An early childhood music method for learning music naturally.
Diapason the Wizard is our own early childhood music method, designed to teach music to babies and young children from the very first months. Through play, singing, movement and listening, children develop their ear, sense of rhythm and musical understanding in a structured, engaging way that respects how they naturally learn.
What is an early childhood music method?
An early childhood music method is an organised, progressive way of teaching music to children. It is not simply a collection of songs, games or activities: the content is structured with a clear purpose, so that each new learning experience prepares the child for the next step and allows them to progress confidently.
With very young children, this structure matters even more. A baby or young child does not learn music by sitting through a theoretical explanation. They learn by listening, imitating, singing, moving, exploring and repeating. That is why a good music method for children needs to turn musical concepts into experiences that are appropriate for their age.
Eso es lo que hacemos en Diapason the Wizard. We teach music from babyhood through our own method, combining play with genuine musical learning. The activities are fun, but they are never random: every song, movement and game has a purpose linked to listening, rhythm, singing, coordination or musical understanding.
The child feels they have come to sing, move and play. The teacher knows which musical skill is being developed and how each activity fits into a wider learning process.
Learning music as naturally as a mother tongue.
Long before a child reads a word, they have spent a great deal of time listening to it. Music can be learned through a similar process.
Children learn to speak by being surrounded by language. They listen again and again, recognise sounds, imitate, make mistakes, try again and gradually begin to express themselves. Nobody starts by teaching them grammar. First they experience the language; much later, they learn to read it and understand its rules.
En Diapason the Wizard partimos de una idea semejante: experience music first, explain it afterwards. Before introducing a written note, we want the child to have heard and sung it. Before explaining a rhythm, we want them to have felt it in their body, repeated it and recognised it.
This does not mean leaving musical literacy aside. Quite the opposite: it means preparing the ground so that, when notation appears, it makes sense. Reading music, notes, note values, the stave and clefs are not introduced as isolated symbols, but as ideas connected to experiences the child already knows.
In this way, early childhood music education is not divided into “playing” and “learning”. Play is the way children can learn real musical content, through a sequence designed for their age.
What do children work on in our early childhood music method?
Music brings many abilities together at the same time. That is why our classes combine listening, singing, rhythm, movement and musical understanding rather than treating them as separate areas.
Auditory development
Listening, pitch accuracy, sound memory, pitch recognition, timbre and short musical patterns.
Rhythm
Pulse, duration, coordination, imitation and the ability to anticipate and reproduce rhythmic patterns.
Voice
Singing, intonation, breathing, musical memory and using the voice as a first instrument.
Movement
Motor skills, laterality, coordination and the connection between what is heard and the body’s response.
Musical literacy
A progressive foundation for understanding notes, note values, the stave, clefs and, later on, reading first scores.
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At Diapason the Wizard, children do not simply receive music: they listen to it, sing it, move to it, play it and experience it. That is how music gradually becomes their own.
Auditory development begins long before a child learns to read music.
One of the most important features of the Diapason the Wizard Music Method is the attention we give to auditory development from a very early age. For a musician, learning how to listen is just as important as learning to read a score or play an instrument.
In our classes for babies and young children, listening is developed through the voice, songs, sound contrasts, repetition, recognition and imitation. Little by little, children learn to notice differences in pitch, duration, dynamics and timbre, and to respond to them musically.
Babies are exposed to sounds and voices before birth and, after they are born, they show strong sensitivity to the human voice, rhythm and intonation. Making the most of this stage does not mean rushing learning; it means offering a rich musical environment that is appropriate for their development.
That is why we talk about early musical stimulation: listening, rhythm, voice and play within a safe, caring environment designed to help children enjoy music from the very beginning.
Music is understood more deeply when it is experienced first.
In an early childhood music class there are moments for listening, singing, moving, playing, observing and imitating. Every child takes part in their own way, while building experiences that can later be connected to more complex musical ideas.
This approach means learning does not depend on explanation alone. Children recognise sounds because they have heard them many times, understand a rhythm because they have felt it physically, and approach music reading after already experiencing what appears on the page.
Por eso en Diapason the Wizard insistimos tanto en making music before theorising about it. El objetivo es que los conceptos tengan significado y que el aprendizaje conserve la curiosidad propia de la infancia.
A method that began with the desire to teach two children music from birth.
The Diapason the Wizard Music Method was created by Paqui Castro from a very practical need: she wanted to teach music to her own children from babyhood. To work with children so young, she needed short, dynamic classes that could hold their attention without compromising the quality of the musical content.
From that experience, a method grew alongside its first pupils. Paqui also created the character Diapason the Wizard, the central figure in Journey to the Land of Music, together with a world of child-friendly, everyday and imaginary characters that help introduce musical concepts in an accessible way.
The characters do not replace musical content: they act as a bridge towards it. The stave, notes, clefs and note values stop being unfamiliar symbols and become connected to songs, stories and experiences the child can remember.
