I found through Wendy Steven's website, a magazine that is devoted exclusively to the concerns of the piano/keyboard performer and teacher - Clavier Companion. The site actually allows you to read previous copies. It is published bi-monthly and I just subscribed to it. I'm looking forward to receiving my first copy!
You can view the copies and read the articles here:
2012 online issues
2011 online issues
I have yet to go through all the magazines. There are so many interesting topics in EACH copy that I'm having a hard time deciding which one to read first. For example, in the March/April 2011 copy, there's a section dedicated to Perspectives in Pedagogy where the Bastien Piano Series is evaluated by two teachers who have used this method extensively. It is then followed by the author's response. This is interesting because I do like the Bastien series very much myself. That and Piano Adventures. Now, I just need to find the time (in between work, chores, and taking care of my 3 month old) to sit down and read a complete article!
Let me know if you had an opportunity to read an article from Clavier Companion that you particularly like. I would love to hear what you think.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Difference between an Sonata-Allegro Form and a Concerto
This was an interesting question I found on the internet today so I thought I'd take some time to try to answer it without making it too complicated:
The Concerto Form is usually for a solo instrument, accompanied by an orchestra. The work is in 3 movements:
The Sonata or Sonata-Allegro Form is usually the form used in the first movement of a work. It could sometimes be used in later movements as well, but essentially, it is a form of a movement versus the form of a work like the Concerto above.
The skeleton of the form is made up of:
Examples of each section:
Exposition:
First Subject - Transition - Second Subject - Codetta
Development:
There could be multiple key changes in the Development section. Like a "middle-child syndrome," this section usually is less stable and has more "quirks" than the other two sections.
Recapitulation:
A variation of the Exposition, this section and consists of the First Subject - Transition - Second Subject.
Coda:
Known as the "tail," this section and brings the movement to an end. It could be short and sweet or very long and elaborate.
The Concerto Form is usually for a solo instrument, accompanied by an orchestra. The work is in 3 movements:
- First movement - Sonata or Sonata-Allegro Form
- Second movement - Ternary Form
- Third movement - Rondo Form or Sonata Form
The Sonata or Sonata-Allegro Form is usually the form used in the first movement of a work. It could sometimes be used in later movements as well, but essentially, it is a form of a movement versus the form of a work like the Concerto above.
The skeleton of the form is made up of:
- Exposition
- Development
- Recapitulation
Examples of each section:
Exposition:
First Subject - Transition - Second Subject - Codetta
Development:
There could be multiple key changes in the Development section. Like a "middle-child syndrome," this section usually is less stable and has more "quirks" than the other two sections.
Recapitulation:
A variation of the Exposition, this section and consists of the First Subject - Transition - Second Subject.
Coda:
Known as the "tail," this section and brings the movement to an end. It could be short and sweet or very long and elaborate.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Benefits of Music Education: Benefit #4 - Success in Life
Benefit four: Success in Life
Each of us wants our children &emdash; and the children of all those around us to achieve success in school, success in employment, and success in the social structures through which we move. But we also want our children to experience "success" on a broader scale. Participation in music, often as not based on a grounding in music education during the formative school years, brings countless benefits to each individual throughout life. The benefits may be psychological or spiritual, and they may be physical as well:
* "Studying music encourages self-discipline and diligence, traits that carry over into intellectual pursuits and that lead to effective study and work habits. An association of music and math has, in fact, long been noted. Creating and performing music promotes self-expression and provides self-gratification while giving pleasure to others. In medicine, increasing published reports demonstrate that music has a healing effect on patients. For all these reasons, it deserves strong support in our educational system, along with the other arts, the sciences, and athletics." Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Leading Heart Surgeon, Baylor College of Music.
* "Music has a great power for bringing people together. With so many forces in this world acting to drive wedges between people, it's important to preserve those things that help us experience our common humanity." Ted Turner, Turner Broadcasting System.
* "Music is one way for young people to connect with themselves, but it is also a bridge for connecting with others. Through music, we can introduce children to the richness and diversity of the human family and to the myriad rhythms of life." Daniel A. Carp, Eastman Kodak Company Chairman and CEO.
* "Casals says music fills him with the wonder of life and the 'incredible marvel' of being a human. Ives says it expands his mind and challenges him to be a true individual. Bernstein says it is enriching and ennobling. To me, that sounds like a good cause for making music and the arts an integral part of every child's education. Studying music and the arts elevates children's education, expands students' horizons, and teaches them to appreciate the wonder of life." U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, July 1999.
* "The nation's top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st century." "The Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of Education." Business Week, October 1996.
* "Music making makes the elderly healthier.... There were significant decreases in anxiety, depression, and loneliness following keyboard lessons. These are factors that are critical in coping with stress, stimulating the immune system, and in improved health. Results also show significant increases in human growth hormones following the same group keyboard lessons. (Human growth hormone is implicated in aches and pains.)" Dr. Frederick Tims, reported in AMC Music News, June 2, 1999
* "Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music." &emdash; Gerald Ford, former President, United States of America
* "During the Gulf War, the few opportunities I had for relaxation I always listened to music, and it brought to 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." H. Norman Schwarzkopf, General, U.S. Army, retired
* "Music is about communication, creativity, and cooperation, and, by studying music in school, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives, and experience the world from a new perspective." - Bill Clinton, former President, United States of America
Facts compiled by MENC Staff, Spring 2002. When using factual quotes from this brochure, please be sure to cite individual research source which follows each quote/fact. Other text copy in the brochure was authored by MENC Staff. When citing from these sections, please reference as: "Source: MENC&emdash;The National Association for Music Education "Benefits of Music Education" Brochure, Spring 2002".
