Living in a Permanent Soundtrack

Tonight I received an interesting article from Merri Williams that I thought I’d share, entitled, ” ‘Mozart effect’ or not, music is beneficial” by Mike Saelee of the UCLA Daily Bruin.

Saelee writes about research being done at UCLA Semel Institute’s Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to study brain activity while people listen to or create music. The hope is that by applying the use of fMRI and music to study emotion processing in the brains of children with autism, a developmental disorder of the brain, researchers may learn more about the possible use of music as a tool to help autistic children with social engagement and communication, noted key areas of the disorder.

“The study will examine how the brain processes emotion in children with autism by measuring blood flow while listening to pleasant and unpleasant music,” said Istvan Molnar-Szakacs, a neuroscientist at the UCLA Semel Institute’s Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity.

The positive therapeutic effects of music are also being harnessed and used in hospitals and other types of health institutions, such as rehabilitation facilities and nursing homes. Vanya Green, a music therapist at UCLA, is quoted as saying, “Music enables an emotional level to be reached that may not be done in other modalities.” The type of music therapy used depends upon the assessment of the client’s specific needs derived by the music therapist.

The simple process of remembering and producing a familiar tune such as “Here comes the Bride” occurs because the centers of the brain that process music and sound evolved from processing sounds of danger and/or threat to human life. Due to the importance of understanding and comprehending sounds for survival, sounds have a direct route to the limbic system, which is a set of brain structures involved in emotion processing and to areas important for processing reward. This also explains why so many of us actively turn to music we enjoy, that gives us pleasure.

Molnar-Szakacs of UCLA is quoted as saying, “These pathways are now used for processing all sounds, from a lion’s roar to a Beethoven symphony, allowing us to listen to music and feel incredibly moved. There is music at the mall, music at the gym, music in the car, and music on our phone. We pretty much live with a permanent soundtrack.”

I don’t know about you, but I think my “permanent soundtrack” sometimes needs a good “shuffle” in it!

To read this article in its entirety, please visit the UCLA Daily Bruin here.

Thanks goes to Remy Moore, Media Projects Assistant at Simply Music.com, for providing this article to us. Thanks, Remy!

Demo Days - Last Chance!

Today and tomorrow (Tues 8/26 and Wed 8/27) are the last days of free preview classes with the Kindermusik Demo Days promotion for the fall semester. Please RSVP for class by enrolling online ( http://tinyurl.com/hmsdemodays ) or calling Ms. Tabby at 713-306-4023 at least 1 hour in advance. Students interested in Young Child (K-1st grade) or Family Time (all ages) classes should sign up for the evening classes today at 5:30 or 7:00. An all-curriculum preview will be held tomorrow at 10:00 am and again at 11:00 am, but these classes are nearly filled, so please RSVP as soon as possible if you were considering attending.

Fall Registration for Kindermusik is still open, and I will continue to take enrollments for classes that make enrollment throughout the semester. However, if a class does not have at least 3 students enrolled by August 31, it will be cancelled, so PLEASE - if you are thinking about enrolling, now is the time to do so!

Swan Lake with a twist... and a few flips.

Should I choose Kindermusik or Private Lessons?

Should I choose Kindermusik or Private Lessons?

Q: My kindergartener or 1st grader shows interest in learning music. Should I enroll her in private lessons? Or Kindermusik?
As her parents, only you can make that decision, but here is some information that may help you to make the right choice for your child.

