Written by Wendy Snell, Owner/Director of Music Together of Decatur
Music holds so many memories, allowing us to travel instantly back to a different time and place and recall the people who were there with us, much like a photograph transports us to a particular stage of life.
Just sing “No Man Is An Island” and I’m back to Camp Harand. I’m standing in the rec hall, swaying to the last song we’ll sing before the curly haired, heavily made up woman leans into the microphone and says in a soft, smoky voice, “Goodnight, Snow White”. We are dismissed by cabin to walk back to our bunks, youngest to oldest, and since Snow White is the second-to-youngest cabin, we know we’ll be called right after she leans into the microphone and whispers, “Goodnight, Superman”.
Play “Lean On Me” and I’m back at my high school best friend’s house. We’re dancing with total abandon and singing at the top of our lungs, radio cranked up to full volume, only stopping momentarily to peek through the curtains when we hear her Siberian Husky barking, in case her parents are pulling into the driveway.
And this fall, when the first orange and red leaves drift down from the trees, I won’t need any music at all to hear Music Together’s “Leaves Are Falling” in my head. I’ll be back on the playground, pushing my baby in the swing to the same song, in the same season.
It is such a delight to know that Music Together of Decatur classes--music and movement classes for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grownups who love them-- provides not only joy in the midst of young families’ everyday lives, but also holds the power to bring moms and dads, nannies and grandparents, back to these early years of making music together.
