Do you know someone who would love and benefit from Kindermusik, but does not have the financial resources to pay for a class?

Every year we set aside a portion of our class enrollments for scholarships for children that would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience Kindermusik.

It goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyway), that we believe that music is the most powerful tool you can give your child now for future success in school, work and life, and that everyone deserves access to a Kindermusik class. Not only for the sake of your children, but for the wonderful benefits for the grownups!

Our 2012 Scholarship application can be found HERE.

If you know a family that has a financial need and would like to participate in Kindermusik, please share this post with them. Or, like this post and it will show on your wall. You never know who it will reach that you might not otherwise have thought of.

Thanks so much for your help.

-posted on behalf of Miss Analiisa, Miss Allison and Miss Beth, who are full of the blessings they’ve received over the years from our Studio3Music families.

In fact, as I write this, I am sitting here doing my best to force motivate my violin player through his practice.  It’s not always easy. He’d rather be playing Xbox, or tug-a-war with his dog, or making up stories with his Halo Megabloks – anything but practicing. (Except, well, taking a shower and washing his hair, of course.)

But I know something he doesn’t. Finnish researchers (Did you know my maiden name was Koivisto? Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I like these scientists so much) have just developed a new method that shows the wide neural networks (including motor, emotions and creativity) that become activated all over the brain as music is listened to. Now scientists have an even better way to understand how music affects us.

Just like eating your vegetables and fish and getting enough vitamin D have a profound impact on my children’s physical health and development, regular music lessons/classes from an early age increases my children’s ability to learn. That’s a scientific fact, not just my opinion.

Here are a few examples of how scientists and researches believe music helps the brain:

• Studies have shown that music lessons/classes assist the brain to process sounds more efficiently. This means that when your child is trying to stay focused on reading a history text in a noisy classroom, he or she will have an easier time concentrating than a non lesson taker.
• Fast forward to a grown up job in one of those tiny cubicles. Multi-tasking and concentrating in a busy, loud office is an essential skill, one your violin player is much more likely to have.
• One researcher has found that the silence between two musical notes triggers the brain cells and neurons, which are responsible for the development of sharp memory.
• Other studies demonstrate that children who undergo musical training have a better verbal recall than those who have none. The amount of information that can be recalled increases the longer their period of musical training.
• Learning a second language is mandatory for high school graduation. Musicians are much better than non musicians at discerning the subtleties in pitch in foreign languages. This is especially helpful for tonal languages, like Mandarin.
• Coordination and concentration are also improved when a child takes instrument lessons. Think about what a flute player does all at the same time – moves both hands, reads music, listens to the players around him, watches the conductor – that’s a lot to coordinate!
• We know that music stimulates the areas of the brain that are responsible for planning and analyzing, thereby improving your organizational skills and making you more capable of handling math, reasoning and other cognitive tasks.
• And I think most importantly, when a child masters a piece of music or a difficult technique, it provides a sense of accomplishment, and gives a boost in confidence that spills over into all areas of life and produces a desire to tackle more challenges.

I want my children to grow up and have a good work ethic, an eagerness to try new things, the ability to reason and think, and the confidence that they can successfully navigate life.  The music they participate in now will help them accomplish just that.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who is going to make salmon burgers tomorrow night for dinner. After she wrestles her violin-playing 9 year old into the shower in the morning.

Can’t you just hear that song in your head right now?  I also remember sitting next to our stereo speaker, asking my dad over and over to replay “The Chipmunk Song” (Christmas Don’t Be Late).   Now, if you were a kid in America in 1958, (see picture of my older brother and me), the previous sentence should immediately trigger your memory to play that silly melody.

What song does this snowy picture immediately remind you of?  Yes, “Frosty the Snowman!” Did you brain “play” it for you when you thought of it?

This silent, “inner hearing”, or audiation, is the ability to “hear” music when no musical sound is present. When you audiate, you have internalized and are “thinking” music. For example, have you ever found yourself with a song “going through your head?” You’re audiating! Being able to hear music in this way is an important part of musical literacy, just as being able to think thoughts without speaking them aloud is an important in language and thought development.

