Embedded Files
Before words, before walking, there is the beat, there is the dance. Dum Tak brings live music and interactive rhythm programs directly to young children and families, laying the foundation for early cognitive, emotional, and social growth.
Bring Dum Tak to your community
What we mean by "interactive"
What we mean by "interactive"
The children make the music. They don't watch it get made. We show them an instrument and how it makes sound. We do call-and-response, so they're using their own voices and bodies right away. We introduce one simple idea, like a steady beat, and then they do it themselves: clapping it, singing it back, moving to it.
It isn't a show with an audience. It's musicking. From minute one, every child in the room is a participant, not a spectator.
Musicking is musicologist Christopher Small's word for music as something people do, not a thing they watch. Playing, singing, listening and moving all count.
Why Early Rhythm Matters
Why Early Rhythm Matters
DUM TAK DUM TAK DUM TAK
The name comes from my oldest child, who learned to describe drumbeats by saying Dum… Tak while learning rhythm from his father.
Dum Tak is the first rhythm many children learn. It is a rhythm built from two foundational beats- Dum Tak.
0–7
0–7
Years of peak rhythm & language development
3-4 yo
3-4 yo
Age when beat-keeping predicts pre-literacy skills*
*Woodruff Carr et al., PNAS 2014, Northwestern University
Our mission
A heartbeat is a child's first introduction to the world.
A heartbeat is a child's first introduction to the world.
Dum Tak is not simply a performance series. It is a community-based framework designed to integrate rhythm, listening, and creativity into early childhood and kids environments across Massachusetts.
Your role
You are the instrument.
You are the instrument.
You don't need to be a musician. A clap, a tap, a hummed lullaby — these are the tools that shape a child's mind. Here's how to begin.
01
Tap the everyday
Tap the everyday
Turn a stroller walk, a stirring spoon, or a bath into a shared beat.
02
Sing imperfectly
Sing imperfectly
Your voice is the most important instrument your child will ever hear.
03
Move together
Move together
Sway, rock, dance — co-regulation begins in synchronized motion.
Our role
Here is how we are 'musicking'
Here is how we are 'musicking'
We serve children, families, educators, and institutions by bringing hands-on music experiences to early learning centers, schools, after-school programs, healthcare settings, and public spaces.
Musicking is a word coined by musicologist Christopher Small (Musicking, 1998). Small argued that music is not a thing but something people do. To music is to take part in any way: playing, singing, listening, dancing, even setting out the chairs. That's why we say everyone in the room is musicking.
1
1
Community partner
3
3
Pilot sessions
75
75
Unique smiles
Page updated
Report abuse