Name: Tracie Krieger
Children: Charlotte age 11, Ben age 9, AJ age 7
Blog/Company: Tracie’s Music Together

Tell us a little about yourself? I am a crazy busy mom! I do everything I possibly can to support my three super-active kids and I’m also very passionate about the small business I’ve created – Tracie’s Music Together. I love to sing, I love musical theater, I love to be happy and silly and have fun! I believe very much in what I do – introducing MUSIC to young families – and I want everyone to enjoy the benefits of music as I have and my family has!

What inspired you to create Tracie’s Music Together? I loved to sing when I was growing up. I was very active in musical theater and choirs from elementary school through high school. It was my hobby and I loved it! I went on to college and business school and lost touch with music for all that time. After I had Charlotte, I took a Music Together class in San Francisco. I fell in love! I raised my hand, asked how you become a teacher for this program, and I’ve been doing it ever since! 10 years! I believe that music brings so much happiness to families along with all the other cognitive benefits. It’s just such a GIFT that parents can give their kids – the interest and the ability to be MUSICAL!

Best moment in career thus far? Two moments. 1) When I opened registration this past semester and instantly had 150 registrants and a few weeks later had 220. It’s just a dream come true to have SO many families enjoying and benefitting from this program. 2) EVERY time I teach – the HUGS that I get at the end of class are PRICELESS!!!!

How do you balance the demands of your career, family, life, etc.? I drink WINE. lol. I don’t do this very well and I’m working on it. I am very passionate about BOTH and want to do the most PERFECT job I can on both my family and my “real” job… so it’s definitely hard!

Two things you learned as a mom that no one could have prepared you for? 1. That they aren’t just BABIES forever – but they become PEOPLE with lots of physical and emotional needs such as help with homework, driving to activities, needing time to just talk with eachother etc. I could handle 10 babies at one time. Handling multiple PEOPLE is different! 1. How emotionally difficult it can be to be to try and be a PARENT as opposed to a FRIEND and how hard it is to understand that being UNAPPRECIATED is standard and normal. (hhhmmm too much of a downer?)

What benefits does music have on babies and toddlers? So many! Music develops EVERY developmental area – language, cognitive, gross motor, fine motor, social, emotional! We develop ALL of these in our class. Because we use a songbook, because we emphasize sounds, because we BOND with our caregivers, because we WORK TOGETHER as a class, because we use our hands for fingerplay, because we use our BODIES to dance and because language of music and how it organizes itself in the brain helps with cognitive function, early spacial awareness and more. Just google “early childhood music benefits” and you’ll see a TON of information! But mostly, Music Together believes in the benefit of MUSIC for MUSIC SAKE! In other words, no matter what the OTHER benefits are, the BEST benefit is that the child learns to be musical – to sing, to move correctly to a rhythm so they can dance, so they can understand the “language” of music so they can learn an instrument if they want to…and just to HAVE music inside of them so they can access it whenever they want to cheer them up, help them learn a new concept, put themselves to sleep, enjoy it with their community etc. REMEMBER: Music is a LANGUAGE – just like any other language. The earlier you SPEAK it to a child and the more OFTEN you speak it to them with PARENT INVOLVEMENT (not just on the TV or Radio), the more it will become one of their natural and easy languages that they speak FLUENTLY! 🙂

What age group is your most favorite class to teach? ALL OF THEM!! OMG. For sure! Any age under 5! They are such science projects and watching them learn, develop and love music is AMAZING!

What is the perfect picture of “you time”? Watching primetime TV in my bed or enjoying a broadway musical at any local theater! And a glass of Pinot Grigio in my hand always helps! 🙂