Miriam Klein says she’s a shy person, but you’d never suspect it by the way she bops around and sings to a room filled with toddlers — sometimes she’s so enthusiastic it’s hard to tell her from her small students. Klein, 47, is a registered HeartLand Music Together teacher who’s been jamming with the sprite set since 2004. “I started with one class and six families and today I have 10 classes and 92 families,” she says.
A certified Suzuki cello instructor, Klein believes in learning through play. “I was interested in bringing music to children in a way that was gentle and validating, not punitive and full of correction,” she says. Her association with HeartLand, the Louisville affiliate of a Princeton, N.J.-based program, was a natural. “Their curriculum is strongly research-based and there is an emphasis on parent involvement,” says Klein.
She’s an unlikely music teacher, having suffered from serious performance anxiety well into her adulthood. “I never sang out loud. I didn’t feel safe singing — my husband had never even heard me sing,” says Klein. The turning point came after her son was born and she wanted him to experience music. She began by learning to sing lullabies from a book, which started her on a musical journey that has included repairing instruments and a later-in-life affinity for playing the cello.
Klein (right) gets slap-happy during improv time.
A typical class features a mix of songs. “If you think of rhythms and tonal styles like vitamins, the music is really vitamin-packed,” says Klein. The tunes are catchy and enjoyable even for those adults who cringe at the thought of listening to Barney songs. There is plenty of movement play — Klein has even been known to do somersaults as part of her repertoire. However, perhaps the most anticipated part of class is an instrumental improvisation of sorts, when children are encouraged to grab an instrument (drums, sticks and bells, to name a few) and rock out acoustically. And parents are encouraged to join the singing and dancing. “It is important the adults have fun,” says Klein. “Children learn by watching adults.”