Dr. Edwin Gordon defined audiation as “the hearing and comprehending of sound that is not physically present.” According to Gordon, “audiation is to music as thinking is to language.” Just as children babble before speaking and thinking in language, they also progress through steps in music before they fluently speak and think in music.

Tips for parents: This is a fun game to play with in the car, in the kitchen, or while cuddling on a lazy Saturday morning when the children pile in bed with you. Start singing a favorite song, and then stop before you sing the last note of a phrase or the end of the song. Wait and see if your child sings it for you. If he does, he is successfully “thinking music,” or hearing it in his head.  – Theresa Case

What I think is really cool, (being a music geek), is all the ways we can use this “inner hearing” in our everyday lives.  When someone asks you, “what is the 10^th letter of the alphabet?” your mind automatically plays the ABC song to help you find the letter “J.”  When faced with a word we do not recognize, we “sound out” the syllables in our heads to try to figure it out. (Like the word, “audiation”)!  We use familiar melodies to help children with everyday tasks when we sing, “toys away, toys away,” or “this is the way we brush our teeth.”

In Kindermusik classes, we practice “hearing the music inside” in many different ways:  Asking children what a bear or a train sounds like before playing the sound clip for them, leaving out successive words in “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,”  or the letters B-I-N-G-O in you-know-what song.  We take familiar melodies and change the words to suit the situation, as in “Got a Rock in my Pocket.”  We then use this song as a humming activity.  Humming is another way of “hearing the music inside,” as we usually think of the words of a song while making humming the notes.  We expose children to many types of music to provide them with a broad and varied musical vocabulary on which to build their future musical experiences.

And remember, when we share all these musical experiences together in class, whether playing drums to “African Noel,” dancing to “The Sugar Plum Fairy,” or rocking to Greensleeves, we are sharing all of our collected memories and feelings about that music with all the other children and grownups in class.  We all bring to each activity our own life experiences and are allowed to share in the joy of the moment with others, in addition to creating new ones for our children.

One more picture for you, so I’ll know what classic song is playing as your part of “listening to the music inside.”

-posted by Miss Judy, who constantly gets music “stuck” inside of her head, and loves it!

Click on the image below to see the book full-size. For the best viewing, click on the double page button to the left of the X on the top bar. As you listen to the song, flip the pages in time to the words.  Please feel free to share this with your family and friends via Facebook or email them the blog link. Enjoy!

-posted by Miss Analiisa on behalf of all of us at Studio3Music, who wish you a very warm and happy Hanukkah and Christmas season, filled with love, joy and peace.

Just imagine you weren’t slightly sick of this ubiquitous song and think about it as though it was the first time you’d ever heard it.  It has a lively tune. It’s really easy to sing along with, and the lyrics paint a compelling picture. Dashing through the snow.  A one-horse open sleigh, Laughing all the way. Making spirits bright. A sleighing song tonight. No wonder people love this song. Wouldn’t you enjoy riding in that sleigh on a dark, starry night, being pulled behind some Belgian horses with steam coming from their nostrils as they tossed their manes and bells jingled in the crisp night air? I would!

Back in the 1800’s, when horses were still the main mode of transportation, sleigh riding was popular.  James Lord Pierpont wrote his song originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh” about the sleigh races held on Salem Street in Medford Square, Massachusetts.  Records show Pierpont’s song about this winter event was copyrighted September 16, 1857.

Today in Medford, you can find a plaque commemorating the “Birthplace of Jingle Bells” at the Simpson Tavern–19 High Street, in case you go looking. The lively tone and mood of Pierpont’s song befits a tavern.  I can picture the men and women, exhilarated and flushed from the brisk outdoor air, coming in to Simpson’s place to laugh and talk about the race. I picture Pierpont at the piano, coaxed into entertaining the crowd, coming up with this lively ballad about their winter night reveries as the fire of the tavern crackles in the background.  Laughter rings through the warm room and the horses bells can be heard in the distance. Perhaps some races are still in progress as the group warms up with ale and friendship.

To be fair I must tell you that there is some controversy about the writing of Jingle Bells. Some claim that the song was written by Pierpont for a Thanksgiving program for Sunday school children while he lived in Savannah, Georgia. The citizens of Medford, MA, refute that claim and historians continue the debate.

