A new study from the University of British Colombia finds that students who take music lessons do better in math, science and English across the board. Check out the full article here.
Tag Archives: music
During your Summer Break
During the summer break
We encourage our students to take it easy but it can be quite a shock to stop playing all together for three weeks and then suddenly pick back up where you left off. Even playing 1 scale or doing a run-through of your performance piece is helpful.
You can also try to pick out the melody of your favorite pop song! Give your fine-motor skills and your brain this short-term visit together instead of creating a long length of time between practice sessions/lessons. This keeps your skills alive, rather than starting all over again in the fall.
Audiation
Audiation is the ability to hear music when no musical sound is present. When you audiate, you have internalized music and are “thinking” music. While progressively omitting the lyrics in a song they have learned, children are given the opportunity to audiate.
Some children may spontaneously “fill in the blanks” by singing the missing music. Regardless of the response, this is an opportunity to engage the children’s music listening and thinking skills.
How To Be a Powerful Performer
1.Confidence- put on your super hero mask and do the “power pose,” even if you don’t feel confident. You may be surprised at how you feel afterward.
2.Take a bow- it is so important to give a good bow after your performance. Remember that you are thanking the audience for listening. We practice this a lot during Workshop Week, but practice at home too!
3.Have fun! You are sharing a unique talent that showcases YOU and who you have become through music. Enjoy it!
Happy Workshop Week from the Myriad Music and Dance Team!
Build Highways in your Brain!
Piano Practice
Practicing a new skill is hard. Sometimes it feels impossible and can be very discouraging. Luckily, Myriad Music School is here to bring you some good news.
The reason learning a new skill (specifically an instrument) is hard is because you are building new pathways in your brain. We call these “Lighting Bolt Highways”. When you are practicing something new between your 2 hands, or with your feet, you are sending lighting bold messages across the 2 hemispheres of your brain. This creates new highways for the information to travel along.
In order for this information to last for your whole lifetime you have to send that message across 10,000 times! See how amazing you are by just sitting down to practice?
Listening vs. Hearing
“Listening“ and “Hearing” mean two different things when it comes to music. “Hearing” acknowledges that sound is happening whereas 
puts meaning to that sound. During Workshop Week we asked our students to draw a picture while listening to their peers perform. The pictures represented how the music made them feel, the scene in their mind that the music invoked, or the general mood of the piece. There were some incredible results including this one!
