Meet Mary Goodman and Missy Powers of Musicology in Scottsdale, Arcadia, Chandler & NW Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Goodman and Missy Powers.

Mary and Missy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
We started Musicology in 2009 because we wanted to create a parent/child program that emphasized learning through music! We began with one location in Scottsdale and 15 families enrolled. We grew slowly and we now have 4 locations (Scottsdale, Arcadia, Chandler & NW Phoenix) with over 700 families enrolled! We offer classes Monday through Saturday, daytime and evening at most locations.

Our classes are for newborns 2 weeks old to 4 years old, and we divide classes into developmental age groups to maximize the learning and fun. We explore a variety of musical activities including percussion instruments, singing, creative movement, dancing, and exciting & colorful props! Best of all, parents love our classes too because we play music from a variety of cultures and spanning many eras… The Beatles, Bob Marley, Sinatra, Mozart, and more!

Additionally, we are proud to be very involved in our community. Musicology is written into several grants throughout the year so that we can bring our musical learning classes to underserved families and children.

We love meeting new families, and hope to continue growing and sharing our passion for music and early childhood learning!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The easy part of this business has been working with all of the wonderful parents, caregivers, and children! The most challenging part of the business is attempting to accommodate the demand for more classes. We are always trying to grow our team of teachers in order to add on more classes. We require a very specific skill set, so it can take quite some time to find the right person to add to our team.

Musicology – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Our expertise is in how young babies and toddlers learn…and we have a passion for how music can touch all aspects of a child’s brain development! We are honored to be partnered with Dr. Jill Stamm, national speaker and founder of New Directions Institute for Infant Brain Development, and also a best-selling author of “Bright From The Start” and “Boosting Brain Power.”

There are many things that make Musicology unique in the world of early childhood development: Our curriculum is specially designed after the brain-based research outlined in Dr. Stamm’s books, and in our classes we explain the brain benefits to the parents while they are enjoying the activity with their child; we play original music by the actual artist, which enables children to experience rhythms and beats from a variety of backgrounds, eras, and cultures; we purposely divide our classes into developmental age groups so that activities can be geared for that specific stage of learning.

We are most proud of the experience and environment we provide families when they attend classes each week with their child. It’s a 45-minute “bubble of happiness” when adults turn off their cell phones, forget about work & life, and completely focus on their child. We have the opportunity to share important developmental information about their child in the class, which is empowering for them as parents – we love that!

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were just starting out?
If we had to start over, we probably would have moved into our own brick & mortar earlier. We were running our Scottsdale classes out of a dance studio for the first five years and had outgrown that building for quite some time. But taking the leap to our very own studio felt scary… once we moved into our own studio the demand for classes exploded even more. We are grateful for that!

Contact Info:

• Address: Scottsdale: 13802 N. Scottsdale Rd #129 (NW corner of Scottsdale & Thunderbird)Chandler: 2390 N Alma School Rd #107 (between Elliot & Warner)Arcadia: Inside Bricks Studio at 4550 E Indian School Rd

  NW Phoenix: Inside Legacy Ballet Academy at 625 W Deer Valley Rd

• Website: www.musicologyaz.com
• Phone: (480)596-4020
• Email: mm@musicologyaz.com
• Instagram: musicologykidsaz
• Facebook: For Scottsdale & Phoenix: https://www.facebook.com/musicologyaz/ Chandler: https://www.facebook.com/musicologychandler/

Image Credit:
Bluestitch Photography

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.