I obviously think Jingle Bells is a song worthy of a fresh look this holiday season. So, here are the lyrics for you to enjoy as you picture yourself back in New England during a snowy Christmas season. Frankly, I’m having trouble imaging Pierpont writing this song in Georgia!

Dashing thro’ the snow,
In a one-horse open sleigh,
O’er the hills we go,
Laughing all the way;
Bells on bob tail ring,
Making spirits bright,
Oh what sport to ride and sing
A sleighing song to night.

Chorus:
Jingle bells, Jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what joy it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh.
Jingle bells, Jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what joy it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh.

A day or two ago,
I thought I’d take a ride,
And soon Miss Fannie Bright
Was seated by my side,
The horse was lean and lank;
Misfortune seemed his lot,
He got into a drifted bank,
And we, we got upsot.

Chorus

A day or two ago,
The story I must tell
I went out on the snow
And on my back I fell;
A gent was riding by
In a one-horse open sleigh,
He laughed as there I sprawling lie,
But quickly drove away.

Chorus

Now the ground is white
Go it while you’re young,
Take the girls to night
And sing this sleighing song;
Just get a bob tailed bay
Two forty as his speed.
Hitch him to an open sleigh
And crack, you’ll take the lead.

Chorus

Additional song notes:  Jingle is not a kind of bell, it is an imperative verb. And bobtail simply means that they “bobbed” or cut short the tail of the horse, which was the style of the day.

-posted by Donna Detweiler, who has actually ridden in a one-horse open sleigh on a starry night in Montana—one of the highlights of her life!

Kate swinging Up, Up, Up, Up and Down, Down, Down, Down

Every parent does it. Every parent to some extent brags, compliments and shares in the excitement of his or her child. I do it. I do it ALL the time. I am so proud of my girls. I think they are genius children and that they really could do no wrong. I sing my child’s praises to friends, family and acquaintances.

In fact, I am about to do it now. My youngest daughter, Kate, has been in the Kindermusik program since two months of infancy. We started her in Family Time, then in Village and now she is a thriving Our Timer. I watched as her progression over the past two years finally came to a head just this last week. I had Kate flying through the air on my legs when I thought – I should do this to the Our Time vocal warmup – Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up like a rocket ship… and Down, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down like a shooting star. (I know you just sang this scale exercise as you read that).  It’s addictive and the kids LOVE it.

I introduced this concept of using our scale warmup as a gross motor activity and by the second go-round Kate was singing it by herself.  The next day she was playing play-doh when I overheard her taking the compound containers and stacking them as she sang her scales up and down. My husband whispered, ‘She really is starting to connect things’! He was right. Kate has mastered her scales and she is applying them without my guidance. How proud am I?! Extremely. I want to scream from the mountaintop that my two-year old is a Kindermusik prodigy (though I know this is still just the beginning of her Kindermusik education).

Knowing that parents bask in the little glories of their children, we, as your Studio3Music teachers, want to hear about these milestones whether big or little, whether you deem them inconsequential or bigger than the 2012 Presidential election – tell us! We encourage our Studio3Music community of families to share these tidbits with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/studio3music.

All geniuses dress this way...

We love our kids, your kids and our community of loving parents. Each child is so different and special in his and her own way, and finding the joy in one another’s growth is only part of the full Kindermusik experience.

My personal next step: getting Kate on video singing her scales. This precious little toddler voice will be gone before I know it. Plus, when she’s 18 and on her first date (yes, she’s not dating ‘til 18) we will remind her that she is every bit as precious to us now as she was when she was two singing her scales wearing only her diaper.

-posted by Miss Kim, who is proud of her children and her Studio3Music Kindermusik community.

Question: Is it typical for each class to be very similar each week? We’ve noticed that we are singing the same songs each week and I’m hoping that the class changes a bit from week to week. Could you let me know?

Answer:
Your question was both astute and excellent. That tells me that you are paying attention in class! (Which is wonderful, since seriously, I’ve had a few mommas that text the entire class time!)

While we as adults may quickly tire of an activity, it is important that we recognize the importance of repetition to our children’s learning. Learning, or the growth of neural connections in the brain, is strengthened through repetition. A one-time experience is not enough for a neural connection to form and stabilize. It is through repetition that possibility becomes ability. That is why Kindermusik activities are repeated over and over.

