Saturday, October 30, 2010

Using your whole brain instead of just half a brain.

Did you know that printing (as a non-musical example) primarily uses function from one side of the brain, while cursive writing requires function from BOTH sides of the brain?
I only just learned that.   


I like the idea of using a whole brain.  


You've heard of "use it, or lose it"...well...
I like the idea of supporting our children to live life in such a way that they use whole brains too!  


Music activities prepare the brain for more difficult tasks needed later by preparing the brain to work from both hemispheres. 


For some reason, musical activity requires function from both sides of the brain.  Not all non-musical activities do.   


In fact, studies that look at what parts of the brain are working during different kinds of activity show that playing a musical instrument uses more areas of the brain than almost any other activity. 


Wow...


Because of this, participation in musical activity helps to train the brain to focus in certain ways.  Music helps the brain to process higher-level thinking.


That means that musically trained bodies and brains result in increased emotional maturity, intellectual capacity, ability to plan and execute a plan.  All great life skills.


Music is a tool to help wire the brain to reach this higher level of thinking. 


When we put instruments in a child’s hands in the early years, we are teaching them an activity that is positive and will last them a lifetime. 


What a wonderful gift to give our children!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Music and movement education enhances memory skills & retention and language development.

With the help of cat scans, we have been able to see what happens to the brain when listening to music. 


Each component of music affects a different part of the brain, 
e.g. a familiar song activates the left frontal lobe, timbre the right frontal lobe, and pitch the left posterior. 


One side of the brain processes the word while the other processes the music – activating the whole brain ensures higher retention in learning. 


Short-term memory has the ability to hold only seven bits of information. 
If bits of information are bonded together, as in a song, it can be processed as one piece. 


By condensing the information, the brain is able to receive and process more.


Wow...

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Become involved in a children's music & movement program if you want to...

...nurture your child's language development.
...increase your child's ability to retain knowledge and information.
...nurture your child's inner confidence.
...nurture your child's physical coordination.
...nurture your child's social skills.
...nurture your child's ability to sing.
...nurture your child's ability to play an instrument.


If you want to nurture your child's ability to play three or four instruments then come to Musicalia!


That's what we do at Musicalia...we are multi-instrumentalists in the making.


We play instruments from baby shakers and giant drums and Orff instruments to violins, cellos, pianos, guitars and ukuleles beginning at 18 months of age!  


By age 10 we are able to play many tunes on the violin, guitar, recorder, harmonica.  
We play in ensemble.  We have fun!  


And parents do not have to know how to play any instruments to support their child in this process.

Truly.


It's always exciting...

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Decide what you believe...

Do you really believe that musical movement activities benefit children's physical, musical, creative, spiritual, intellectual, emotional or social development?

The research is overwhelming and supports the belief that 
children benefit from
active,
hands-on and feet-on
engagement 
in music and movement.

Active music-making develops 
the personality,
physical coordination,
academic intelligence,
cooperative behaviour,
creativity,
self-esteem,
self-confidence,
and
joyful expression of the spirit of the child.


Your strongest beliefs will determine the choices you make for your child.


It's worth believing in the benefits musical learning has for all children.
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