Education Guide 2004
City Parent - April 2004 by Eileen Tan, Musical Director

Three years ago Eileen Tan started an early childhood music education program (Kindermusik) for newborn to age 7. The company name is 88 Keys (a piano has 88 keys).  Her education and teaching history is based on piano.  Tan had been teaching piano for the past 1 5 years and found that young children did not have the necessary music foundation and love of music prior to taking piano lessons; therefore many students give up playing piano very early.

She stumbled upon Kindermusik, which based in North Carolina , USA , and discovered that Kindermusik method of teaching was a perfect match to her teaching philosophy.  Kindermusik curriculum incorporate ideas and philosophies from the leading teaching methods of Montessori (Italian), Suzuki (Japanese), Kodaly (Hungarian), Orff (German), and Dalcroze (Swiss).

What is Kindermusik?
Kindermusik is a program of music and movement for parents and their children, up to age 7.  It provides families with opportunities to interact more effectively, instills a love for music, and expands coordination, learning, and creativity.

For the past two years Tan has received the Kindermusik Maestro award by Kindermusik International, in honor of her ongoing work with special needs children.

"The Maestro award recognizes educators who make considerable efforts each year to reach underserved populations of children - those with physical, emotional, or economic challenges in their lives with Kindermusik.  These educators-silently, tirelessly, and often without payment or recognition share their gifts and talents for the benefit of the children and families in their communities." said Michael Dougherty, CEO at Kindermusik International.

Parents of special needs children really cherish the powerful effect of music on the developmental aspects.

Tan is the Music Director of 88 Keys.  She has more than 1 5 years piano teaching experience with children & adults and also an Early Childhood Music Specialist. She received her ARCT (Associate of The Royal Conservatory of Music) in Piano Pedagogy and certification in Orff and Kodály and studies with a student of Zoltan Kodály.  Also, she has classical music training in Sienna , Italy , and is a member of ORMTA (Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association) and KEA (Kindermusik Educators Association).

Kids and Parents Guide
Toronto life - July 2003, 88keys.ca

The German-born Kindermusik method favored at 88 Keys espouses the simple idea that music benefits all areas of life. Apart from reading, math and memory, classes make a strong argument for music's impact on a child's physical, social and cognitive skills and emotional development. "All children have a natural music sense," says enthusiastic director Eileen Tan. "It just needs to be guided."

A class for newborn to 1 8-month-olds sees children and parents singing, swinging and swaying in unison. All classes encourage parental input, both with take-home books and sharing time at the end of each class; parents are also encouraged to join in with older children and offer feedback. Tan stresses the use of music as a vehicle for learning a variety of skills. "I feel like a facilitator," she says, "and I hope what they learn in class will be carried over into other areas of their lives." How much: $ 159 - $ 359

Piano Teacher Finds Key to Teaching Youngsters
RICHMOND HILLLIBERAL, Sep19, 2002 By Mitchell Brown, Staff Writer

Although they share a passion for the piano and an interest in Ludwig van Beethoven -- both have a bust of the great composer atop their instruments -- you would be hard-pressed to find someone who would mistake piano teacher Eileen Tan for Schroeder, the Peanuts character.

Then again, chances are a lot of people wouldn't take Ms Tan for a piano teacher, either.
"It's the stereotype," she laughed, referring to most people's perceptions of what a piano teacher ought to look like. "I actually had one mother of a student ask me once if my mother was home."

It's something to which the 29-year-old Oak Ridges resident has grown accustomed. She started taking piano lessons when she was eight and she still remembers the numbered Band-Aids her parents used to help her remember which keys to play.

She began teaching when she was 1 5, when she was already in Grade 1 0 piano, the highest grade in the Royal Conservatory of Music.

"Although I am a musician, I think my art is in teaching, because that's what I'm really passionate about," she said.

After a while, though, she found it a challenge teaching younger charges their scales.

"I started teaching piano and I would teach kids who were four, five years old," she said. "They look cute and everything, but what happened was I found the formal approach just didn't work for children that young."

She went back to the conservatory to learn how to teach music to the young and, shortly after that, discovered Kindermusik, an international music education program for children up to seven years of age. Along with her own lessons at home and at the Richvale Library, Ms Tan teaches children at 88 Keys, a Richmond Hill-based studio that teaches young children.

This year, Ms Tan received the Kindermusik Maestro Outreach Award in honour of her work with special needs children at the studio, one of 1 0 such awards presented worldwide. Although there is no cash award, Ms Tan received a plaque and will join other recipients in North Carolina later this year at Kindermusik International's annual convention.

All things considered, she says she's glad her mother told her to keep at those lessons all those years ago.

"I had my times when my mother said, 'OK, it's time to practice', because, you know, you'd get lazy. You're a kid and you still want to have fun.