We will, however, do “extensions” of activities. The brain loves to be a little surprised once in a while; a surprise causes the brain to pay extra attention. One week we might sing a song, the next we’ll sing the song and add a manipulative. We might do the same lap bounce for 5 weeks in a row, but change up the words in the 4th or 5th week. This allows children to have mastery of an idea before we add a new one.

Three interesting facts :

1. Learning requires electrical energy to create neural pathways. The less “automatic” something is, the more electrical energy is required. Think of something you do automatically – like count by 10′s. It takes very little electrical energy for your brain to travel that “counting 10′s” neural pathway, because you’ve done it a lot.

The more well-traveled a pathway, the less energy is required. That’s why you can do two things at once. Watch TV and knit, for example. When you are first learning to knit, it takes all of your effort. Looking, counting stitches, watching your needles. As it becomes automatic, you use less brain energy, so you can layer another activity on top of that without fear of accidentally turning those mittens into a hat instead.

Communicating Neurons

2.  Did you ever wonder why children expect a favorite activity to be repeated again and again and again? Repetition is a necessary building block of development. Children’s brains KNOW that they need repetition. They are pretty smart little creatures! Do you remember the show Blue’s Clues? (Never the same for me after Steve left…). The creators did research while developing the show as to what preschoolers wanted to see in the show, and you can probably guess the answer by now – repetition!

3. So what about the fact that we always have a hello and goodbye ritual, a bounce, a steady beat, rocking time, and story time (in the older classes)? As my friend Heather Wiebe says (she a Kindermusik teacher in Alberta who is fascinated about the way the brain works, just like me) “Patterns make children happy.  Knowing what to expect and having things happen in that way not only helps children know what to expect and feel at ease, it’s also how they mark time.” When the environment and routine is predictable, then a child feels safe and learning can naturally happen.

We know you’ll be ready to move on to another activity before your children will (believe me, I’ve been there three times with my own kids!) know that you’ll get new music and activities soon enough. And a Kindermusik Education is the most powerful tool you can give them now, for future success in school, work and life.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who would love you to email her and let her know your questions. (She can’t read your minds, you know. She does have eyes in the back of her head, but not mind-reading powers. Though now that her children are getting older, wonders if she can trade those extra eyes in for psychic abilities. Or maybe she doesn’t want to know what is going on in there!)

Written by Lydia Maria Child in 1844, this holiday poem was first published in a magazine for children called Flowers for Children, Vol. 2.  A novelist, journalist and teacher, Lydia was a well-known author.  When she began to write passionately about freeing slaves, her popularity waned, however she continue to write in spite of the controversy, courageously expressing her opinion that slavery was unjust. She passed away in 1880, after a rich literary life.  Her published works were diverse, including her works for children, a novel about pioneer life, how-to housekeeping books, emancipation literature and more.

If you’ve forgotten the tune, here is a link to the melody:  www.Christmas-Carols.net. I found many versions on YouTube. You can download the sheet music at www.free-scores.com, or download an MP3 version at www.beemp3.com/index.

A Boy’s Thanksgiving
By Lydia Maria Child

The Grandmothers at Thanksgiving

Over the river, and through the wood,
to Grandfather’s house we go;
the horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river, and through the wood,
to Grandfather’s house away!
We would not stop for doll or top,
for ’tis Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood-
oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes and bites the nose,
as over the ground we go.

Over the river, and through the wood.
with a clear blue winter sky,
The dogs do bark and the children hark,
as we go jingling by.

Over the river, and through the wood,
to have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring, “Ting a ling ding!”
Hurray for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river, and through the wood-
no matter for winds that blow;
Or if we get the sleigh upset
into a bank of snow.

Over the river, and through the wood,
to see little John and Ann;
We will kiss them all, and play snowball
and stay as long as we can.

Over the river, and through the wood,
trot fast my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound!
For ’tis Thanksgiving Day.

Our pre-Thanksgiving meal hike by Lake Michigan.

Over the river, and through the wood-
Old Jowler hears our bells;
He shakes his paw with a loud bow-wow,
and thus the news he tells.

