Monkey Music and Nordoff Robbins

Following on from my post about the fantastic charity song ‘The Day is Here’ by Monkey Music for the brilliant charity Nordoff Robbins I thought I’d share a little about them.

About Monkey Music

Monkey Music : Nurturing a Lifetime Of Music.

The Monkey Music curriculum was written by Guildhall School of Music & Drama graduate Angie Coates, now Monkey Music’s Managing Director.  Classes first opened in London in 1993 and Monkey Music’s popularity led to the company being franchised in 1998.  More than 50 franchises currently operate in nearly 300 locations across the UK.

Specialist teachers are carefully chosen for their natural ability to communicate with and entertain young children and their carers, gently encouraging social and musical skills within a fun, stimulating and friendly environment. The company’s Head Office is in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.

Monkey Music and Learning

The ear is the first organ to develop fully in the womb, enabling babies to take comfort in the music of their mother's voice at just 11 weeks.  All children are born with instinctive musicality but only if this is encouraged early enough will a child fulfil their full musical potential.

The benefits of music for very young children, particularly when taught within a group, go much deeper than this.  Early exposure to singing, listening to and playing music can sharpen up a whole range of educational skills. Language and numerical skills flourish through action songs and rhymes; fine motor skills are refined through playing hand held percussion instruments, while an awareness of space and one another is developed through movement. The children's confidence and self-esteem grows rapidly as their involvement in the group increases.

Monkey Music Classes

Rock 'n' roll – from 3 months

* Designed specifically for Mums, Dads and very young babies to share together.

* During each class the babies and adults are engaged through gentle songs, fascinating sounds and absorbing activities.

                       

Heigh ho – from 12 months

* Young toddlers love being up on their feet so lots of dancing and moving encourages the children to explore the space around them and express the music they hear.

* The children thrive on the 'steady beat' and are very enthusiastic young members of the Monkey Music band. Themed classes and bold colourful props captivate the children and encourage everyone to get involved.

                       

Jiggety jig – 2 & 3 years

* By this stage, children can really express the joy that music brings them.  They sing, dance, play, move, tell stories, speak, and listen to music together.

* Monkey Music teachers make sure that the children develop their sense of rhythm whilst playing in time to Monkey Music songs and games. Hoops, parachute games and circle dances are always popular Jiggety Jig activities.

Ding dong – 3 & 4 years

* Up until now the children have been listening and responding to music they hear. Now that their ears have been ‘finely tuned’ Monkey Music teaches them what music means when they see it written down. 

* Reading simple traditional musical notation comes easily to Monkey Music children as it is integrated into the final part of our interactive curriculum.

About Nordoff Robbins

Nordoff Robbins is a national specialist music charity delivering music therapy and other music services to transform the lives of vulnerable people of all ages, right across the UK.

Established in the UK in 1974, they are the largest private provider of music therapy in the UK. No other organisation uses music to reach so many people, in so many contexts, with such consistently high levels of expertise.

Since 1974 music therapists have been trained to diploma level at Nordoff Robbins and in 1994 a Masters degree programme was implemented now recognised as a leader in its field. Nordoff Robbins also has a world-renowned training and research programme to ensure work is delivered to the highest standard.

Many thousands of people are helped each year and suffer from a range of challenges including autism, dementia, mental health problems, stroke, brain injury, depression and, in some cases our clients have a life-threatening or terminal illness, such as cancer. All of these people have one uniting factor - music dramatically improves their quality of life.

Delivering over 50,000 sessions per year in centres, units, schools, day centres, hospitals and care homes their work is expanding to meet the vision of reaching as many people in as many settings as possible.

The Nordoff Robbins centre in north London is the largest specialist music therapy centre in the world. As well as London, units in Croydon and Newbury are able to accept referrals from any source and offer a musical ‘lifeline’ to anyone who needs it. Nordoff Robbins also collaborate delivering music therapy services with over 100 national organisations across the UK. As one of our service users recently said, “I simply couldn’t live without this music every week.”

Through music, Nordoff Robbins gives individuals the ability and confidence to express themselves and communicate where they may have not been able to do so previously. The results have a profound impact on individuals and their families and all those around them.

Music therapists at Nordoff Robbins are trained professionals, regulated by the Health Professions Council. They are skilled in using music to help all kinds of people, in all kinds of places.

Nordoff Robbins receives no statutory funding and the organisation is reliant on fundraising income to support their work.

* Information provided to me in a press release by Rock & Roll Babyworld PR *