Talk about Collaboration
"When we sing or create music, we use all the parts of the brain: left, right, front, and back. All these parts collaborate. That is very unique! Music is complex; that is, it uses so many aspects of a person's being." Hanne Deneire, composer
We believe what we do, can and does make a difference in the music community. The cool word of the century seems to be collaboration. Well it can work. This newsletter gives some examples how it’s working and how you could collaborate if you so choose.
Aida is the name of a famous opera and an acronym for what we will be exploring in this newsletter.
Many of us experience the benefits of music every day of our lives. This letter is to encourage all of us to get involved in our local community, collaborate with positive actions and create the new generation of musicians who otherwise might never experience the joy of playing a piano, organ, or another musical instrument.
It’s quite exciting to write about this since we have been able to experience the benefits and results of what local collaboration and work can do.
Many of us experience the benefits of music every day of our lives. This letter is to encourage all of us to get involved in our local community, collaborate with positive actions and create the new generation of musicians who otherwise might never experience the joy of playing a piano, organ, or another musical instrument.
It’s quite exciting to write about this since we have been able to experience the benefits and results of what local collaboration and work can do.
This funnel describes the type of actions that are needed to create a collaborative action to keep the beauty of music healthy for the near and distant future.
Awareness
NAMM is an acronym for National Association of Music Merchants. Think they’re interested in the future of music in the schools? That would be a yes. They even have a national foundation established to help promote and try to increase awareness of the need for music education.
An important reminder to all of us about the benefits of music as part of our education. I have made these points concise, but you may read the full description at this NAMM Link.
An important reminder to all of us about the benefits of music as part of our education. I have made these points concise, but you may read the full description at this NAMM Link.
A. Educational Benefits
In schools in which principals and vice principals say the quality of their music education programs is excellent or very good, graduation rates are 90.9%, and attendance is at 93.8%. 87% of teachers and 79% of parents strongly believe music education has a positive impact on overall academic performance. 89% of teachers and 82% of parents rate music education highly as a source for greater student creativity, a 21st-century skill that’s highly likely to help young people stand out in an increasingly competitive global economy. Research reveals strong connections between rhythm skills and pre-reading abilities in toddlers and these improvements in auditory processing cascade to language and cognitive skills. … Cognitive and neural benefits of musical experience continue throughout the lifespan, from childhood through senior adulthood, and counteract some of the negative effects of aging, such as memory and hearing difficulties in older adults.
Peter Greene, Teacher, Blogger, Tailgate Trombonist
“Music is… magical...you take some seemingly random marks on a page, you blow air through a carefully constructed tube, and what comes out the other side is a sound that can convey things that words cannot...And while we can do a million random things with a million random objects, somehow, when we just blow some air through a tube, we create sounds that can move other human beings, can reach right into our brains and our hearts... That is… magical.”– PETER GREENE, THE HUFFINGTON POST
“Music is… magical...you take some seemingly random marks on a page, you blow air through a carefully constructed tube, and what comes out the other side is a sound that can convey things that words cannot...And while we can do a million random things with a million random objects, somehow, when we just blow some air through a tube, we create sounds that can move other human beings, can reach right into our brains and our hearts... That is… magical.”– PETER GREENE, THE HUFFINGTON POST
B. Mental Health
… Musical training is thought to improve nervous system function by focusing attention on meaningful acoustic cues, and these improvements in auditory processing cascade to language and cognitive skills. … Cognitive and neural benefits of musical experience continue throughout the lifespan, from childhood through senior adulthood, and counteract some of the negative effects of aging, such as memory and hearing difficulties in older adults.
C. Social Benefits
Children who study a musical instrument are more likely to excel in all their studies, work better in teams, have enhanced critical thinking skills, stay in school and pursue further education.
Perseverance is developed and strengthened through music education and supports better study habits and self-esteem. … music helps children learn that together they can make something larger than the sum of its parts.
… include learning cooperation, sharing, compromise, creativity, and concentration—skills that become invaluable as they enter school, face new challenges, and begin to form new friendships and develop social skills.
Perseverance is developed and strengthened through music education and supports better study habits and self-esteem. … music helps children learn that together they can make something larger than the sum of its parts.
… include learning cooperation, sharing, compromise, creativity, and concentration—skills that become invaluable as they enter school, face new challenges, and begin to form new friendships and develop social skills.
D. Cognitive Benefits
Everyday listening skills are stronger in musically-trained children than in those without music training…In order to fully reap the cognitive benefits of a music class, kids must be actively engaged in the music and participate in the class.