Each of us wants our children &emdash; and the children of all those around us to achieve success in school, success in employment, and success in the social structures through which we move. But we also want our children to experience "success" on a broader scale. Participation in music, often as not based on a grounding in music education during the formative school years, brings countless benefits to each individual throughout life. The benefits may be psychological or spiritual, and they may be physical as well:
* "Studying music encourages self-discipline and diligence, traits that carry over into intellectual pursuits and that lead to effective study and work habits. An association of music and math has, in fact, long been noted. Creating and performing music promotes self-expression and provides self-gratification while giving pleasure to others. In medicine, increasing published reports demonstrate that music has a healing effect on patients. For all these reasons, it deserves strong support in our educational system, along with the other arts, the sciences, and athletics." Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Leading Heart Surgeon, Baylor College of Music.
* "Music has a great power for bringing people together. With so many forces in this world acting to drive wedges between people, it's important to preserve those things that help us experience our common humanity." Ted Turner, Turner Broadcasting System.
* "Music is one way for young people to connect with themselves, but it is also a bridge for connecting with others. Through music, we can introduce children to the richness and diversity of the human family and to the myriad rhythms of life." Daniel A. Carp, Eastman Kodak Company Chairman and CEO.
* "Casals says music fills him with the wonder of life and the 'incredible marvel' of being a human. Ives says it expands his mind and challenges him to be a true individual. Bernstein says it is enriching and ennobling. To me, that sounds like a good cause for making music and the arts an integral part of every child's education. Studying music and the arts elevates children's education, expands students' horizons, and teaches them to appreciate the wonder of life." U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, July 1999.
* "The nation's top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st century." "The Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of Education." Business Week, October 1996.
* "Music making makes the elderly healthier.... There were significant decreases in anxiety, depression, and loneliness following keyboard lessons. These are factors that are critical in coping with stress, stimulating the immune system, and in improved health. Results also show significant increases in human growth hormones following the same group keyboard lessons. (Human growth hormone is implicated in aches and pains.)" Dr. Frederick Tims, reported in AMC Music News, June 2, 1999
* "Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music." &emdash; Gerald Ford, former President, United States of America
* "During the Gulf War, the few opportunities I had for relaxation I always listened to music, and it brought to 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." H. Norman Schwarzkopf, General, U.S. Army, retired
* "Music is about communication, creativity, and cooperation, and, by studying music in school, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives, and experience the world from a new perspective." - Bill Clinton, former President, United States of America
Facts compiled by MENC Staff, Spring 2002. When using factual quotes from this brochure, please be sure to cite individual research source which follows each quote/fact. Other text copy in the brochure was authored by MENC Staff. When citing from these sections, please reference as: "Source: MENC&emdash;The National Association for Music Education "Benefits of Music Education" Brochure, Spring 2002".
Benefits of Music Education: Benefit #3 - Success in Developing Intelligence
Benefit three: Success in Developing Intelligence
Success in school and in society depends on an array of abilities. Without joining the intense ongoing debate about the nature of intelligence as a basic ability, we can demonstrate that some measures of a child's intelligence are indeed increased with music instruction. Once again, this burgeoning range of data supports a long-established base of anecdotal knowledge to the effect that music education makes kids smarter. What is new and especially compelling, however, is a combination of tightly-controlled behavioral studies and groundbreaking neurological research that show how music study can actively contribute to brain development:
* In a study conducted by Dr. Timo Krings, pianists and non-musicians of the same age and sex were required to perform complex sequences of finger movements. Their brains were scanned using a technique called "functional magnetic resource imaging" (fMRI) which detects the activity levels of brain cells. The non-musicians were able to make the movements as correctly as the pianists, but less activity was detected in the pianists' brains. Thus, compared to non-musicians, the brains of pianists are more efficient at making skilled movements. These findings show that musical training can enhance brain function. Weinberger, Norm. "The Impact of Arts on Learning." MuSICa Research Notes 7, no. 2 (Spring 2000). Reporting on Krings, Timo et al. "Cortical Activation Patterns during Complex Motor Tasks in Piano Players and Control Subjects. A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study." Neuroscience Letters 278, no. 3 (2000): 189-93.
* "The musician is constantly adjusting decisions on tempo, tone, style, rhythm, phrasing, and feeling--training the brain to become incredibly good at organizing and conducting numerous activities at once. Dedicated practice of this orchestration can have a great payoff for lifelong attentional skills, intelligence, and an ability for self-knowledge and expression." Ratey John J., MD. A User's Guide to the Brain. New York: Pantheon Books, 2001.
