Singing is the foundation for musical learning at an early age. In this class, children will begin learning basic vocal skills such as pitch-matching and speaking vs. singing voice, sing folk songs from many cultures, play rhythm games with movement and simple percussion instruments, learn to work as a group singing basic harmony, and develop listening skills to instill a lifetime of musical enjoyment and appreciation. This class is a stepping stone to more advanced music classes and will strengthen a child’s desire to continue learning music.

Tuition: $195 (payable in two installments), Materials Fee: $15

Schedule: Wednesday, 3:45 – 4:30 (this class will meet 13 times, 1st class is September 5th)

Singing is the foundation for musical learning at an early age. In this class, children will learn vocal warm-up exercises as an approach to healthy singing, elementary note reading, sing a variety of songs in different genres both solo and as a group, develop rhythm skills through movement and use of percussion instruments, listening skills and recognition of different types of instruments. This class is a good follow-up to Fundamentals of Music and Singing Level I but is also appropriate for the older beginning child with little or no music background.  This class is also a great enrichment for the young student who is in private instrument lessons.

Tuition: $195 (payable in two installments), Materials Fee: $15

Schedule: Wednesday, 4:45 – 5:30 OR 5:45 – 6:30 (this class will meet 13 times, 1st class is September 5th)

What do all of these great men have in common? They were all musicians!

Coincidence? Certainly not. Years of scientific studies are proving what many of us have known all along:  Music education makes smarter, more successful students that grow up to be more productive adults.

“Several studies by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is based at Brown University, explored the effects of art and music education on young children’s learning. The conclusions of these studies support the theory that music instruction can help build intellectual and emotional skills, facilitate children’s learning and strengthen other academic areas, such as reading and math. Also, these studies indicate that music can positively affect children and adults of all ages.

“The conclusions of these Brown University studies are consistent with other research on music and its effect on child development. One study (by researchers at the University of Wisconsin and the University of California) shows that when three and four-year-old children were given simple piano lessons over a six-month period, they performed 34% better than other children in IQ tests, some of whom had had computer lessons instead. These impressive results came from a study of 789 children from diverse social and economic backgrounds.

“In an interview, one of the researchers from the University of California said: “Music training jump starts certain inherent patterns in parts of the brain responsible for spatial-temporal reasoning.” Computer lessons, on the other hand, do not force children to think ahead or visualize, as they must when playing a piece of music.

“Several studies indicate that the reading level of students with one year of music was nearly one grade higher than their peers without such music training. Children with two years of music experience had scores equivalent to two years ahead of their reading age, and these statistics improved with music experience.”

HERE ARE SOME OF THE STUDIES REPORTING THE INCREDIBLE BENEFITS OF MUSIC EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN:

Spatial-Temporal IQ — Researchers found that children given piano lessons improved 56% more in their spatial-temporal IQ scores than children who received computer lessons or no lessons. - Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Ky and Wright, “Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship,” University of California, Irvine, 1994.

Higher SAT Scores — Students with experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT than students with no music education: 53 points higher on the verbal and 39 points higher on the math for music performance; 61 points higher on the verbal and 42 points higher on the math for music appreciation.  College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers. The College Entrance Examination Board, Princeton, NJ, 2001

Highest Grades - 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

Higher Test Scores -  A ten-year study indicates that students who study music achieve higher test scores, regardless of socioeconomic background.  - Dr. James Catterall, UCLA.

Higher Reading Scores - In a Scottish study, one group of elementary students received musical training, while another group received an equal amount of discussion skills training. After six (6) months, the students in the music group achieved a significant increase in reading test scores, while the reading test scores of the discussion skills group did not change. – Sheila Douglas and Peter Willatts, Journal of Research in Reading, 1994.

Better Behavior -  In a 2000 survey, 73 percent of respondents agree that teens who play an instrument are less likely to have discipline problems. – Americans Love Making Music – And Value Music Education More Highly Than Ever, American Music Conference, 2000.

Lowest Crime – 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

Better Organized - Students who are rhythmically skilled also tend to better plan, sequence, and coordinate actions in their daily lives. – “Cassily Column,” TCAMS Professional Resource Center, 2000.

Problem Solvers -  Students who can perform complex rhythms can also make faster and more precise corrections in many academic and physical situations, according to the Center for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills. – Rhythm seen as key to music’s evolutionary role in human intellectual development, Center for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills, 2000.

Less Anxiety - Music students demonstrate less test anxiety and performance anxiety than students who do not study music. – “College-Age Musicians Emotionally Healthier than Non-Musician Counterparts,” Houston Chronicle, 1998.

Most Med Students - 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

Additional Articles:

Benefits of Music Education (Children’s Music Workshop)

Music of the Hemispheres: Why can a toddler sing? Why is even the most ordinary human brain a library of melodies? (Discover Magazine)