Q: What is Kindermusik for the Young Child?
Kindermusik for the Young Child is the culmination of early childhood musical development; in addition to movement, instrumental play, singing, and creating, YC students begin to learn musical notation (note and rhythmic), and begin learning to play a melody instrument, the glockenspiel. We also learn pre-keyboarding skills to transfer the knowledge of the glockenspiel to the piano. YC was designed for Kindergarten and First Grade students. Please be aware that Young Child is a sequential, two year curriculum - new students may join in second (Spring) semester as class space allows, with the understanding that the family and child will work with the teacher to catch up on concepts and learning covered in the first (Fall) semester.
Children in YC class are beginning to read, enjoy puzzles and games, and like to socialize with other children in their age range. They follow directions reliably, and can answer abstract questions, such as “how do you think a composer can make music sound like birds?” He or she enjoys singing, is eager to learn, and can work independently for short periods towards a set goal. These children are ready to begin understanding concepts of practice, proper handling of an instrument, and playing a tune as opposed to exploring ways of creating sound on an instrument. These fundamental ideas are the foundation for Young Child, and through them, we learn about music in a way that makes the learning more natural and easy than private lessons are for children just entering gradeschool.

Q: When Should My Child Begin Private Instrumental Instruction?
As a general rule, most children are not ready to begin formal instrumental training before the age of 6 or 7 for piano or string instruments, and most instructors will not accept students younger than 8 or 9 for other orchestral or band instruments. Before that, they tend to lack the size, stamina, and outcome-oriented commitment to make lessons an enjoyable and successful experience. Children are individuals, with a wide range of aptitude, but all children possess the ability to enjoy lifelong music making, and this ability can be greatly influenced by how we choose to approach their earliest experiences. From experience, most teachers will tell you that the majority of students do not begin to progress rapidly in piano lessons, for example, until they are at least 7 years old.

Kindermusik contains all if the needed elements to develop a child who is musically aware and who has the solid foundation to make lessons a natural and joyous next step. Children who grow up in Kindermusik have had chances to succeed, be nurtured and encouraged in their early creative explorations, and develop a core of music theory instilled through voice, body, and mind. Music for them is a natural part of their environment, and they have gained the language of note, rhythm, and expression to help them as they select which instrument they most wish to make their own. Many experts agree that early musical enrichment lays a foundation for musicianship which may accelerate later progress on an instrument.
Children who graduate from Kindermusik for the Young Child have a strong basis in theory, musicianship, and instrumental technique. More importantly, they have been allowed to develop the whole child through music, in a supportive and reassuring atmosphere, which lays the groundwork for a lifetime of positive outlook not only towards music learning, but towards learning in general.

Getting ready for preschool is child's play with Kindermusik

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2008
Contact: Tabby Worthington
713-306-4023
kindermusik@harmonymusicstudio.com

Getting ready for preschool is child’s play
Fall Kindermusik classes begin September 1st

Friendswood – In a Kindermusik class, miming and singing “Wheels on the Bus” may seem like child’s play, but it’s actually helping a child develop better coordination and language skills.
Fall registration begins August 18th for Kindermusik with Ms. Tabby at Harmony Music Studio, where parents and their children—ages newborn to 7 years old—sing, dance and make music together to develop better learning skills for the child. Parents also learn more about the developmental process and benefits by activities in class.
Studies continue to show that music has a positive impact on a child’s ability to learn. Not only in terms of preschool readiness, but making and responding to music can help a child use scissors, kick a ball, as well as have a positive impact on a child’s sense of self-esteem and self-expression.
“For a child, being ready for preschool is about feeling comfortable with yourself,” says Tabby Worthington, who operates the Kindermusik program at Harmony Music Studio in Friendswood. “Then they have the confidence to leave mom and dad at home and get involved with what’s going on in preschool.”
Kindermusik classes are designed by music and early childhood educators. Activities are based on new and proven research that music making music can stimulate every area in the child’s development:

• Stimulate a love of diverse styles of music—varied musical exposure leads to language proficiency and spatial-temporal reasoning, which is the foundation for engineering and science.
• Foster creativity using music, dance, drama—children use creative thinking skills in pretend play, enhancing their ability to think in different ways.
• Teaches parents about child development—parents are the child’s first teacher. Kindermusik classes help parents understand the child development process by explaining developmental benefits of each class activity and offering activities they can do together at home.