* A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science. Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb, "Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning," Neurological Research, Vol. 19, February 1997
* Students in two Rhode Island elementary schools who were given an enriched, sequential, skill-building music program showed marked improvement in reading and math skills. Students in the enriched program who had started out behind the control group caught up to statistical equality in reading, and pulled ahead in math. Gardiner, Fox, Jeffrey and Knowles, as reported in Nature, May 23, 1996
* Researchers at the University of Montreal used various brain imaging techniques to investigate brain activity during musical tasks and found that sight-reading musical scores and playing music both activate regions in all four of the cortex's lobes; and that parts of the cerebellum are also activated during those tasks. Sergent, J., Zuck, E., Tenial, S., and MacDonall, B. (1992). Distributed neural network underlying musical sight reading and keyboard performance. Science, 257, 106-109.
* Researchers in Leipzig found that brain scans of musicians showed larger planum temporale (a brain region related to some reading skills) than those of non-musicians. They also found that the musicians had a thicker corpus callosum (the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two halves of the brain) than those of non-musicians, especially for those who had begun their training before the age of seven. Schlaug, G., Jancke, L., Huang, Y., and Steinmetz, H. (1994). In vivo morphometry of interhem ispheric assymetry and connectivity in musicians. In I. Deliege (Ed.), Proceedings of the 3d international conference for music perception and cognition (pp. 417-418). Liege, Belgium.
* A University of California (Irvine) study showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ. Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Ky and Wright, "Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship," University of California, Irvine, 1994
* Researchers found that children given piano lessons significantly improved in their spatial- temporal IQ scores (important for some types of mathematical reasoning) compared to children who received computer lessons, casual singing, or no lessons. Rauscher, F.H., Shaw, G.L., Levine, L.J., Wright, E.L., Dennis, W.R., and Newcomb, R. (1997) Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial temporal reasoning. Neurological Research, 19, 1-8.
* A McGill University study found that pattern recognition and mental representation scores improved significantly for students given piano instruction over a three-year period. They also found that self-esteem and musical skills measures improved for the students given piano instruction. Costa-Giomi, E. (1998, April). The McGill Piano Project: Effects of three years of piano instruction on children's cognitive abilities, academic achievement, and self-esteem. Paper presented at the meeting of the Music Educators National Conference, Phoenix, AZ.
* Researchers found that lessons on songbells (a standard classroom instrument) led to significant improvement of spatial-temporal scores for three- and four-year-olds. Gromko, J.E., and Poorman, A.S. (1998) The effect of music training on preschooler's spatial-temporal task performance. Journal of Research in Music Education, 46, 173-181.
* In the Kindergarten classes of the school district of Kettle Moraine, Wisconsin, children who were given music instruction scored 48 percent higher on spatial-temporal skill tests than those who did not receive music training. Rauscher, F.H., and Zupan, M.A. (1999). Classroom keyboard instruction improves kindergarten children's spatial-temporal performance: A field study. Manuscript in press, Early Childhood Research Quarterly.
* An Auburn University study found significant increases in overall self-concept of at-risk children participating in an arts program that included music, movement, dramatics and art, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. N.H. Barry, Project ARISE: Meeting the needs of disadvantaged students through the arts, Auburn University, 1992
Success in school and in society depends on an array of abilities. Without joining the intense ongoing debate about the nature of intelligence as a basic ability, we can demonstrate that some measures of a child's intelligence are indeed increased with music instruction. Once again, this burgeoning range of data supports a long-established base of anecdotal knowledge to the effect that music education makes kids smarter. What is new and especially compelling, however, is a combination of tightly-controlled behavioral studies and groundbreaking neurological research that show how music study can actively contribute to brain development:
* In a study conducted by Dr. Timo Krings, pianists and non-musicians of the same age and sex were required to perform complex sequences of finger movements. Their brains were scanned using a technique called "functional magnetic resource imaging" (fMRI) which detects the activity levels of brain cells. The non-musicians were able to make the movements as correctly as the pianists, but less activity was detected in the pianists' brains. Thus, compared to non-musicians, the brains of pianists are more efficient at making skilled movements. These findings show that musical training can enhance brain function. Weinberger, Norm. "The Impact of Arts on Learning." MuSICa Research Notes 7, no. 2 (Spring 2000). Reporting on Krings, Timo et al. "Cortical Activation Patterns during Complex Motor Tasks in Piano Players and Control Subjects. A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study." Neuroscience Letters 278, no. 3 (2000): 189-93.
* "The musician is constantly adjusting decisions on tempo, tone, style, rhythm, phrasing, and feeling--training the brain to become incredibly good at organizing and conducting numerous activities at once. Dedicated practice of this orchestration can have a great payoff for lifelong attentional skills, intelligence, and an ability for self-knowledge and expression." Ratey John J., MD. A User's Guide to the Brain. New York: Pantheon Books, 2001.
* A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science. Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb, "Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning," Neurological Research, Vol. 19, February 1997
* Students in two Rhode Island elementary schools who were given an enriched, sequential, skill-building music program showed marked improvement in reading and math skills. Students in the enriched program who had started out behind the control group caught up to statistical equality in reading, and pulled ahead in math. Gardiner, Fox, Jeffrey and Knowles, as reported in Nature, May 23, 1996
* Researchers at the University of Montreal used various brain imaging techniques to investigate brain activity during musical tasks and found that sight-reading musical scores and playing music both activate regions in all four of the cortex's lobes; and that parts of the cerebellum are also activated during those tasks. Sergent, J., Zuck, E., Tenial, S., and MacDonall, B. (1992). Distributed neural network underlying musical sight reading and keyboard performance. Science, 257, 106-109.
