest, we have added additional weekly session options for Babies & Beats and MiniBeats at our World Golf Village clinic.

Babies & Beats is for children ages 0–2 with a caregiver. MiniBeats is for children ages 3–5 with a caregiver.

Day	Babies & Beats, Ages 0–2	MiniBeats, Ages 3–5	Start Date
Tuesday	9:00–9:45 AM	10:00–10:45 AM	July 14
Thursday	9:00–9:45 AM	10:00–10:45 AM	July 16
Saturday	9:00–9:45 AM	10:00–10:45 AM	July 18

Space is limited, and enrollment is now open.

References

Blanky-Voronov, R., & Gilboa, A. (2022). The “Ensemble”—A group music therapy treatment for developing preschool children’s social skills. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9446. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159446

Gerry, D., Unrau, A., & Trainor, L. J. (2012). Active music classes in infancy enhance musical, communicative and social development. Developmental Science, 15(3), 398–407. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2012.01142.x

Kirschner, S., & Tomasello, M. (2010). Joint music making promotes prosocial behavior in 4-year-old children. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(5), 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.04.004

Newman, L. J., Stewart, S. E., Freeman, N. C., & Thompson, G. (2022). A systematic review of music interventions to support parent–child attachment. Journal of Music Therapy, 59(4), 430–459. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/thac012

Smith, A. R., Salley, B., Hanson-Abromeit, D., Paluch, R. A., Engel, H., Piazza, J., & Kong, K. L. (2024). The impact of a community-based music program during infancy on the quality of parent–child language interactions. Child Development, 95(2), 481–496. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14005