About Speak Music
About Speak Music
Speak Music is a children’s music education program built around one simple idea:
Children should learn to understand music before they simply learn to play notes.
At Speak Music, students learn music the way they learn language — by hearing it, singing it, moving to it, playing it, reading it, writing it, and creating with it. Through solfege, rhythm language, handbells, movement games, listening, composition, group class, and instrumental study, students begin to understand how music works from the inside out.
Our goal is not just to create students who can perform a song, but students who can think musically, listen deeply, read confidently, create joyfully, and participate in music with understanding.
Our Approach
Speak Music classes are active, joyful, and deeply educational. Students sing, move, play, compose, listen, and work together in groups.
Younger students begin with playful musical foundations: singing, movement, rhythm, solfege, handbells, listening, and beginning composition.
As students grow, they move into deeper musicianship through the Speak Music Core Program and Rainbow Book Program, where they continue developing music theory, ear training, ensemble skills, composition, music history, performance confidence, and private instrumental study.
Speak Music is designed to help children become fluent in the language of music — not just one instrument, one song, or one style.
Director of Speak Music
Meet Danika Hawkins
Speak Music was founded by Danika Hawkins, a classical violinist, teacher, and homeschool mother with a passion for helping children truly understand music.
Danika holds a degree in classical violin from Belmont University, a degree in Counseling from Covenant Seminary and has studied with Burton Kaplan of the Manhattan School of Music. Through years of teaching children, she became passionate about creating a program where students learn music as a complete language — not just through private lessons alone, but through singing, movement, rhythm, theory, listening, composing, ensemble work, and instrumental study.
As both a teacher and a mother, Danika cares deeply about creating classes that are joyful, structured, imaginative, and musically rich. Speak Music grew out of the belief that children are capable of understanding far more than we often expect when musical ideas are taught in a clear, playful, and meaningful way.