For more information on getting children ready for preschool, or to learn more about Kindermusik classes starting in the fall, call Tabby Worthington, at 713-306-4023 or send her an email at kindermusik@harmonymusicstudio.com. Ms. Tabby is offering 13 classes, pending enrollment, at Harmony Music Studio on FM 528 at Townes Rd in Friendswood for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and children through age 7. Enroll online at http://harmonymusicstudio.kindermusik.net

For more than 25 years, Kindermusik International has touched the lives of over a million children and their families, introducing them to the joy of learning through music. With a revolutionary combination of music and early childhood development research, more than 4,500 Kindermusik educators teach children ages newborn to 7 in over 35 countries around the world.

Studio Closed due to Expected Inclement Weather from Edouard

Due to expected inclement weather as Tropical Storm Edouard becomes
Hurricane Edouard and makes landfall in the greater Houston area,
Harmony Music Studio will be closed on Tuesday, August 5th. There
will be no private lessons or Demo Days classes held. We will reopen
on Wednesday, August 6th as usual. Please call if you have any
questions.
Kindermusik - 713-306-4023 Lessons - 281-992-9800

Sincerely,
The Faculty of Harmony Music Studio

Why is it important to bring music into your children's lives?

Research Encourages Focus on Music and the Arts to Enhance Early Childhood Development

Music Research

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, states, "Studying music encourages self discipline and diligence traits that carry over into mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history and geography." Research supports that music helps prepare the mind for specific disciplines of learning; skills learned through music carry over into study skills, communications skills, cognitive skills and abstract reasoning skills useful to all parts of life, according to a 1997 article in Neurological Research.

Young Children

Don Campbell, author of The Mozart Effect, traced neurological development during childhood and found prior to a major spurt of neural integration in the brain during the elementary school years, learning occurs through movement and quick emotional associations. For example, by age two, the brain has begun to fuse with the body via marching, dancing, and developing a sense of physical rhythm. The more music children are exposed to before they enter school, the more deeply this stage of neural coding will assist them throughout their lives.

Parental Involvement

Findings from a study conducted by three researchers at Sam Houston State University in Texas reports that early music training can improve intelligence, and the amount of parental involvement in the music training can greatly affect the amount of improvement. Strong correlations were found between musical abilities in young children, particularly the ability to match vocal pitches and reproduce rhythmic patterns and abstract reasoning abilities.

The study also showed that parental time spent with a child is a more important factor in predicting intelligence test success than such factors as single-parent households, poverty, low parental education levels and ethnic minority status.

School-aged Children

Arts education makes a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the "learning field" across socio-economic boundaries, states the involvement in the Arts and Success in Secondary School, James S. Catterall, The UCLA Imagination Project, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, UCLA, Americans for the Arts Monograph, January 1998.

Arts education has a measurable impact on youth at risk in deterring delinquent behavior and truancy problems while also increasing overall academic performance among those youth engaged in after school and summer arts programs targeted toward delinquency prevention, according to the YouthARTS Development Project, 1996, U.S. Department of Justice, National Endowment for the Arts, and Americans for the Arts.

Community-based Arts

Findings from the Living the Arts Through Language + Learning: A Report on community-Based Youth Organizations, Shirley Brice Heath, Stanford University and Carnegie FoundationFor the Advancement of Teaching, Americans for the Arts Monograph, November 1998 reports that:

Young people who participate in the arts for at least three hours a day, three days
a week for at least one year are:

• 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement.
• 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools.
• 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair.
• 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance.
• 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem.

Young artists, as compared with their peers, are likely to:

• Read for pleasure nearly twice as often.
• Perform community service more than four times as often.
• Participate in youth groups nearly four times as frequently.
• Attend music, art and dance classes nearly three times as frequently.

Consider bringing music into your child's life by taking lessons or classes with us at Harmony Music Studio - where the gift of music lasts a lifetime! 281-992-9800
Originally posted on Kindermusik.com