Warning: Music-making may enhance human attachment capabilities!

Beware!

Music making creates stronger bonds between people.

Stronger non-verbal bonds!  These are bonds with heartstrings.  Attachment that lasts.

Cutting the strings is routine at this time of year for any teacher and I am no exception.

Students grow up and move one. (teachers grow up and move on!)

Yesterday was the last party of the year.  (a bit of a relief because now I am having a bit of a holiday)

This last party was also the last Musicalia party for a creative, talented, fun-living, popcorn-eating bunch of kids, some who've been with me for 10 years. (more than a bit of sad...)

I know we'll keep in touch and I'll hear about their milestones for many years to come (for instance, I'm off to a gr.12 graduation ceremony tonight for a young woman who studied/played with me for 8 years (ages 3-11).

Knowing we'll keep in touch is reassuring but I still feel attached (and sad!)

with a song in my heart - artwork from lorettaalvarado.com...so beautiful!

Beware!  Music making creates stronger bonds between people.

I think it may also create stronger people!

What do you think?

Love at First Song

You've heard of love at first sight...well...how about love at first song?

I've had so many children come by lately to meet me and see the studio.

The parents are for the most part, looking for a playful, child-oriented program (thankfully! because that's my "forte") and not for a didactic type of lesson (something more traditional and teacher-oriented).

I don't think there is anything wrong with the teacher-oriented type of lesson.  I have just seen so many children leave with excitement bubbling up and music pulsing through their bodies once they've had a chance to make up their own songs (and not mine) on some beautiful instruments.

So, the child walks in for the first time and is instantly drawn to the  Orff Orchestra set up in the room....mallets at the ready...songs pour forth!

These children are already musical.  They respond to opportunities for creating beautiful melodies.

It's as though they fall in love with music as soon as they play their songs on the beautiful rosewood bars of the xylophone.

As we touch the beautiful wooden bars we are improvising in C pentatonic...mommy on the metallophone, Susan on the contrabass bar and the child on the glock or the bass xylophone.  It sounds so lovely they just keep playing and playing.

What's next?! they say and then they try the piano, the guitar, the harp.  It's all so magical.

Then the bad news...classes have filled in the last day...and my private lesson times are fully booked as well...now what???

Maybe one day there will be another teacher to work at Musicalia.  I can dream!

If you fall down...you get back up! What a great message for kids.

I don't think I've ever seen anything like this.

 If you feel like life is handing you too many challenges...watch this!

Now don't you feel ridiculously better?

Wow!

Music Makes Us Healthy!

Love this quote...

 "We are approaching the point where a doctor would legitimately be negligent not to actually recommend music as a therapeutic intervention."(Cynthia Wunsch)

taken from:

The Unlikely Entrepreneur

Check it out.  Cynthia teaches classical music and has some interesting things to say about music and its benefits beyond the obvious musical ones.

Imagine a what life is like for children who are regularly participating in a creative musical education program with a broad variety of listening experiences, movement, puppetry, multi-instrumental learning and hands-on theoretical learning designed especially for children under age 12.

That's what I call "enhanced education".
Check out my website...that's what we do here!

Musicalia 
Music and Movement Education for Babies and Children

How music transforms a child's life...completely inspiring!

I love watching this man!

You can feel his passion for music and people and just being involved.

Gustavo Dudamel, originally from Venezuela, is a product of music approached as a passionate discipline from a young age.  Wow!!!  

click on this...
Gustavo Dudamel on 60 minutes

Just watch this piece from 60 minutes.  It's so inspiring.  (and only 12 mins long)

Victory...depression...they're all just feelings...so it must be a job for Super-God

So...just a few weeks ago someone suggested to me that I should seriously consider working at McDonald's because I'd actually make more money per hour if I did.  I thought after all these years I would have a thicker skin about the money comment but I found myself looking at my life and wondering what I'd done with it.

I began to feel quite depressed.  My thoughts were draining my energy.  I had to shift my focus.

Shortly after that I remembered that wonderful TEDtalks video by Taylor Mali and watched it  (three times quickly in a row!)

What Teachers Make by Taylor Mali  

This video is guaranteed to give a teacher that elusive !VICTORY! feeling.

Starting a blog

I'm excited to be writing again.  I've been so busy the last few years moving my music studio (twice!) and getting married (once!) and moving house (twice!) that my regular routines of researching and creating kind of fell by the wayside.

All those life changes and upheavals have meant 7-day music teaching work weeks at 12-15 hours per day minimum...this working with young children really is front-end loaded!

I've been feeling a little tired lately and realized I needed to re-charge my creative teaching self.  So...I'm taking some time away from teaching this summer...off I go to yoga, the gym, the beach, spend time with my husband, take some naps and the start of a blog.  

I have never blogged before...but it seems like something my personality might like (a brain that won't let go of an idea, a mind that thinks constantly of what's next, a love of people and writing, not caring about the money...I recently read that you shouldn't blog to make money because you won't make any!)  Check out  Penelope Trunk's Guide to Blogging.

Welcome to Make Me Musical !

I just called my husband to ask him what he thought of my various blog names  ('Make Me Musical !' was my first and favorite choice).

Luckily, when I read them out (all 2 of them) he liked the one I liked. (Phew..)

He said, "Perfect!" (I love that word)

And then he said, "Of course, it's erroneous...but it's perfect!" (I'm not as fond of erroneous...I liked perfect better)

Of course, I agreed with him on the erroneous thing...

"Yes," I said, "I know that no one can really 'make' anyone musical but so many people DO think I can make someone musical."

"Yes," he said, "it's the perfect (I love that word) title for your blog."

:)