The Essence of Music June 2, 2008

What is the ESSENCE of music? What makes it so important? What defines music as an important part of our culture and history? Music Education Online, the number One Online Music Education Resource for Teachers, Students, Parents and Administrators, says that music participation provides a unique opportunity for literacy preparation. Whether the child is singing, playing, or listening, teachers direct them to listen and hear in new ways which exercises their aural discrimination. Playing instruments and adding movement to the lessons teaches children about sequential learning which is essential in reading comprehension. So what makes us as a culture and community always lean towards the use of music anyways? I believe it is the very love of the subject itself. Ever since the beginning of time humans have been creating, and listening to music of different forms and types. Plato once said that music “is a more potent instrument than any other for education”. You will find many teachers of young children who would agree with him. Recent research has found that music uses both sides of the brain, a fact that makes it valuable in all areas of development. Music affects the growth of a child’s brain academically, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Yet still there are schools and learning establishments everywhere shutting down, and closing off music education programs. Music Education Online also says that;

Music is academic. For some people, this is the primary reason for providing music lessons to their children. A recent study from the University of California found that music trains the brain for higher forms of thinking. Second graders who were given music lessons scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than children who received no special instruction. Research indicates that musical training permanently wires a young mind for enhanced performance.

Music is physical. Music can be described as a sport. Learning to sing and keep rhythm develops coordination. The air and wind power necessary to blow a flute, trumpet or saxophone promotes a healthy body.

Music is emotional. Music is an art form. We are emotional beings and every child requires an artistic outlet. Music may be your child’s vehicle of expression.

Music is for life. Most people can’t play soccer, or football at 70 or 80 years of age but they can sing. And they can play piano or some other instrument. Music is a gift you can give your child that will last their entire lives.

So what is the essence of music? What makes music so important? It is the people who create it, the people who listen to it, and the people who love and create through it. It is an expression of individuality and creativity. So the question is not so much what is the essence of MUSIC, but what is the essence of the People? The creators, lovers, and discoverers of something so influential as MUSIC.

citation 1: http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/youngmind.html

photo 1: http://anthro.palomar.edu/social/images/old_people.jpg

photo 2: http://www.ups.edu/Images/Academics/Music/CommunityMusic6Full.jpg

The Power of a Picture May 29, 2008

The American culture is very visual. Everything has to look good before we even consider dealing with it. All our food has to be perfect and pristine, while we judge our peers based on the same standards. What do you see in the picture above? I see many things, the blending of age, the mingling of races, and the shared joy between the two of them. Music education is so important today, not just to become educated in the arts, but because it has so much to offer in so many other ways. Less than one-hundred years ago our country was segregated by race, gender, and social standing. Through music, the citizens of America have been able to overcome such obstacles.

In the photo there is a white teacher and a Korean, or Asian young girl. The two people are able to overcome their minor differences and work together to accomplish something truly magnificent. Both the student and the teacher are smiling, so they are obviously having fun together. And why shouldn’t they? The two are bonding together as human beings, on a subject that is known throughout the world.

The photo seems to be faded around the edges of the picture for extra effect. The faded effect makes me think of a home picture album, or a well worn photo. Whether with a purpose in mind, or just the idea of visual effect, the fading makes the photo seem unrealistic as well as portraying the photo as calm and celestial.

The photo contains a young girl, and a grown woman. This shows that through music, the “age barrier” is broken down and age no longer holds back communication between two people. Age is more like the essence of knowledge, knowledge that is meant to be passed down to the less learned.

So what is the main purpose of all these components? Mainly just to show how, in picture form, music education is so important. I could just tell you, give you the facts, but there’s proof that a lot of people learn better through the use of imagery. ( As Denis M. says, a writer for the Canadian journal of applied sport sciences, music helps with;

1. Vividness. Better imagers learn better thus, it most probably will be necessary to instruct individuals how to perform imagery effectively. Mastery of an overt skill increases the vividness of imagery. That is why superior athletes can imagine their skills better than lesser individuals.
2. Controllability. This is the capacity to generate persistent images. Without persistent images precise repetitions will not be possible and thus, learning would be retarded. Some forms of skill practice, for example those involved in karate and shooting, require high levels of concentration which facilitates both image control and vividness.
3. Exactness of reference. The event has to be accurately represented for the effects of the mental activity to transfer beneficially to the real-life situation. Research has shown that practicing the wrong images (errors) produces a tendency to perform those errors.)

