Raise Your Child . org » Child Music Education

In the Mood with Christmas Carols

Raise Your Child — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:24:41 +0000

Having a hard time this holiday season to feel festive??!! I have as I’m working this hard. Yes, yesterday’s snow helped a lot.

But what really did the trick for me was this fun and excellent IU Acapella choir ‘Straight No Chaser’ singing Christmas carols.

Christmas carols do not have to be obvious and ‘boring’. If you have any of your bigger kids sing for the family this year, perhaps they can hustle things up a little, like this choir does, for some fun, kicks and drama.

Silent Night

There is still enough time for them to play and practice their made-up original songs made up of a medley of old Christmas carol classics.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol

And for their performance, perhaps they can even dress up in a fun costume, like a great Mickey Mouse outfit …..! (This poster makes a great gift btw.)

Alternatively, if your kids are not so into singing, or a bit more shy, reading a short-version of a classic Christmas story for the family.

It is another great way for children to show off their skills, and to be positively involved in preparing for the big family get togethers.

It is important to children to be part of the togetherness, and by contributing to the big event, it makes them feel important, invited, and special.

I look forward to hearing how you are managing to involve your youngsters this year in fun and constructive ways.

How Music Boosts Your Memory And Makes You Smarter

Raise Your Child — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 07:31:36 +0000

By Wyman Pat

“

Have you ever noticed how your favorite music can make you feel better? Well, new research studies suggest that certain types of music can boost your memory, cut your company’s training time and make you smarter too.

Scientists at Stanford University, in California, have recently revealed a molecular basis for music known as the “Mozart Effect”, but not other music.

Dr. Fran Rauscher and her geneticist colleague H. Li, discovered that rats, like humans, perform better on learning and memory tests after listening to a specific Mozart Sonata in D. They found that various growth factors and a memory compound increased in an area of the brain that affects learning and memory.

In addition, some years before, at the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Rausher found that college students scored higher on the spatial portion of an I.Q. test after listening to the Mozart Sonata for only 10 minutes! The findings were published and the “Mozart Effect” craze officially began.

Although there is still some controversy over whether the “Mozart Effect” really exists, I’ve done my research and am a big fan personally. I listen to certain Mozart CD’s every day when I write my books.

They help me focus and concentrate, and give me the added boost of a better memory. OK, I admit, sometimes I forget where I put the car keys, but listening to these particular pieces called “Mozart Effect for Focus and Concentration” actually do help me focus better.

On a more serious note, there is substantial research showing that classical music lessons can really pay off, because music can “boost brain circuitry and increase certain mental functions”.

Ultimately, you may develop the more spatial areas of the brain, and the research shows that people who have had music lessons or play an instrument perform better on many types of cognitive tests.

Major corporations such as Shell, IBM, and Dupont, along with thousands of schools and universities use music, such as certain Baroque or Mozart pieces, to cut learning time, mask irritating sounds, and increase retention of the new materials.

Many industrial corporations provide music to their employees. Dupont, for example, used a music listening program in one department that cut its training time in half and doubled the number of people trained. Another corporation using music found that clerical errors decreased by one third.

I use many type of music in my Instant Learning workshops and trainings because I find that it reduces learning time and increases memory of the material. Music activates the whole brain and makes you feel more energetic.

There is also some compelling newer evidence to show that music, used properly, can calm people with ADD or ADHD and even autism.

A recent news article reported that researchers have discovered direct evidence that music stimulates different regions of the brain responsible for memory, motor control, timing and language. For the first time, researchers also have located specific areas of mental activity linked to emotional responses to music.

At McGill University in Montreal, neuroscientist Anne Blood, who conducted the study said, “You can activate different parts of the brain, depending on what music you listen to.

So music can stimulate parts of the brain that are underactive in neurological diseases or a variety of emotional disorders. Over time, we could retrain the brain in these disorders.”

Harvard University Medical School neurobiologist, Mark Jude Tramo, says, “Undeniably, there is a biology of music. There is no question that there is specialization within the human brain for the processing of music. Music is biologically part of human life, just as music is aesthetically part of human life.”