* Researchers in Leipzig found that brain scans of musicians showed larger planum temporale (a brain region related to some reading skills) than those of non-musicians. They also found that the musicians had a thicker corpus callosum (the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two halves of the brain) than those of non-musicians, especially for those who had begun their training before the age of seven. Schlaug, G., Jancke, L., Huang, Y., and Steinmetz, H. (1994). In vivo morphometry of interhem ispheric assymetry and connectivity in musicians. In I. Deliege (Ed.), Proceedings of the 3d international conference for music perception and cognition (pp. 417-418). Liege, Belgium.
* A University of California (Irvine) study showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ. Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Ky and Wright, "Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship," University of California, Irvine, 1994
* Researchers found that children given piano lessons significantly improved in their spatial- temporal IQ scores (important for some types of mathematical reasoning) compared to children who received computer lessons, casual singing, or no lessons. Rauscher, F.H., Shaw, G.L., Levine, L.J., Wright, E.L., Dennis, W.R., and Newcomb, R. (1997) Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial temporal reasoning. Neurological Research, 19, 1-8.
* A McGill University study found that pattern recognition and mental representation scores improved significantly for students given piano instruction over a three-year period. They also found that self-esteem and musical skills measures improved for the students given piano instruction. Costa-Giomi, E. (1998, April). The McGill Piano Project: Effects of three years of piano instruction on children's cognitive abilities, academic achievement, and self-esteem. Paper presented at the meeting of the Music Educators National Conference, Phoenix, AZ.
* Researchers found that lessons on songbells (a standard classroom instrument) led to significant improvement of spatial-temporal scores for three- and four-year-olds. Gromko, J.E., and Poorman, A.S. (1998) The effect of music training on preschooler's spatial-temporal task performance. Journal of Research in Music Education, 46, 173-181.
* In the Kindergarten classes of the school district of Kettle Moraine, Wisconsin, children who were given music instruction scored 48 percent higher on spatial-temporal skill tests than those who did not receive music training. Rauscher, F.H., and Zupan, M.A. (1999). Classroom keyboard instruction improves kindergarten children's spatial-temporal performance: A field study. Manuscript in press, Early Childhood Research Quarterly.
* An Auburn University study found significant increases in overall self-concept of at-risk children participating in an arts program that included music, movement, dramatics and art, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. N.H. Barry, Project ARISE: Meeting the needs of disadvantaged students through the arts, Auburn University, 1992
Benefits of Music Education: Benefit #2 - Success in School
Benefit Two: Success in School
Success in society, of course, is predicated on success in school. Any music teacher or parent of a music student can call to mind anecdotes about effectiveness of music study in helping children become better students. Skills learned through the discipline of music, these stories commonly point out, transfer to study skills, communication skills, and cognitive skills useful in every part of the curriculum. Another common variety of story emphasizes the way that the discipline of music study &emdash; particularly through participation in ensembles &emdash; helps students learn to work effectively in the school environment without resorting to violent or inappropriate behavior. And there are a number of hard facts that we can report about the ways that music study is correlated with success in school:
* "The term 'core academic subjects' means English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography." No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, Title IX, Part A, Sec. 9101 (11)
* A study of 237 second grade children used piano keyboard training and newly designed math software to demonstrate improvement in math skills. The group scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than children that used only the math software. Graziano, Amy, Matthew Peterson, and Gordon Shaw, "Enhanced learning of proportional math through music training and spatial-temporal training." Neurological Research 21 (March 1999).
* In an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students (NELS:88, National Education Longitudinal Survey), researchers found that students who report consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show "significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12." This observation holds regardless of students' socio-economic status, and differences in those who are involved with instrumental music vs. those who are not is more significant over time. Catterall, James S., Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga. "Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts." Los Angeles, CA: The Imagination Project at UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, 1999.
* Students with coursework/experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT: students in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than did students with no arts participation. College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers. Princeton, NJ: The College Entrance Examination Board, 2001.
* According to statistics compiled by the National Data Resource Center, students who can be classified as "disruptive" (based on factors such as frequent skipping of classes, times in trouble, in-school suspensions, disciplinary reasons given, arrests, and drop-outs) total 12.14 percent of the total school population. In contrast, only 8.08 percent of students involved in music classes meet the same criteria as "disruptive." Based on data from the NELS:88 (National Education Longitudinal Study), second follow-up, 1992.
* Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 showed that music participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentage of music participants receiving As, As/Bs, and Bs was higher than the percentage of non- participants receiving those grades. NELS:88 First Follow-up, 1990, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington DC
* Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66% of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. 44% of biochemistry majors were admitted. As reported in "The Case for Music in the Schools," Phi Delta Kappan, February 1994
* A study of 811 high school students indicated that the proportion of minority students with a music teacher role-model was significantly larger than for any other discipline. 36% of these students identified music teachers as their role models, as opposed to 28% English teachers, 11% elementary teachers, 7% physical education/sports teachers, 1% principals. D.L. Hamann and L.M. Walker, "Music teachers as role models for African-American students," Journal of Research in Music Education, 41, 1993
* Students who participated in arts programs in selected elementary and middle schools in New York City showed significant increases in self-esteem and thinking skills. National Arts Education Research Center, New York University, 1990
Success in society, of course, is predicated on success in school. Any music teacher or parent of a music student can call to mind anecdotes about effectiveness of music study in helping children become better students. Skills learned through the discipline of music, these stories commonly point out, transfer to study skills, communication skills, and cognitive skills useful in every part of the curriculum. Another common variety of story emphasizes the way that the discipline of music study &emdash; particularly through participation in ensembles &emdash; helps students learn to work effectively in the school environment without resorting to violent or inappropriate behavior. And there are a number of hard facts that we can report about the ways that music study is correlated with success in school:
* "The term 'core academic subjects' means English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography." No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, Title IX, Part A, Sec. 9101 (11)
* A study of 237 second grade children used piano keyboard training and newly designed math software to demonstrate improvement in math skills. The group scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than children that used only the math software. Graziano, Amy, Matthew Peterson, and Gordon Shaw, "Enhanced learning of proportional math through music training and spatial-temporal training." Neurological Research 21 (March 1999).
* In an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students (NELS:88, National Education Longitudinal Survey), researchers found that students who report consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show "significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12." This observation holds regardless of students' socio-economic status, and differences in those who are involved with instrumental music vs. those who are not is more significant over time. Catterall, James S., Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga. "Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts." Los Angeles, CA: The Imagination Project at UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, 1999.
* Students with coursework/experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT: students in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than did students with no arts participation. College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers. Princeton, NJ: The College Entrance Examination Board, 2001.
* According to statistics compiled by the National Data Resource Center, students who can be classified as "disruptive" (based on factors such as frequent skipping of classes, times in trouble, in-school suspensions, disciplinary reasons given, arrests, and drop-outs) total 12.14 percent of the total school population. In contrast, only 8.08 percent of students involved in music classes meet the same criteria as "disruptive." Based on data from the NELS:88 (National Education Longitudinal Study), second follow-up, 1992.
* Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 showed that music participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentage of music participants receiving As, As/Bs, and Bs was higher than the percentage of non- participants receiving those grades. NELS:88 First Follow-up, 1990, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington DC
* Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66% of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. 44% of biochemistry majors were admitted. As reported in "The Case for Music in the Schools," Phi Delta Kappan, February 1994
* A study of 811 high school students indicated that the proportion of minority students with a music teacher role-model was significantly larger than for any other discipline. 36% of these students identified music teachers as their role models, as opposed to 28% English teachers, 11% elementary teachers, 7% physical education/sports teachers, 1% principals. D.L. Hamann and L.M. Walker, "Music teachers as role models for African-American students," Journal of Research in Music Education, 41, 1993
* Students who participated in arts programs in selected elementary and middle schools in New York City showed significant increases in self-esteem and thinking skills. National Arts Education Research Center, New York University, 1990
Benefits of Music Education: Benefit #1 - Success in Society
Benefit One: Success in Society
Perhaps the basic reason that every child must have an education in music is that music is a part of the fabric of our society. The intrinsic value of music for each individual is widely recognized in the many cultures that make up American life &emdash; indeed, every human culture uses music to carry forward its ideas and ideals. The importance of music to our economy is without doubt. And the value of music in shaping individual abilities and character are attested in a number of places:
* Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs). Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report. Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998
* "Music is a magical gift we must nourish and cultivate in our children, especially now as scientific evidence proves that an education in the arts makes better math and science students, enhances spatial intelligence in newborns, and let's not forget that the arts are a compelling solution to teen violence, certainly not the cause of it!" Michael Greene, Recording Academy President and CEO at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, February 2000.
* The U.S. Department of Education lists the arts as subjects that college-bound middle and junior high school students should take, stating "Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a valuable experience that broadens students' understanding and appreciation of the world around them. It is also well known and widely recognized that the arts contribute significantly to children's intellectual development." In addition, one year of Visual and Performing Arts is recommended for college-bound high school students. Getting Ready for College Early: A Handbook for Parents of Students in the Middle and Junior High School Years, U.S. Department of Education, 1997
* The College Board identifies the arts as one of the six basic academic subject areas students should study in order to succeed in college. Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do, 1983 [still in use], The College Board, New York
* The arts create jobs, increase the local tax base, boost tourism, spur growth in related businesses (hotels, restaurants, printing, etc.) and improve the overall quality of life for our cities and towns. On a national level, nonprofit arts institutions and organizations generate an estimated $37 billion in economic activity and return $3.4 billion in federal income taxes to the U.S. Treasury each year. American Arts Alliance Fact Sheet, October 1996
* The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians. Grant Venerable, "The Paradox of the Silicon Savior," as reported in "The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools," The Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, New York, 1989
Perhaps the basic reason that every child must have an education in music is that music is a part of the fabric of our society. The intrinsic value of music for each individual is widely recognized in the many cultures that make up American life &emdash; indeed, every human culture uses music to carry forward its ideas and ideals. The importance of music to our economy is without doubt. And the value of music in shaping individual abilities and character are attested in a number of places:
* Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs). Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report. Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998
* "Music is a magical gift we must nourish and cultivate in our children, especially now as scientific evidence proves that an education in the arts makes better math and science students, enhances spatial intelligence in newborns, and let's not forget that the arts are a compelling solution to teen violence, certainly not the cause of it!" Michael Greene, Recording Academy President and CEO at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, February 2000.
