Winter Classes still Open
The season has started but space is still available in the following classes. Don’t miss your chance to sign up! Continue Reading…
Evaluating Preschool Music Curriculums
A Parent Guide: Questions to Ask when Selecting your Child’s Preschool
The answers reflect excellence standards as set by the Music Educators National Conference and published in The School Music Program: A New Vision
What are the principles of your music program?
The years before kindergarten are critical for children’s musical development.
• All children have musical potential that they ought to explore daily
• Young children are capable of developing critical thinking skills through musical ideas
• Children should experience age-appropriate musical activities and materials—created and modeled by trained, enthusiastic and responsive adults
• Young children should not be encumbered with the need to meet performance goals—learning should be process-oriented (exceptions include skits, sing-alongs, and the Suzuki method of private instruction which encourages performance on piano, violin or guitar)
What is your preschool’s music curriculum?
Developmentally appropriate early music experiences should occur in safe, teacher-supported environments where children can “work” at the skills relevant to them. Children need:
• Individual time with musical instruments and materials
• Group music time to experience the social and interactive benefits
• Enthusiastic encouragement for students’ questions and suggestions—which stimulate their critical thinking skills, confidence, and leadership abilities
Continue Reading…
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Why We Teach Music
NEUROLOGICAL
Children’s brains at this age are over twice as active as adults’, burning twice as much glucose, which the degree of neural activity and development. The musical integration of small movement (such as finger play and playing instruments) and large muscle movement (such as dance) builds whole body balance and coordination.
SINGING, INSTRUMENTS, & DANCE
Children, ages 3-6, can develop “BASIC MUSIC COMPETENCY”, meaning they can replicate songs with accurate melody, rhythm, and physical coordination.
VOCABULARY
Children develop their use of 300+ words. Group singing can expand vocabulary, enhance speech technique and build memory skills.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Children are learning to expand their peer interactions: the repetition of songs builds self-confidence and interactive communication skills expand while playing music with adults and peers.
CRITICAL THINKING
As musical patterns are established and then varied, children learn to compare and contrast verses, instruments, movements, and their independent actions. When teachers ask for ideas for variations, or adapt a child’s ideas to the song, children develop their creativity and problem-solving skills.
Posted 3 weeks, 2 days ago at 4:41 pm. Add a comment
IN THE NEWS: Arts Programs to Recieve $50 million via the National Endowment for the Arts
Calling all artists: Read the full article in the New York Times.
Will Congress expand the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities? The American Recovery and Reinvestment bill, approved last week by the House Appropriations Committee, includes a $50 million supplement for the N.E.A. to distribute directly to nonprofit arts organizations and also through state and local arts agencies. Read on…and write your representative in support. Continue Reading…
Posted 1 year ago at 7:07 pm. Add a comment
IN THE NEWS – Creativity Unites for Change
excerpted from Advertising Age (AdAge.com) By Rupal Parekh
Published: February 25, 2008 – Original Article
Other Candidates Get Free Consumer-Created Media; Barack’s Just Happen to Be Made by Smitten Ad Pros: Perhaps the most viewed bit of political advertising this campaign season is a four-minute-plus video for Barack Obama. “Yes We Can” — a slick, celebrity-filled spot that has garnered more than 10 million online views — was created by professionals. But none of them work for the Obama campaign. Continue Reading…
Posted 1 year, 11 months ago at 7:43 am. Add a comment
TECHIE TALK: What is an RSS feed?
RSS is a subscription to online news feeds and other frequently updated information that you would like to automatically receive without any additional investment of your time or energy. This subscription can be combined (“aggregated”) in a single profile such as iGoogle, Yahoo or iTunes, and are distributed immediately. RSS feeds are safe, they will not “steal” contact information, and can be canceled any time. An alternate method: have news forwarded to you via email. Curious? Try my blog, you just might like the convenience! Continue Reading…
Posted 1 year, 11 months ago at 2:15 pm. Add a comment
RECENT EMPLOYER: McMahon Group’s “Jazz Medicine Program” presents “MusicMed Magazine”
In May 2007, the CEO of The McMahon Group hired me to manage a music program for medical doctors who are interested in recording music and/or using music for the benefit of their patients and staff. Joining the project staff of three, I created email blasts, press kits, and identified prospective advertisers. Other responsibilities involved running an online store and developing marketing materials for the niche magazine. Since inception, the online store at http://www.mcmahonjazzmedicine.com has sold over 4000 independent CDs by musical doctors, including the popular compilation album, The Healing Power of Music.
In this capacity for eight months, I had the honor of working with the Publication Directors, editors, designers and salespeople responsible for leading newsmagazines such as General Surgery News, Pharmacy Practice News, and Gastroenterology and Endoscopy News.
Posted 2 years ago at 8:58 pm. Add a comment
Creativity in Business: from NYU’s Stern School of Business
“Creativity and innovation are key drivers of success for many of today’s leading companies. Some of the most dramatic gains in shareholder value over the last few years (e.g., Google and Apple) are due to a culture of creative innovation. Indeed, a culture of creativity, innovation and design is commonly recognized as the only sustainable competitive advantage.” Source
Posted 2 years, 7 months ago at 9:37 pm. Add a comment
CLIENT: SIFMA (merging websites for two financial associations)
Contract on a three person team – See http://www.sifma.org for updated site.
Posted 2 years, 9 months ago at 7:36 pm. Add a comment
CLIENT: Jesse Gelber, Composer
Jesse Gelber is a ground-breaking Indie celebrity in the underground Jazz scene of NYC. This is the story of the branding development project he hired me to manage, from conception through production. Continue Reading…
