Free Music with Tyne keeps babies, kids clapping and dancing online

With kids’ activities cancelled and very little sense of normalcy in the world, a local music therapist is making sure her littlest fans and families don’t miss out on the power of music and community.

For six years, Tyne Heenan has loved watching babies clap and jump along to her free weekly music groups at the Early Years Family Centre (EYFC), which has three locations in schools around the city. With her simple songs, dances and instruments, she leads babies and toddlers up to age three in sing-a-longs with their caregivers.

Her favourite part is watching their little personalities develop as they grow.

“Kids naturally gravitate to music. What I do in my groups is — I don’t teach the kids really anything — they’re very young, some of them six or four months old. They naturally will move to music  (and) they’ll naturally respond to music. It’s all kind of in us as humans to have a sense of rhythm with our heartbeats and moving, getting up and dancing. It comes very naturally for kids,” Heenan said.

She remembers the shock of saying goodbye to her colleagues at the EYFC when they all heard the announcement schools were shutting down, which meant their doors would be locked as well. Her thoughts were dwelling on the families who drop in on the EYFC every week as a free play and learning resource for young children.

“Some of them are little. They don’t understand why they can’t go and play and see their friends and have their routine that’s established and they don’t understand why they can’t go anymore and my heart just broke for them,” Heenan said.

At first she thought she was done with classes altogether, but gradually the team of early years facilitators started talking about how to offer their services to families in a creative new way.

Heenan admits she didn’t think Facebook Live music groups would really catch on, until her first group attracted 160 live viewers and more than 1,000 views. It was an experience that brought tears to her eyes as she saw people come together in a whole new way.

“Even before the group started, I saw people tagging their friends and saying, ‘Hey, we have a date. We can’t see each other but we have a date online,’ and I would see them chatting with each other and saying, ‘Hey, we are giving a shout-out to our cousins or to friends that we haven’t seen,’ and that has been really wonderful,” Heenan said.

“I didn’t really create that; it just happened naturally so that is what’s really special about the group. The community is really coming together and making the most of the experience.”

Heenan said beyond seeing the babies grow and develop, she has always appreciated EYFC groups for the way they bring together new parents to forge friendships or often provide a safe space for new moms who can be struggling with postpartum depression or anxiety.

The sense of community connection is something she is focused on bringing to her videos by saying and singing hello to the kids by name.

“There’s lots of YouTube videos and music stuff (parents) can play for their kids, but they’re making a point of coming and signing on as a group,” Heenan said.

While virtual music groups can never completely replace connecting in person, Heenan has been surprised to see the videos spread to an audience far beyond the borders of the city.

“Not only Regina now but it seems like we get people from across Canada and I think there’s a few others outside of the country that are tuning in, so that’s really wonderful,” Heenan said. “We’ve kind of opened up our doors to anybody, which is fantastic.”

Heenan’s hope is to offer families the chance to connect and bond with their kids through music at home. On a personal level, she has also seen the beauty in fellow musicians and artists taking time to create and share their work around the world and she thinks the public and officials may begin to recognize the value of the arts as an outlet for everyone.

In addition to Heenan’s music therapy page, the EYFC has also started offering other online video activities and classes for kids while continuing to provide support services for families to access health advice and counselling.