* The U.S. Department of Education lists the arts as subjects that college-bound middle and junior high school students should take, stating "Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a valuable experience that broadens students' understanding and appreciation of the world around them. It is also well known and widely recognized that the arts contribute significantly to children's intellectual development." In addition, one year of Visual and Performing Arts is recommended for college-bound high school students. Getting Ready for College Early: A Handbook for Parents of Students in the Middle and Junior High School Years, U.S. Department of Education, 1997
* The College Board identifies the arts as one of the six basic academic subject areas students should study in order to succeed in college. Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do, 1983 [still in use], The College Board, New York
* The arts create jobs, increase the local tax base, boost tourism, spur growth in related businesses (hotels, restaurants, printing, etc.) and improve the overall quality of life for our cities and towns. On a national level, nonprofit arts institutions and organizations generate an estimated $37 billion in economic activity and return $3.4 billion in federal income taxes to the U.S. Treasury each year. American Arts Alliance Fact Sheet, October 1996
* The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians. Grant Venerable, "The Paradox of the Silicon Savior," as reported in "The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools," The Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, New York, 1989
Benefits of Music Education
The basic statement is unlikely to be challenged by anyone involved in education. In the sometimes harsh reality of limited time and funding for instruction, however, the inclusion of the arts in every student's education can sometimes be relegated to a distant wish rather than an exciting reality.
It doesn't have to be that way! All that's needed is a clear message sent to all those who must make the hard choices involved in running a school or school system. The basic message is that music programs in the schools help our kids and communities in real and substantial ways. You can use the following facts about the benefits of music education, based on a growing body of convincing research, to move decision-makers to make the right choices.
The benefits conveyed by music education can be grouped in four categories:
* Success in society
* Success in school
* Success in developing intelligence
* Success in life
When presented with the many and manifest benefits of music education, officials at all levels should universally support a full, balanced, sequential course of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. And every student will have an education in the arts.
Article can be found at http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/benefits.html
It doesn't have to be that way! All that's needed is a clear message sent to all those who must make the hard choices involved in running a school or school system. The basic message is that music programs in the schools help our kids and communities in real and substantial ways. You can use the following facts about the benefits of music education, based on a growing body of convincing research, to move decision-makers to make the right choices.
The benefits conveyed by music education can be grouped in four categories:
* Success in society
* Success in school
* Success in developing intelligence
* Success in life
When presented with the many and manifest benefits of music education, officials at all levels should universally support a full, balanced, sequential course of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. And every student will have an education in the arts.
Article can be found at http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/benefits.html
Monday, May 7, 2012
How to increase your sight-reading ability
Sight reading can be very frustrating for the beginner. Learning to do several things at once - read the notes, move your fingers, count, etc. - and do it quickly is no easy task. Luckily, it is a skill that can be easily learned provided you have the determination to do it. You see, the brain needs to be trained to do all these things quickly and accurately.
So how do you improve on your sight reading besides practice, practice, and practice? Well, here are a few tips that will hopefully help you:
Sight reading is a lot of fun. Don't beat yourself over mistakes that you make. Laugh it off! No one is perfect.
I would love to hear from you about what you think about sight-reading, or to share some of your ideas on how you can help make sight-reading easier or fun! Tell me what you think.
So how do you improve on your sight reading besides practice, practice, and practice? Well, here are a few tips that will hopefully help you:
- Check the Key-Signature - Always check the key signature and make a mental note of them before you begin. A piece can sound totally wrong because you didn't observe the sharps and flats.
- Look ahead - When your fingers are playing a note/group of notes/chord at a specific point in time/beat, your eyes and brain should already be reading AT LEAST the next note/group of notes/chord if not 3-5 ahead of it. Think of it this way - how can you expect your brain to read, decipher, and tell which muscle to move, at what speed in the same instant you have to play it? No matter how good you are, there will be some lag. Less for the more experienced, and more for the less experienced.
- Count - Always count, whether aloud or in your mind (I would suggest counting out loud for beginners). If your timing is incorrect, the music wouldn't sound right and it would be that much harder to make sense of what you are playing.
- Start Slowly - No one is going to boo you for playing it slowly, but if you play a whole bunch of wrong notes in wrong timing.... well, you're up for a chance for more criticisms. If you play it slow, but get the notes and rhythm/timing right, then all they can say is "it should have been faster," but if you play a bunch of gibberish made up of wrong notes, wronte timing, and/or rhythm, then your audience may not know what it is you are trying to play at all.
- Don't make faces - Come one, no one expects you to play a sight readed piece perfectly. Don't be hard on yourself. Sometimes, slight mistakes aren't noticed. However, when you make faces (i.e. grimace) when you accidentally hit the wrong note, you call out the mistake. Can you imagine your audience watching you make weird looking faces throughout your performance? Not a good idea. Don't call them (your mistakes) out. Be confident.
Sight reading is a lot of fun. Don't beat yourself over mistakes that you make. Laugh it off! No one is perfect.
