Testimonials from Our Families, Friends and Professionals...

Kindermusik

"Ms. Cathy is an excellent teacher who brings out the best in the children. Village is an amazing class and I also love the fact
that the parents are educated about their children's growth! We learn as much as the kids!" -- Caryn Hasting, Pleasanton

"Kindermusik provides the sound nutrition to improve movement, listening, and expression in young children. Through
activities and music making, skills for parents and children alike create inroads for the great orchestration of a family's hearts,
minds, and bodies."  -- Don Campbell, Author of The Mozart Effect® for Children

"One of my strongest impressions of Kindermusik's work is the variety of musical selections that are there for children. The
selections are of high quality and of considerable diversity, such that children can listen and respond to the music of Bach,
Mozart, contemporary composers and cultural traditions around the globe. Kindermusik understands that children deserve
opportunities to know a palette of musical colors, and thus through the program provide windows to the world of people and
their artistic expressions. This rainbow of musical colors is the stuff that surrounds children through their Kindermusik training,
so that their listening, movement, singing and playing possibilities are grounded in history and across cultures. These musical
beginnings set children straight for a lifetime of well-considered choices in their musical and cultural valuing." -- Patricia
Campbell, Ph.D. - Professor of music at University of Washington and author of Songs in Their Heads: Music and
Its Meaning in Children's Lives, Lessons from the World

Signing Smart

I recommend Signing Smart! It promotes early communication and developmental learning, and it facilitates spoken language-
from infancy through the preschool years! -- Dr. Jordan Klein, Pediatrician with Partners in Pediatrics

Signing Smart is an extraordinary tool for opening doors to more productive forms of communication, and for stimulating
cognitive development at an early age. I've noticed increased self - esteem and lower degrees and frequencies of tantrums in
the children who have completed the program. --Dr. David Barnett, PhD University of Vermont

Simply Music

When my Kindermusik families need a referral for piano lessons, sign language, or a Pleasanton Kindermusik class, I feel
confident recommending Where Music Begins because I know that the program is committed to quality. Owner/director
Cathy Hirata is an accomplished singer, piano teacher, teacher trainer, and educator who is completely committed to
excellence in music education, as well as inclusive music education for all children. I have attended several of Cathy's classes
as an observer and can personally attest to the high-quality music experience she provides. -- Lindsay Levin, San Ramon

"Simply Music is simply the best! A great way to learn piano. My daughter has been motivated to learn the piano since her
first lesson and she now likes to make up her own songs. She is now learning how to read music and this program makes that
fun too. Thank you Neil for bringing music into our lives!"  -- Cathy Bolls, Pleasanton

Our daughter, Sara is 6 ½ and has PDD-NOS.  She showed a gift for piano around 4 years old.   I quickly saw that
traditional piano instruction was breaking down the music into its parts and the "music" was essentially disappearing.  It was
becoming another thing in her life to systematize.  Simply Music treats music as a whole...with hearing, enjoying, and sharing
music as the most important goal.  Sara’s piano skills have grown steadily over the last 2 years and she is beginning to
improvise and experiment.  I treasure her joyful expression when she looks for and hears the applause of an audience!  And,
for our family, Simply Music is extra special because Dad and Sara take lessons together! -- Sue, Mom of Sara

“Let me begin by saying just how thrilled I am with the Simply Music program.  I’m playing better now than I did after years
of traditional lessons.” -- Steve Manual, Executive Producer – Prime Time, Discovery Channel, Washington, DC

Special Needs...

"My daughter has Downs Syndrome, and while signing had been brought up to us as an option, we had decided against it
because she seemed to be making a number of sounds and we didn't want signing to slow down her speaking. Our daughter
was 12 months old when our case worker brought it up again, and told us about a Signing Smart Play Class she had found.
We decided to give it a try. After only two classes, she began to sign back, and now -- four weeks later -- she has over 12
signs! Just as amazing to us is the fact that her sound patterns have increased since she started signing! It's like signing made
language that much more tangible and accessible to her -- she even signs some with her feet! I'm so glad we took a chance on
signing, it's really paid off for our family." --Father of a now 14-month-old

"One of our teachers had a student who was prone to serious temper tantrums, was a little on the wild side and
developmentally delayed. She could not speak and had no way to communicate with her parents. It took 2 of us to teach this
class at first as the child would wander around the room and not pay attention, or so we thought. Mom was very devoted and
felt that sign language was her last resort with her child. After 4 classes with us, one day the child calmly came in the door,
walked up to her teacher, signed her name, the word “loves” and pointed to the teacher. We were shocked. Mom said that
suddenly her daughter had picked up about 30 signs and was signing all the time. Life had dramatically changed for the entire
family and it was so fun for them all to be able understand what their child was thinking." -- Cathy, Director – Where Music
Begins

"Kindermusik is elegant in its integrated approach to a child's development. Physiologically, touch, movement, rhythm and
sound are the keystones to developing a healthy vestibular system and optimizing nervous system and brain growth. The
importance of having families working together, where everyone benefits from the sense of belonging, gets directly at the heart
of what we, as a society, are needing at this time to raise healthy, loving children and ensure a world of peace. All of this is
provided in the Kindermusik program." -- Carla Hannaford, Ph.D
Testimonials