In class, we create a relaxed environment where singing, playing, exploring, experimenting and interacting with the teacher and other children are all part of learning. That balance between structure and natural learning remains one of the foundations of the method.
Music classes for babies and children with clear goals and plenty of movement.
Teaching music to a high standard does not mean turning a children’s class into an adult lesson. The goals can be ambitious; the way we reach them must respect the child’s age.
Sessions usually last 30 minutes once a week. During that time, activities move at a lively pace: children sing songs from the method, sing musical notes, internalise rhythms, play imitation games, work on laterality and motor skills, perform short movement sequences and use small percussion instruments.
The variety is deliberate. At these ages, changing the focus helps maintain engagement, but every activity connects to the aims of the method. A song may develop pitch accuracy and memory; movement may reinforce pulse and coordination; a story may prepare a musical literacy concept.
From around the age of 3, and always progressively, children can begin to approach their first simple scores. They learn to follow what is happening visually, respect moments of waiting, connect symbols with sounds and gradually understand what they have already experienced through singing and play.
Does a child need to want to become a musician to take music classes?
No. Some families come because their child shows a particular interest in music, while others simply want music to be part of their education. Both are perfectly valid reasons.
If the child later decides to study an instrument, they will already have built a foundation in listening, rhythm and musical literacy. If they choose another path, they will still have benefited from an artistic activity that engages attention, coordination, memory, expression, creativity and social interaction.
In this video you can see part of the listening work we do from an early age.
Hearing is not the same as learning to listen.
An important part of music education is learning to distinguish, remember and recognise sounds with increasing accuracy. That is why auditory development has a central place in the Diapason the Wizard Music Method from the earliest years.
This work can also include absolute pitch: the ability to recognise or produce a specific musical pitch without first hearing a reference note. For example, identifying a C or singing a G without another note being played first.
Absolute pitch is not a requirement for becoming a good musician, nor does it replace other essential skills such as relative pitch, rhythmic sense or musical expression. However, a well-trained ear can make tasks such as tuning, singing, recognising pitches, remembering sounds and understanding what we hear much easier.
At Diapason the Wizard we develop these abilities progressively through songs, intonation, repetition, recognition games and listening experiences adapted to each age. The aim is not to test the child, but to give them many opportunities to listen carefully and respond musically.
What does music bring to childhood?
We do not need to claim miraculous effects for music to recognise its value. Learning music is a complex activity that engages listening, the body, memory, attention, emotion and interaction with others at the same time.
Attention and memory
Remembering songs, anticipating changes and repeating sequences require active listening and sustained attention.
Coordination and motor skills
Moving to a pulse, dancing, playing percussion or responding to a sound cue connects listening, body and action.
Creativity
Music creates space to imagine, vary, improvise, play with sound and find different ways to express oneself.
Social skills
Making music with others involves listening, waiting, taking part, imitating, suggesting ideas and joining in a shared activity.
Patterns and organisation
Rhythm and musical literacy develop awareness of sequences, timing relationships, repetition, change and pattern recognition.
Every child can learn music and gain something valuable from it.
Music does not have to be the beginning of a profession. It can simply be a valuable part of education and life.
From the baby who listens to the child who begins to read music.
The method develops alongside the child, gradually introducing new challenges while keeping listening, singing, movement and play at the heart of learning.
Listen and discover
Voice, connection, movement, contrast, rhythm and auditory stimulation within a shared musical experience.
Imitate and recognise
The child reproduces songs and patterns, anticipates what comes next, recognises sounds and gradually becomes more actively involved.
Understand and read
Characters and materials help introduce notes, note values, the stave, clefs and first simple scores.
Make music
Singing, listening, reading, keeping time, performing and understanding gradually come together in an increasingly independent musical experience.
Pablo and Sara grew up alongside the method.
Paqui Castro’s children were the first pupils with whom Diapason the Wizard was developed. The method evolved alongside them, observing which activities worked, how they responded to the content and how they could progress musically without losing the natural quality of childhood learning.
Over time, both went on to develop professional musical careers. Pablo Ferrández, cellist, and Sara Ferrández, violist, are now internationally recognised performers. Their careers do not mean that every pupil following the method is expected to become a professional musician; they are simply part of the story of a method that began by teaching music to two very young children.
Resources created to give continuity to the method.
Diapason the Wizard has its own songs, stories, characters and educational resources developed to support the different areas of the early childhood music method.
These materials help teachers maintain a coherent teaching approach and allow key learning to reappear in different moments and contexts. To explore them in more detail, we have created a dedicated Educational Resources section.
Where to find Diapason the Wizard Music Method classes.
The method is taught by teachers and centres trained in our approach. You can browse our directories to find early childhood music classes and music classes for babies.
About our early childhood music method and music classes for babies.
What is an early childhood music method?+
At what age can a baby start music classes?+
What is the difference between musical stimulation and learning music?+
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Where can I find Diapason the Wizard teachers or schools?+
The best way to understand the method is to experience a class.
Find a Diapason the Wizard teacher or school and discover a musical education designed to support babies and children from their very first encounters with music.