I would love to hear from you about what you think about sight-reading, or to share some of your ideas on how you can help make sight-reading easier or fun! Tell me what you think.
Scales - Dos and Don'ts
I cannot stress enough the importance of scales. Yes, I know they are boring, but if you are fluent in scales and play them well, you will have tackled at least 50% of any music. Key signatures, running passages, fingering... they are all found in scales. To ensure that you have learned them the right way, there are a few dos and don'ts:
DO:
DON'T:
How do you practice your scales? Please share your story.
DO:
- Practice them regularly
- Use different rhythmic patterns
- Learn all chromatic, major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor keys (try pentatonic,or whole tone ones too - they are fun!)
- Try to play them in contrary motion (opposite directions starting on the same note)
- Start from 1 octave and move to at least 2 if not 4 octaves per scale
- Use a metronome and increase your speed as you progress
- Use the correct fingering
- Relax and have fun!
DON'T:
- Shake your wrists with each beat - count with your mouth or in your head; not with your wrists
- Use the "coin at the back of your hand" method - you will ruin your piano technique. Use your arms!
- Stiffen up your fingers/wrists. They should be flexible and fluid-like
- Play them as loud as possible - you want firm fingers, but not hammering ones
How do you practice your scales? Please share your story.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Can Music Make You Smarter? By Wendy Harris
Exposing their young children to music just comes naturally to Jill and Bob Williams of Appleton.
"Music is a huge part of our life," said Jill Williams, who plays piano, and also bassoon for the UW Fox Valley Concert Band and a local woodwind quintet.
Since Rose, 3, and her baby sister, Lillian, 9 months, were born, music has been as integral a part of their lives as learning to walk and talk. Bob, a baritone with the White Heron Chorale, is always singing at home. Jill, meanwhile, is frequently practicing for concerts, or playing the piano, while Rose dances and keeps time with her castanets and baby Lillian bounces nearby in her exer-saucer.
Jill is convinced all this music exposure is paying off.
"Rose is 3 and she is reading," she said. "She has the gift of language and I can't help but believe it's because of rhythm and rhyming and the flow of music."
A growing body of research supports her observations.
Exposing a child to great music — as a listener and as a player — is good for brain development.
"Nothing activates as many areas of the brain as music," says researcher Donald A. Hodges, Covington Distinguished Professor of Music Education and director of the Music Research Institute at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
And to answer a question that has been floating around both scholarly and in popular culture for a while: Does music make you smarter?
"The answer is 'no' in a superficial sense," Hodges said. In 1993, experimenters claimed that listening to a Mozart sonata would make your IQ increase by eight points. Subsequent work, Hodges explained, proved that such listening would sharpen a subject's spatial-temporal relationships momentarily. After a short while, the subject would go back to being just as smart as before. Or dumb.
But, he explained, a rich environment makes a difference: "The brain: Use it or lose it. The more education you have, the more the interconnections in the brain. Music changes the brain."
It's an observation that Patricia DeCorsey, coordinator of Lawrence University's Early Childhood Music Program in Appleton, has been making for years.
"By introducing children to music, so many areas of the brain benefit at the same time, like the mathematical and language centers," said DeCorsey. "It's really a super-advantage."
DeCorsey has headed the childhood music program for 15 years of its 20-year history. Age-appropriate classes are available for children as young as 6 months old.
"Children learn musical concepts only until about age 7," DeCorsey said. "After that, the learning pretty much stops. That's why it's so important to start children early."
Rose Williams started in the program when she was 2; and her sister, Lillian, will start this fall.
"We took the Mozart and movement class this past year and it's just incredible how she came out of her shell," Jill Williams said.
The Lawrence classes, led by trained professional musicians, introduce basic music concepts and give hands-on experience to play with a variety of folk, instrumental and percussion instruments.
Appleton mother Jennifer Ganser enrolled her first child, Jackie, in the program when she was a baby for something fun to do. Two more babies and five years later, Ganser believes her three children have gained more than just enjoyment from the classes.
"You can just see them light up when they are there," Ganser said. "We've really seen them progress."
Jackie, now 6, loves music at school and has been asking to take violin and piano lessons, Ganser added.
While music and brain research moves at a slow pace, Hodges has outlined some major findings:
Disproving earlier assumptions that musical activity takes place in the right hemisphere of the brain, the activity occurs with equal vigor in the left — or rational — hemisphere. Music is an emotional and intellectual activity that engages all the brain. Almost.
During performance, there is almost no activity in the frontal lobe, where conscious thought takes place.
When Yo-Yo Ma is playing his cello in concert he's not thinking, Hodges argues. All the thought took place earlier and if he were to think now it would impede his playing. He is simply performing, much like a highly trained athlete.
"Music is always a physical activity," Hodges said. "Musicians are small-muscle athletes." And not just the performer. A listener sitting still in a classical concert hall is having the area of the brain that controls motion stimulated. Thus, that convention — not moving during classical performances — is unnatural.
A person with brain damage from a stroke may not be able to speak but can sing because the area that controls music is not damaged, said Shannon de L'Etoile, who heads the music therapy program at the University of Miami.
A therapist will get the patient to sing a phrase, then change it to spoken language with an exaggerated rhythm, and finally to natural language.
