Thank you for joining the MusicFriends program and
for your support of music education. MENC: The National Association for
Music Education is pleased to present MusicFriends E-Newsletter Volume
4, Number 4.
MENC's mission
is to advance music education by e
ncouraging
the study and making of music by all. We believe music is intrinsically
valuable and should be part of the core curriculum in every school for
that reason alone. That music study appears to benefit students in so
many other areas of their lives is a big bonus! (See the "Quick
Fact About the Benefits of Music" in each newsletter for examples.)
Knowledge of these benefits can be very helpful when you are trying to
convince your local school board to protect the music program...and you'll
feel even more positive about supporting music education for your kids
and all the kids in your community.
The MusicFriends e-newsletters will provide you with information you can use to support your local music program and, as a result, improve education by promoting the teaching and learning of music. And remember, music-making isn't limited to kids — we hope you will make music with your children and community!
Your feedback is encouraged. To ask questions of the staff at MENC, contact annen@menc.org.
Music Quote
11 Questions to Ask when Getting an Instrument for Your Child
Teen Songwriting Contest - USA Weekend and American Idol
Music
Quote
Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot
remain silent.
— Victor Hugo
Quick
Fact About the Benefits of Music Education
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.
Research
News
Music
may influence pain relief
Subjects in a University of Montreal study listened to pleasant and discordant music while having various applications of heat applied to their forearms. The subjects reported feeling up to 20 percent less pain while listening to pleasant music than while listening to discordant music. This result strengthens the idea that emotions can affect pain as well as the idea that listeners actually feel the emotions expressed by music rather than just hearing the sounds.
— Recent Music and Brain Research, Society for Neuroscience, November 10, 2003.
Special Section: Tips
for Parents of Music Students
11 Questions to Ask when Getting an Instrument for Your Child
This easy to use question
sheet provides parents with good questions to ask to ensure you get
a quality instrument for your child. The questions were created by the
author of Growing Your Musician: A Practical Guide for Band and Orchestra
Parents and MusicFriend, Tony Bancroft.
Teen Songwriting Contest – USA Weekend and American Idol
DEADLINE FEBRUARY 17
Teens aged 13 to 18 are encouraged to write lyrics to a short song about
making a difference to honor of our national day of volunteering. The
contest is hosted by USA Weekend and will be judged by American Idol’s
Simon Cowell and 2004 winner Fantasia Barrino.
The winner will receive a trip for two to this year’s finale, a meet-and-greet with Simon Cowell, lyrics printed in USA Weekend’s Magazine, and many other prizes. Find out more about this contest, read what Simon and Fantasia have to say about writing lyrics, and enter the contest online. The deadline is February 17 so be sure to act fast!
Arkansas
Law Will Boost Music and Art Education in Elementary Schools
Low note sounds for Music Education
Picking up a cultural rhythm: Mariachi band helps Latino students
A reason to be upbeat: Center to help struggling school music programs
Will
shrinking budgets affect music programs?
Your
Local Music Teacher Should Know About…
March is Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM®)!
MIOSM is gearing up for March and so are music teachers. MIOSM is a month
long celebration of music in our schools. This focus on music education
provides a time to shine the spotlight on the importance of music education
and provides an opportunity for MusicFriends to advocate on behalf of
music education. A special MIOSM advocacy
web page has been set up for teachers and MusicFriends and includes
tips for talking to your state legislature, school board, local paper,
and to the general media.
Be sure to check out two particular programs that are integral to MIOSM—World’s Largest Concert and National Copyright Week.
World’s Largest Concert
The World’s
Largest Concert (WLC®) is the highlight of Music In Our Schools
Month (MIOSM) each year in March. The WLC is a televised sing-along concert
that links students around the world through music and now reaches an
estimated 6 million students, teachers, and music supporters each year.
Be sure to check your local PBS station
to watch the WLC at 1:00 pm EST on March 10.
To assist teachers in preparing their students to participate, The World’s Largest Concert Teacher’s Guide, with reproducible student music and piano accompaniments, lesson plans, and activities for the WLC, is available in its entirety on the MENC site.
Click here for a list of stations that have registered to air the WLC. Always check your local listings to confirm, since airdate and time are subject to station manager discretion and could change if scheduling conflicts arise. If you aren’t receiving the WLC in your area, click here.
National Copyright Awareness Week
In this age of illegal downloading, MENC has joined with the Copyright
Society of the USA to sponsor Copyright Awareness Week in conjunction
with Music In Our Schools Month. Copyright
Awareness Week will be March 21-25. The goal of the event is to teach
students basic concepts about copyright in the hopes that they will become
more appreciative of the efforts of creative people and the protections
the law affords them.
To that effect, MENC has developed “Creativity in the Classroom” to give teachers of all disciplines and levels ways to teach children about the importance of copyright. Find more about “Creativity in the Classroom!”
Lessons and information on African American History Month (February)
Lessons and information on Jazz Appreciation Month (April)
Just
for MusicFriends
Music In Our Schools Month Awareness Items
Get ready for Music In Our Schools Month this March by stocking up on
awareness
items now! Show your support for music education with these colorful
pens, pads, stickers, t-shirts, polo shirts, tambourines, pencils, and
much more! Order early; supplies are limited!
Get your local radio station to play the Why Music Public Service Announcements!
Why Music? is a series of radio public service announcements
produced twice annually by MENC to coincide with Music In Our Schools
Month in March and with the traditional beginning of school in late August.
The series features top country, pop, jazz, and classical artists talking
about the value of music education.
You can help get this series aired by calling your local adult contemporary, country, jazz, or classical station and asking the station manager to play the PSAs. This will help bring the importance of music education to even more people. Visit our web page to learn more about how to get the PSAs played and which of your favorite artists have recorded PSAs!
Donate to MusicFriends
Thanks so much to all of you that donated to our end-of-year campaign!
Your support means so much and will help keep music education in our schools
and alive in the hearts of children. It’s not too late! If you would
like to make a donation, please visit our web
page or call us at 1-800-336-3768 and ask for extension 323.
You can help
promote MusicFriends by displaying your membership decal on your vehicle,
by telling others about the Web site, and by distributing brochures when
possible at community and school events. To receive a supply of brochures,
please contact gretchenr@menc.org.
Read the previous MusicFriends newsletters:
- November, 2004
- August, 2004
- May, 2004
- February, 2004
- November, 2003
- August, 2003
- May, 2003
- February, 2003
- November, 2002
- August, 2002
- May, 2002
- February, 2002
- November, 2001
- August, 2001
- May, 2001