In a 2009 study in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers used an MRI to study the brains of 6-year-old children, before and after they took lessons on a musical instrument for 15 months. They found that the music students’ brains grew larger in the areas that control fine motor skills and hearing—and that students’ abilities in both those areas also improved. The corpus callosum, which connects the left and right sides of the brain, grew as well…Music education facilitates student academic achievement: Improves recall and retention of verbal information Advances math achievement . Boosts reading and English language arts (ELA) skills Increases average SAT scores
In a 2009 study in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers used an MRI to study the brains of 6-year-old children, before and after they took lessons on a musical instrument for 15 months. They found that the music students’ brains grew larger in the areas that control fine motor skills and hearing—and that students’ abilities in both those areas also improved. The corpus callosum, which connects the left and right sides of the brain, grew as well…Music education facilitates student academic achievement: Improves recall and retention of verbal information Advances math achievement . Boosts reading and English language arts (ELA) skills Increases average SAT scores
Interest
This is a quick example of two of our local organizations that collaborate with the school systems.
Neskowin (Oregon) Chamber Music
Outreach Program
Neskowin Chamber Music is eager to give people of all ages a chance to hear and learn about classical chamber music. Performing groups appearing in our chamber music series are encouraged to participate in our outreach efforts. As a result, public and private schools between Newport and Tillamook regularly benefit from presentations. NCM engages musical ensembles to spend from a day to a week providing free public concerts in a variety of venues, workshops in schools and group instruction for students.
Outreach Program
Neskowin Chamber Music is eager to give people of all ages a chance to hear and learn about classical chamber music. Performing groups appearing in our chamber music series are encouraged to participate in our outreach efforts. As a result, public and private schools between Newport and Tillamook regularly benefit from presentations. NCM engages musical ensembles to spend from a day to a week providing free public concerts in a variety of venues, workshops in schools and group instruction for students.
In addition, Studios to Schools, a partnership with Siletz Bay Music Festival and Lincoln City Cultural Center, received a Cultural Coalition Grant for $1,300. This money was used to support community music assistants for small group sessions on specific instruments for 6th grade beginning band students
Decision
Our Mission: Any child who has musical potential deserves the opportunity to nurture this talent to its full extent. Many children lack the chance to receive music lessons due to financial need. The MusicLink Foundation reaches out to low income families by linking these students with professional music teachers willing to reduce their fee to make the lessons more affordable for the child. We look forward to another great year of growth, reaching out to more students towards our goal of reaching 7500 students by 2020
MusicLink Foundation
MusicLink Foundation
Action
Part of the Snowman Foundation
Play It Forward has been honored to touch hundreds of lives this year, through the thoughtful donations of instruments and sponsorships and we would like to take a moment to celebrate the families, schools, churches and music outreach programs that are keeping music alive for our youth. We are so proud to support them through your generous donations of instruments and giving.
We are now working towards building a scholarship fund that will provide musical instruments and scholarships for music lessons tied together, offering students with desire and talent, but no financial means, to finally have the music lessons that have only lived in their dreams.
As we continue to give the gift of music to our community, we see students thrive and music programs grow and we invite you to partner with us. Your generous donations of instruments and scholarship funds will go to help countless students in ways that we can only imagine.
It has become increasingly difficult because of safety and financial issues to get practice time at churches for my younger organ students. Through Play it Forward, I have been able to procure home practice organs for three deserving hard-working organ students from my studio. What a gift to them and to the churches they will one day serve.
Music has the power to change the life of one child, that we all know. But the power to create goes far beyond the development of one individual student. It ripples out into the community spreading itself without limitation, for music is a respecter of no person. And that may be its greatest power, that its boundaries are indeed limitless.
We are now working towards building a scholarship fund that will provide musical instruments and scholarships for music lessons tied together, offering students with desire and talent, but no financial means, to finally have the music lessons that have only lived in their dreams.
As we continue to give the gift of music to our community, we see students thrive and music programs grow and we invite you to partner with us. Your generous donations of instruments and scholarship funds will go to help countless students in ways that we can only imagine.
It has become increasingly difficult because of safety and financial issues to get practice time at churches for my younger organ students. Through Play it Forward, I have been able to procure home practice organs for three deserving hard-working organ students from my studio. What a gift to them and to the churches they will one day serve.
Music has the power to change the life of one child, that we all know. But the power to create goes far beyond the development of one individual student. It ripples out into the community spreading itself without limitation, for music is a respecter of no person. And that may be its greatest power, that its boundaries are indeed limitless.
In our Bach and Sons program we talk about Sara Levy who was the patron keeping all of the JS Bach music from being destroyed. She also supported CPE Bach to enable him to teach. This is what patrons of the arts do, they collaborate with artists/musicians to ensure the arts of the past can be shared with audiences of the future.