"We are rerouting through the healthy part of the brain," de L'Etoile said. "The spinal chord reacts immediately to rhythm."
Such therapy can be used with Parkinson's patients, she added.
And, researchers have learned that autistic children are capable of reproducing patterns of music, which a therapist can translate to language and to unlock the social interactions autism prevents.
"Music makes you smarter because it helps you understand yourself as a human being and your relationship to the world," says Hodges.
Though, all humans are musical, regardless of training or IQ.
"From the least to the most intelligent, everyone can have a meaningful music experience," he said.
Wendy Harris can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 526, or at mail:wharris@postcrescent.com. Knight Ridder Newspapers reporter Enrique Fernandez and correspondent Jacob Goldstein contributed to this report.
"Music is a huge part of our life," said Jill Williams, who plays piano, and also bassoon for the UW Fox Valley Concert Band and a local woodwind quintet.
Since Rose, 3, and her baby sister, Lillian, 9 months, were born, music has been as integral a part of their lives as learning to walk and talk. Bob, a baritone with the White Heron Chorale, is always singing at home. Jill, meanwhile, is frequently practicing for concerts, or playing the piano, while Rose dances and keeps time with her castanets and baby Lillian bounces nearby in her exer-saucer.
Jill is convinced all this music exposure is paying off.
"Rose is 3 and she is reading," she said. "She has the gift of language and I can't help but believe it's because of rhythm and rhyming and the flow of music."
A growing body of research supports her observations.
Exposing a child to great music — as a listener and as a player — is good for brain development.
"Nothing activates as many areas of the brain as music," says researcher Donald A. Hodges, Covington Distinguished Professor of Music Education and director of the Music Research Institute at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
And to answer a question that has been floating around both scholarly and in popular culture for a while: Does music make you smarter?
"The answer is 'no' in a superficial sense," Hodges said. In 1993, experimenters claimed that listening to a Mozart sonata would make your IQ increase by eight points. Subsequent work, Hodges explained, proved that such listening would sharpen a subject's spatial-temporal relationships momentarily. After a short while, the subject would go back to being just as smart as before. Or dumb.
But, he explained, a rich environment makes a difference: "The brain: Use it or lose it. The more education you have, the more the interconnections in the brain. Music changes the brain."
It's an observation that Patricia DeCorsey, coordinator of Lawrence University's Early Childhood Music Program in Appleton, has been making for years.
"By introducing children to music, so many areas of the brain benefit at the same time, like the mathematical and language centers," said DeCorsey. "It's really a super-advantage."
DeCorsey has headed the childhood music program for 15 years of its 20-year history. Age-appropriate classes are available for children as young as 6 months old.
"Children learn musical concepts only until about age 7," DeCorsey said. "After that, the learning pretty much stops. That's why it's so important to start children early."
Rose Williams started in the program when she was 2; and her sister, Lillian, will start this fall.
"We took the Mozart and movement class this past year and it's just incredible how she came out of her shell," Jill Williams said.
The Lawrence classes, led by trained professional musicians, introduce basic music concepts and give hands-on experience to play with a variety of folk, instrumental and percussion instruments.
Appleton mother Jennifer Ganser enrolled her first child, Jackie, in the program when she was a baby for something fun to do. Two more babies and five years later, Ganser believes her three children have gained more than just enjoyment from the classes.
"You can just see them light up when they are there," Ganser said. "We've really seen them progress."
Jackie, now 6, loves music at school and has been asking to take violin and piano lessons, Ganser added.
While music and brain research moves at a slow pace, Hodges has outlined some major findings:
Disproving earlier assumptions that musical activity takes place in the right hemisphere of the brain, the activity occurs with equal vigor in the left — or rational — hemisphere. Music is an emotional and intellectual activity that engages all the brain. Almost.
During performance, there is almost no activity in the frontal lobe, where conscious thought takes place.
When Yo-Yo Ma is playing his cello in concert he's not thinking, Hodges argues. All the thought took place earlier and if he were to think now it would impede his playing. He is simply performing, much like a highly trained athlete.
"Music is always a physical activity," Hodges said. "Musicians are small-muscle athletes." And not just the performer. A listener sitting still in a classical concert hall is having the area of the brain that controls motion stimulated. Thus, that convention — not moving during classical performances — is unnatural.
A person with brain damage from a stroke may not be able to speak but can sing because the area that controls music is not damaged, said Shannon de L'Etoile, who heads the music therapy program at the University of Miami.
A therapist will get the patient to sing a phrase, then change it to spoken language with an exaggerated rhythm, and finally to natural language.
"We are rerouting through the healthy part of the brain," de L'Etoile said. "The spinal chord reacts immediately to rhythm."
Such therapy can be used with Parkinson's patients, she added.
And, researchers have learned that autistic children are capable of reproducing patterns of music, which a therapist can translate to language and to unlock the social interactions autism prevents.
"Music makes you smarter because it helps you understand yourself as a human being and your relationship to the world," says Hodges.
Though, all humans are musical, regardless of training or IQ.
"From the least to the most intelligent, everyone can have a meaningful music experience," he said.
Wendy Harris can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 526, or at mail:wharris@postcrescent.com. Knight Ridder Newspapers reporter Enrique Fernandez and correspondent Jacob Goldstein contributed to this report.
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