Even the 3-year-olds who attend music classes at Bach to Rock Music Center can use the classical composer’s name in a sentence. "Is today Bach to Rock Day?" Nicholas Marks asks his mother Peggy every morning when he wakes up. "I want to be in a band!" exclaims the 3-year-old Vienna resident who has been attending classes since last August.

This is the kind of energy that early childhood music director Paul Waskiewicz, "Mr. Paul," hopes to cultivate. They encourage youngsters to fantasize about becoming their musical heroes, tapping into every child’s natural propensity for playing pretend.

The state-of-the-art facility could nurture the rock star dreams in anyone. Glamorous practice studios, each named after a famous band, line the curving hallway that leads to the high-tech recording studio.



THE CORE of Bach to Rock is a researched philosophy of musical education. The curriculum is built on years of research correlating musical education and advanced brain functions. Each activity is tailored to an educational role at an educationally appropriate level. "Technology has shown what music does for brain development. There is an increased density of neural connections that develops in children who play music from a young age. We teach the appropriate music skills when the children are developmentally ready for them," Waskiewicz said.

The McLean location opened in February of 2008 and is the fourth Bach to Rock center. The centers have been experiencing consistent growth as word spreads in the community that the staff at Bach to Rock are both music and child-care experts. "Most of our clients come by word of mouth, especially the young children," Waskiewicz said. "Once people realize that we are well trained to handle children of all ages, they trust us and come back, often bringing friends." All staff members have musical backgrounds and have completed specialized training in child development.

For the youngest children in the Tunes and Tots class, parental participation is encouraged. Parents and their children up to age 4 go through a series of movement and harmony exercises to a variety of different songs. They play Cajun, African and swing music, each with focus on instruments like drums and tambourines to demonstrate different musical principles.

"When it comes to young children, our philosophy is that it is important to let kids grow and play in a way that is natural to them," Waskiewicz said. The first step in becoming a musician is learning to move to the music. "That’s why there is so much movement at this level."



CHILDREN of all ability levels are encouraged to jam on their instruments, make noise and move to music, a relief to parents who don’t want a drum set in the house. There are group lessons and jam sessions available for children of all ages, along with individual lessons on a variety of instruments. "We also teach audio engineering and just added DJing lessons as well," said Jennifer Gregor, the director of the McLean location who also teaches guitar and bass. The overarching goal is to cultivate a love of music so that children will continue to study it throughout their lives.

For those who want a taste, the center hosts birthday parties tailored for all ages and ability levels. For ages 8 and up Bach to Rock will help the birthday party prepare a specific song that the participants will learn, perform and record in the studio before the birthday is over. All participants go home with a compact disc of their own recorded music. They also host summer camps, which begin in June.