Given the exceptional benefits of listening to certain types of music, I highly recommend you add Mozart to your tool chest of rapid learning strategies. You can listen as a family, use it at work, or play it in the background when you want your to kick your memory into high gear.”

Author Description

Pat Wyman is America’s Most Trusted Learning Expert, best selling author of Learning vs Testing and founder of http://www.HowToLearn.com. Her Instant Learning strategies improve grades for children with ADD. Pat is a frequent media guest, and e-mails weekly newsletters to 250,000 people worldwide.

The Importance of Exposing Your Child To Lessons In Art, Music or Dance

Raise Your Child — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 05:13:39 +0000

As our children grow, they need well-rounded stimulation and exposure to various interests in order to become informed and educated adults later. Most children are taught to engage in sports, while their exposure to the arts may not be as intensive. As the daughter of a teacher who has taught the basics of art, dance, music and theater to children; I have an appreciation for what they have to offer. My life has been enhanced greatly by art and music, especially. If you are thinking about enrolling your child in afterschool programs, consider an art, music or dance class to get them started in the fascinating world of the arts. My mother’s students through the 45 years she has taught have appreciated what they learned from her, and have come back at times to tell her so. The arts are meaningful and broaden your child’s world tremendously.

For example, if you child wants to play an instrument, encourage this and find a tutor or enroll them in a class. Let your child choose an instrument then either rent one or buy a second-hand instrument until you know he or she likes it enough to get a new one. Music teaches discipline, and studies by experts claim that it can help with learning mathematics as well. Besides, music is a good outlet for children, and pulls them away from less educational pursuits like video games or chatting online. By stimulating your child’s brain, you are allowing them to gain mastery of a subject. By sticking with lessons and completing them one-by-one, your child will gain in self confidence, too.

If your child loves to dance, there are courses at the arts or recreational centers in your community on ballet, tap or more. Sign up for a course in the topic he or she finds most interesting, and make sure to give encouragement as the courses progress. Dance promotes agility, grace and physical fitness. Install these interests early to set them up for interest in these disciplines as they mature. Go to the dance performance at the end of the course, and your child will be happy to know that you support all their hard work. It means a lot for them to see that you approve of what they are doing.

Art is most near and dear to my heart, as I am a trained illustrator. Let your child try a broad spectrum of different arts and crafts, so he or she can see what is most interesting to pursue further. For example, there are courses in pottery-making, drawing, painting, enamelling, sculpture and much more. I myself have taught children in drawing and painting, and they absorb what is taught to them like sponges when interested in the subject. Make sure to find a teacher who will make learning fun and give them positive encouragement. Many of my students have told me at the beginning, “I can’t do this. I can’t even draw a straight line.” That doesn’t matter, there is no right and wrong in creative art. It’s the artist’s creative license to do whatever he or she wants. My main concern with insecure students is to let them know that it takes time and practise, like in any branch of the arts, to become skilled. It doesn’t happen overnight, no matter how talented you are. Then, I go ahead and teach them, project-by-project, to gain confidence and see that art truly is for them. Some of my students have taken off to create projects on their own, once they realized that perfection isn’t expected of them. The pressure is off, and they can be free to enjoy whatever medium they like the most.

As a kid, my mother and father enrolled me in a wide variety of courses. As a shy child, it scared me at first, but even the courses I wasn’t as interested in were educational to me. I took away from each course a little more knowledge and appreciation for what the pros have to do to become good at their craft. Though I didn’t get into dance, I loved drawing, painting, music and pottery. And, trying different things pulled me out of my shell, making the shyness disappear later on.

I am a professional artist, my preferred style is realistic art, but I appreciate different disciplines unlike mine, such as impressionistic or abstract art. My mother teaches her young students to appreciate the Old Masters (painters like Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, etc.) every year, and they love it. Each child is taught to choose a painting they like, then try to paint it, using basic tempera paint. It is amazing how lovely the paintings can turn out, and every year she gets copies of the work before it goes home with the kids. Unbeknownst to these three to five year old children, classic training in painting includes copying the Old Masters further along in art education. Trying it early is invaluable, and there is no pressure to create a masterpiece, just in having fun and seeing how each child interprets the original painting. The kids love it, and work hard to do a good job, so they can go home and give it to their parents. A very worthwhile project.

