Contributed by Amanda Coba, PNA Membership & Outreach Manager
I recently had the pleasure of sitting in on a Chickadee Music Together class at the Phinney Center, and it was an absolute blast.
I watched a vibrant group of little ones and their caregivers sing, dance, shake percussion instruments, toss colorful scarves through the air, and laugh together. The group was so kind, caring, and safe. You couldn’t help but leave feeling uplifted and connected. For more than 20 years, Chickadee Music Together has been helping young children and the adults who love them experience the joy of making music together at the Phinney Center.
Chickadee Music Together is a licensed Music Together center serving families throughout Phinney Ridge, Greenwood, and Ballard. While many know them from their longtime home in the Blue Building at the Phinney Center, nearly half of their families attend classes at the historic Sunset Hill Community Hall in Ballard.
The classes are built around the internationally recognized Music Together curriculum, developed by Music Together Worldwide in Princeton, New Jersey. Since 1987, the program has expanded to more than 3,000 communities in over 40 countries, all with the shared mission of bringing music, movement, connection, and joyful learning to families. What happens each week in Room 5 at the Phinney Center is part of that much larger story.
I asked Chickadee Music Together director Mary Anne a few questions to learn more about the program, the community that has grown around it, and why music continues to bring families together year after year:
For someone who’s never been to a Music Together class, what can they expect when they walk through the door?
A warm, welcoming community. A research-based early childhood music education curriculum, created in 1987 and now present in over 40 countries. Families singing songs from many different musical traditions, tonalities, and meters.
The Music Together curriculum offers nine song collections over a three-year cycle, so children can attend for three years without repeating a collection. Each family receives an illustrated songbook and a download code so they can stream the music at home using the Music Together app, making music part of their daily life.
Classes are mixed ages, with children from birth to age five and the adults who love them. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers all participate in the ways that work best for them—whether that’s observing, following the teacher, moving freely around the room, or socializing around the circle. All learning styles are welcome.
Parents, grandparents, nannies, au pairs, and other caregivers sing, dance, laugh, move creatively, and play child-friendly instruments together. Every class includes familiar rituals that help children and adults feel comfortable making music together.
Anyone can join, regardless of singing ability, and many families tell us Music Together is the highlight of their week.
What surprises parents most about Music Together?
Parents and caregivers are often surprised by how much they enjoy the experience. The adults have just as much fun as the children singing, dancing, and playing musically. It’s one of my favorite things to see. I believe families return season after season because it’s a joyful and meaningful experience for everyone.
What do you hope children take away from your classes? What about parents and caregivers?
I hope young children take away a sense of joy and excitement about making music with their beloved grown-ups and friends. I hope they build lasting connections through musical play and shared experiences. I hope music becomes an important part of their daily lives.
The primary goal of Music Together is to make music a natural part of everyday family life.
Music Together is based on research about how children learn music best and how they develop Basic Music Competence—the ability to sing in tune and keep a steady beat. I love the science behind the program and get to observe children’s musical growth over the time they spend with us. It’s amazing.
Music learning supports all learning in early childhood, including language development, mathematical and spatial reasoning, fine and gross motor skills, social development, empathy, and more. Neuroscience studies show that when people make live music together, all parts of the brain become active simultaneously.
What do you love most about teaching music to young children?
I love facilitating experiences during the birth-to-five years, when the brain is most receptive to learning. I also love leading the adults in music-making and helping them discover how much fun it is to sing, dance, and play musically with their children and with one another. Music brings us joy.
Building Community
We love watching families build community at the Phinney Center. Have you seen friendships grow through your classes?
Absolutely. The friendships that develop in our program happen naturally as we sing, dance, and play together.
In Music Together, every child is known by a large circle of caring adults. We sing each child’s name during our Hello and Goodbye songs at every class. That recognition and celebration is deeply meaningful.
Strong bonds form between the adults as well, and many of those friendships continue outside of music class.
Why do you think music is such a powerful way for people to connect?
Research shows that making music together creates bonds and makes us feel good. Singing and dancing in groups releases dopamine and oxytocin, creating feelings of closeness, camaraderie, and trust.