Music education, as I have said many times before, is the middle ground. Music education is the way to bring people of all different colors, sizes, genders, races together as one people. This statement is proved once again as General H. Norman talks about his experiences with music education; “During the Gulf War, the few opportunities I had for relaxation I always listened to music, and it brought me great peace of mind. I have shared my love of music with people throughout this world, while listening to the drums and special instruments of the Far East, Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Far North, and all of this started with the music appreciation course that I was taught in a third-grade elementary class in Princeton, New Jersey. What a tragedy it would be if we lived in a world where music was not taught to children.” No matter what it takes, I am willing to use every source available to convey to the readers the true importance of music education.

photo 1: http://www.amef.ca/assets/SiteEngineManager/teacher.gif

citation 1: http://coachsci.sdsu.edu/csa/vol26/denis2.htm

citation 2: http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/toptenquotes.html

How Can Music Help? May 28, 2008

Music is an outlet for stress and an inlet for creativity. It induces happiness, and takes away the sadness. Music is a way of communication, and a way to learn. It is the history of our past, our endevours of the present, and our dreams for the future. The cultures of the world are divided in many ways, but music is not one of them. Everyone “gets” music. Everyone can relate to it, and understand it. Music is a way of entertainment, and Education in all cultures, and through all people.

So how can music help? Not only does music help with memorization and creativity, but it is said that music improves spatial-temporal reasoning, ( a neurological process needed to understand mathematics.) Music can also improve literacy and writing skills. Recently Dee Dickinson wrote a report on the affects of music on students from seventeen different countries. (fascinating article about the importance of music education.) It gives results on how children in places like Japan, (A country where music is in the curriculum throughout the duration of school.) are learning to their highest capability, and are doing well in everything else they attempt. The article also provides the top fifteen reasons, in Mrs. Dickinson’s opinion, for why music is so important. They are as follows.

1. They are languages that all people speak –that cut across racial, cultural, social, educational, and economic barriers and enhance cultural appreciation and awareness.
2. They are symbol systems as important as letters and numbers.
3. They integrate mind, body, and spirit.
4. They provide opportunities for self-expression, bringing the inner world into the outer world of concrete reality.
5. They offer the avenue to “flow states” and peak experiences.
6. They create a seamless connection between motivation, instruction, assessment, and practical application– leading to “deep understanding.”
7. They make it possible to experience processes from beginning to end.
8. They develop both independence and collaboration.
9. They provide immediate feedback and opportunities for reflection.
10. They make it possible to use personal strengths in meaningful ways and to bridge into understanding sometimes difficult abstractions through these strengths.
11. They merge the learning of process and content.
12. They improve academic achievement– enhancing test scores, attitudes, social skills, critical and creative thinking.
13. They exercise and develop higher order thinking skills including analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and “problem-finding.”
14. They are essential components of any alternative assessment program.
15. They provide the means for every student to learn.

Music can give success in Society, success in School, Success in developing intelligence, and success in life in general. Music is very influential, it shows who we are and what we are really like. It infulences what we do and the people we choose to hang out with. It brings people together, who in any other case may never have spoken. That’s the main picture, bringing everyone together in a way where age, gender, or race makes little difference. It’s a way to make the world a little less hateful and a little more thoughtful, music is bringing us together, one song at a time.

citation 1: http://childparenting.about.com/cs/k6education/a/mozarteffect.htm

citation 2: http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/benefits.htm

photo 1: http://www.dietzemusic.com/images/Express_Sm.jpg

photo2: http://depts.washington.edu/apsmer05/apsmerwater.jpg