Having grown up immersed in the arts myself, I truly encourage you to give your child exposure to them away from what they learn in elementary school. If they enjoy a certain branch of the arts, encourage it, and later as adults they will do this for their children in return. The arts make the world a prettier, more musical and interesting place. No time spent on learning them is wasted. So, go ahead and enroll them in a course after school. You won’t be disappointed, and maybe you will open their eyes to a new passion to pursue. It’s most definitely worth a try.

By Carolyn McFann

Carolyn McFann is a scientific and nature illustrator, who owns Two Purring Cats Design Studio, which can be seen at: http://www.cafepress.com/twopurringcats Educated at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, Carolyn is a seasoned, well-traveled artist, writer and photographer. She has lived and worked in Cancun, Mexico, among other interesting professional assignments in other countries. Clients include nature parks, museums, scientists, corporations and private owners. She has been the subject of tv interviews, articles for newspapers and other popular media venues.

Is Your Child Capable of Composing Music?

Raise Your Child — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:42:31 +0000

“We’ve all heard of them. Child prodigies who begin composing music at some ridiculously young age. For instance, history reports that Mozart was writing minuets by the time he was five years old. Amazing. At five years of age, I’m not sure that I knew the difference between my finger and my thumb and I certainly wasn’t composing music.

Now there is no doubt that the fact that Mozart was composing music by the age of five does not prove that any of the rest of us ever could compose music, but a number of studies conducted over the past fifty or so years indicates that most children can begin composing music as long as they are given both guidance and opportunity.

True, in the vast majority of the cases the end product is not going to rival anything that Mozart put out, but just because you (or your child) may not be the best there ever was at composing music doesn’t mean the attempt is not worth the effort. If we follow that reasoning why would a child learn to walk or run when he or she knows he could never walk or run as well as, say, Michael Jordan? Why would they learn to talk if they knew they could never speak as well as Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan?

Similarly, imagine if Mozart’s parents had not given him the opportunity to be exposed to music and then the formal training that gave him the tools to begin composing music. The world would be a poorer place without the input of this musical genius.

In Mozart’s situation, he began formal training on the keyboard at the age of four and within a year he was composing music – though I’m sure that it wasn’t of the caliber of his later works. In the case of the average child, however studies have shown that if given the opportunity and the education (i.e. instruction on an instrument, a little bit of music theory, etc) average children can begin composing music somewhere around the age of nine.

Give your child the opportunity and training he or she needs to begin composing music. In most cases it will develop their mind, round out their education, and give them a creative outlet. Eventually, however, of all the children composing music who might not have otherwise, the next Mozart will spring and if it’s your child, the world will thank you. And if not, at least your child has been exposed to some good music and had his or her mind stretched a bit.

I am extremely thankful that my parents had the good sense to expose me to music by way of piano lessons starting when I was about 7. And even though it didn’t “take” until I was an early teenager, when it did I had the background in music theory and technique to where I could progress rapidly from then on. And while I’m a country mile from Mozart’s class, I do well enough to enjoy my self and make a living in music.

Article source: ContentLog.com

Author Description

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music courses for adults. His book-CD-DVD course titled “How To Play Chord Piano In Ten Days!” has sold over 100,000 copies around the world. He is the

We’ve all heard of them. Child prodigies who begin composing music at some ridiculously young age. For instance, history reports that Mozart was writing minuets by the time he was five years old. Amazing. At five years of age, I’m not sure that I knew the difference between my finger and my thumb and I certainly wasn’t composing music.

Author Description

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music courses for adults. His book-CD-DVD course titled “How To Play Chord Piano In Ten Days!” has sold over 100,000 copies around the world. He is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled “Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions” with over 57,400 current subscribers.