Research has also shown that toddlers who participate in music-making demonstrate increased prosocial behavior and greater empathy toward others.
Mary Anne Aiello (right) has led Chickadee Music Together at the Phinney Center for 20 years, while Aria Prame (left) has been part of the program for 15. Beyond Chickadee, Aria teaches at Victory Heights Co-op Preschool and Seattle Jazz Academy, and Mary Anne volunteers as a Roots of Empathy instructor. Together, they’ve dedicated their careers to helping children learn, connect, and thrive through music. Longtime former Chickadee Music Together teachers include Sarah Nishioka, who taught Music Together for 20 years at the PNA and now runs First Notes Studio in North Seattle. Carol Dansereau taught for eight years at both the PNA and Sunset Hill locations.
Twenty Years at the Phinney Center
You’ve been at the Phinney Center for about 20 years. What has made it feel like home?
I first came to the Phinney Center with my young daughter when we enrolled in a Music Together class with Maggie McClellan, who originally brought Music Together to PNA.
I fell in love with the Music Together approach as a parent, completed the teacher training, and taught for Maggie for several years. Before that, I was an elementary school teacher at The Meridian School in Wallingford, teaching kindergarten and first grade.
In 2006, Maggie was ready to move on to teaching elementary music, so I purchased the business, became the director, and established Chickadee Music Together. We’ve been singing year-round in Room 5 ever since with hundreds of local families. (Maggie is the leader of the Phinney Neighborhood Community Chorus in the Phinney Center Brick Building. The chorus has been going strong since 1999 and she’s the amazing director. I sing with the chorus, and Maggie was my mentor in finding Music Together and establishing my business.)
What makes it feel like home? Kind and familiar faces greeting us each day, the wonderful rentals team who helps coordinate our schedule, the many families who come from PNPC and the neighborhood, and this beautiful historic building.
I love PNA’s mission of connecting people. It aligns so closely with the mission of Music Together Worldwide.
You’re also the generous caregiver of the Phinney Center’s spider plants. How did that happen?
I’m someone who notices when a plant needs water or a few brown leaves removed. I noticed the spider plants often needed some attention, so I asked John, who coordinated plants at the time, if I could volunteer to care for them.
It’s a fun task to do after class each week, and I enjoy giving a little something back to PNA through volunteering.
How does being part of the larger Phinney Neighborhood Association community shape your program?
Lots of families come to us through PNPC and other early childhood programs on campus. Word of mouth is how almost everyone finds us, which speaks to the strong connections within both the local community and Chickadee Music Together.
What makes this building such a good place for families?
The Blue Building has so much history, warmth, coziness, and community. Families feel welcome, known, and happy to be here, and the PNA team is wonderful.
Coming to the building every week also connects families to all the other programs, events, and opportunities happening at PNA throughout the year.
A Small Business with Deep Roots
As a small local business, what has it meant to have a long-term home at the Phinney Center?
I might not still be doing this work if it weren’t for the Phinney Center.
Being able to set my own schedule, teach in a beautiful classroom, work with wonderful people, and have storage for our large collection of instruments is a dream come true for a small business.
A big part of our identity is our longtime connection to PNA, and I’m grateful to be affiliated with PNA as a long-term renter.
What makes the Phinney Center a unique place to rent space?
I love the historic Blue Building. It has so much character and charm, and families love it too.
The foyer outside Room 5 creates a natural gathering place before and after class, where families can connect. The views of Green Lake are phenomenal, and there’s always a friendly face at the front desk to greet families and answer questions.
Looking Ahead
Is there anything new or exciting coming up for Chickadee?
As we head into our 21st season, we hope to add a new Music Together Babies class for newborns through eight months old. The class will be designed specifically for new parents and their youngest babies, with activities that are especially meaningful during those early months.
If someone has been thinking about trying a class, what would you say?
Please join us for a trial class! We offer trial classes throughout the year so families can experience Music Together and decide if it’s the right fit for them.
To learn more about Chickadee Music Together, explore class schedules, or sign up for a trial class, visit Chickadee Music Together.