MMTA Early Childhood Music Chair Newsletter Article
September, 2021
Greetings from the new MMTA Early Childhood Music chair!
I look forward to connecting with teachers who offer early childhood music classes and lessons and offering tips and tricks for this age group.
What is early childhood music?
Early childhood music is making music with babies, toddlers and preschoolers through age 5.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Emily Ireland, and I have been teaching piano and early childhood music for over 20 years(!). I have taught early childhood music in a variety of schools and taught a variety of curricula, and have even created my own programs. Early childhood music is one of my passions. I find it so important to offer parents and caregivers tools to make music with their young children, and do so through group classes, my best-selling book, YouTube channel, Facebook page and a forthcoming course.
I hold a master’s degree in music education with an emphasis in piano pedagogy from the University of St. Thomas, and my undergraduate degree is from Gustavus Adolphus College, where I double-majored in music and German. I have presented at multiple MMTA conventions and local associations. With MMTA, I have been involved with the St. Paul Piano Teachers Association as president, the MMTA convention committee, and was on the MMTA Foundation board. I love to make music with others and connect with teachers.
I have also written a best-selling book, Brighter Baby: 60+ Musical Activities for You and Your Baby to do Together, which was published in 2018. It is available on Amazon in Kindle or hardcopy formats. I am currently creating a course to go along with the book.
Where do you teach?
My business is called Brighter Minds Music, and we are located in Minneapolis and Mendota Heights, MN. We have over 300 students who make music with us every week, and hold multiple early childhood music classes every week. We have a fantastic teaching team of over 20 teachers, and we are currently hiring more instructors to enrich another’s life with music. If you know someone interested to start teaching music, please let me know.
How can I contact you?
Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or suggestions for a future article! My email: emily@BrighterMindsMusic.com
Emily Ireland,
Piano, Guitar, Voice, Violin, Ukulele, Drum and
Electronic Music Composition lessons for Kids, Teens & Adults
Early childhood music classes for babies, toddlers and preschoolers
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