About
Ladybug Music Program
Award-winning music & classes. Professional teachers/musicians. Educational fun!
These three phrases perfectly describe Ladybug Music MN, a one-of-a-kind educational music program for young children (infant – 4 years) and adults in Minnesota. Whether you’re a parent, grandparent, nanny, or another caregiver, you (and your child) are bound to love the warm, interactive, energetic experience our professional musicians bring to the table.
Our high-quality original music is recommended by the American Library Association and we have no doubts you and your child will enjoy grooving to our sophisticated yet fun tunes that simply can’t be found at other adult-child music classes.
With Ladybug Music’s award-winning curriculum we are confident that your child will grow to love music and blossom into a confident, social, and creative girl or boy.
To truly understand what makes Ladybug Music such a standout, sign up for our classes today.
Ladybug Music Artist & Creator
Patricia Margarita Maertens
Ladybug Music founder Patricia M. Maertens has a simple mission: marrying great music with great education. An early-childhood music educator since 2004, Maertens started her Los Angeles-based business following a two-decade professional career as a singer, songwriter and producer whose original material has been featured in films and on TV. Her own education includes study at the prestigious Dick Grove School of Music and Musicians Institute.
As Ladybug’s creative force, Maertens seeks to synthesize the wide spectrum of styles and sounds she’s been exposed to throughout her life. Born in Hollywood, she grew up in the culturally mixed neighborhoods of South L.A. and Portuguese Bend; she also accompanied her El Salvadoran mother and German father on their extensive world travels. Today her taste roams freely over the boundaries of genre and origin, from Billie Holiday to the Clash, Tinariwen to Rickie Lee Jones.
The Ladybug songbook—which spans six full-length CDs—reflects that variety. In addition to writing her own original songs inspired by nature and fantasy, Maertens spends much of her time researching and sourcing songs from all over the globe, be it a West Indian field recording or an Irish street chant. She composes on guitar and piano, taking special care to incorporate odd time signatures and unusual scales, then enlists her favorite musicians to play in the studio. The result is a curriculum with music that honors the intelligence of young children without alienating their parents.
“My goal with Ladybug is teaching kids foundational musical skills: the ability to keep a beat and match a pitch,” Maertens says. “But my dream is to inspire families to experience the great joy of exploring and discovering new music with their children.”
Ladybug Music MN Director and Teacher
Melissa Gulden
Ladybug Music MN director is Melissa Gulden. She started Ladybug Music MN in 2015 while she was a public school teacher and a mom of an infant. After taking her daughter to a few parent + child classes, she was hoping to find a music classes that included a bit more upbeat and culturally diverse music. She stubbled upon Ladybug Music online and was sad this program was only in Los Angeles, California. Having a BA in vocal performance/theatre and a Master’s degree in Education, she realized she had the knowledge and experience to bring this excellent early childhood music to the families of MN. Patricia M. Maertens and Melissa worked together and Ladybug Music MN was offering our first classes in 2016. In 2016, Melissa left the public school classroom to focus on Ladybug Music MN full-time and to spend more time with her two children: Keira and Greyson. This is our 5th year in business and we are thrilled to have Julie and Kellie as our Ladybug Music MN teachers too! Learn more about them in the Teacher Bio section.