​The Music of Music Together®

Music Together Ridgecrest is proud to teach the Music Together® curriculum, which includes an award-winning mix of original songs and traditional tunes from a range of musical styles, including folk, blues, jazz, and world music. The music is pitched just right for children's voices, and the arrangements are fun, sophisticated, and loved by children---and grownups! The combination gives the children a rich music experience, and makes this kids’ music enjoyable for adult listening, too!
Have a listen to some songs or download our “Music Together” app for twelve full-length songs from the App Store or on Google Play
The Music Together songs are organized into nine collections of twenty-five songs, with three collections taught each year. Your family is welcome to join us at any time and continue for three years---and beyond. Many families cycle back and re-experience the collections as their children turn three or four. Because music-learning is cumulative, your children will experience developmental benefits that build over time. That’s why we encourage their participation in Music Together for as many years as possible from infancy through kindergarten.

​The History of Music Together®

 Music Together® was founded in 1987 by Kenneth K. Guilmartin in Princeton, New Jersey. In the 1980s, Ken was a working theatre composer and music educator who was drawn to the field of early childhood music education while working as an associate editor for his uncle’s music publishing business, Birch Tree Group. During this time, Ken observed that the music experiences of the children he knew and taught were usually limited to passive music listening; these children were growing up with little or no opportunity for live and playful music making. Subsequently, many sustained a delay in the development of their basic music skills, arriving at elementary school unable to sing in tune or move in a rhythmically accurate way.
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Searching for a way to counteract this trend, Ken had the insight to apply what he learned from early childhood education experts to music education for the very young. In 1985, he founded the Center for Music and Young Children (CMYC) to conduct the early childhood music development research which later spawned the Music Together program. Interestingly, this research was funded by the Birch Tree Group using the royalties from the "Happy Birthday" song.

While attending a 1986 Edwin Gordon seminar on music learning in children, Ken met Lili Levinowitz, Ph.D., then director of the Children's Music Development Program at Temple University and an experienced researcher. Lili was a like-minded advocate for non-formal music experiences for the very young, and soon the two began to develop the unique, musically-rich curriculum that would become known as Music Together.

The first Music Together classes were offered to the public in 1987. Since then, Ken and Lili have researched and developed nine Music Together parent-child song collections, as well as added class types such as Babies, Music Together In-school and Rhythm Kids® by Music Together. Both coauthors continue to teach Music Together classes, and they remain actively involved in training others to do this important and delightful work.

The Music Together program is offered in over 3000 communities in over 40 countries worldwide. Through its parent-child, preschool, and outreach programs, both at home and abroad, Music Together is dedicated to offering the benefits and joys of music making to as many families as possible.