Over the river, and through the wood-
when Grandmother sees us come,
She will say, “O, dear, the children are here,
bring pie for everyone.”

Over the river, and through the wood-
now Grandmothers cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

-posted by Donna Detweiler, who is having Thanksgiving at her house this year, but grandmother is coming over the river and through the woods to join us.

I love doing the different dances and movement activities we regularly have in class each week.  Participating in open movement activities is great.  I love seeing the varied and creative ways grown-ups and children find to dance to music, and of course, scarves and streamers always help.

But, one of my favorite things is group dances.  Some are fairly simple circle dances and are easier to pick up; others are more complicated and take a few weeks before they really begin to click.  This process is greatly helped when we dance as one cohesive group.

I never require that everyone hold hands when we dance in a circle, but I always encourage it, because, that way we truly dance as a group.  This is important for several reasons.  First, it is much easier to learn and participate in dancing when we have someone else to do it with. Not only do we see each other around the circle, but we can feel each other as well.  We help each other dance by picking up on the collective visual and physical cues of the other bodies around us, which helps us to communicate better.

What is more, being better communicators leads us to another one of my favorite benefits; when we dance together we create community.  It is my belief that group dancing is one of the fastest and best ways to create a safe and nurturing community in my classes.

Sometimes when I undertake to introduce a new dance to a class, I wonder what the outcome will be.  Will I explain it well enough? Will everyone get it? Will they like it? Usually by the time everything is said and done, all my concerns have flow out the window.  We all get up, we all might feel a little silly or vulnerable at first, but quickly realize that we can and will do something wonderful together, and in this place it is ok to be silly and vulnerable.

I see the confidence and courage of both children and adults take a steady climb upward when they feel the comfort and security created by dancing together.  We know in that moment as we see the smiling faces of those we are dancing with all around us that we are doing this thing together as a team.  It only works if we all work together to make it happen, which results in such a feeling of delight, accomplishment, and solidarity. Even if there are a few bumps and hiccups along the way it doesn’t matter, because hey, we did this thing together and it is glorious!

-posted by Miss Meresa, who thinks the world would be a happier more peaceful place if we all danced together.

It’s the traditions that make Christmas and any holiday or special event stand out in our memories.  Would it be Easter without dyed eggs and chocolate bunnies, or the Fourth of July without hotdogs, apple pie and fireworks, or a wedding without rings?  The answer: of course it would, but it might feel kinda funny, especially at first.

But every one of today’s traditions, once upon a time, were new additions to a time honored event.  “Joy to the World and “Silent Night” had premiers and were the new kids on the block.  They had to worm their way into the hearts of the people and become a tried and true Christmas tradition.  So over time the traditions of all our beloved holidays have changed.

I’ve added a new tradition to my Christmas – the family concert at the Symphony.  So a part of my Christmas preparations now is writing a script (and it’s all new this year) creating props, (all those are new, too) picking the music, (all new- well, all new old music, I guess is the better way to say that) and writing new music that none of you have ever heard before.

I’ve been deciding what kind of wacky things the Story Fairy will say and do, and wear on her head, it’ll be all new wackiness, but she’ll still be bossy (that’s traditional, after all) figuring out what Stacey and Michael will argue about and who gets to cry (Stacey is so funny when she cries…) crafting a story- yes, it’s all new and working with the arranger (he’s new!)  and the illustrator.  She stays the same, thankfully! I’ve grown accustomed to her style, and love her work, which will be –don’t be shocked – all new.  And we are adding a new twist. We have invited a choir to join us for the story… there will be lots of voices singing out with Christmas and Hanukkah spirit.

Things are starting to move quickly now in our quest toward an all new Holiday Symphony Serenade Show. The illustrations have already been sent to the photographer.  The arranger is working on the lullaby this weekend, our first read through was on Sunday, and Michael and I will begin building a very large Menorah in our garage sometime this week.   The Story fairy will be welding the Shamash – you just can’t miss that!

If you’re reading this and you feel kinda mystified, then you need to add our concert series to your Holiday Traditions.  Your children will love it and you will love it.  It’s a great way to spend a Saturday morning.  There will be group singing, of course, and a bounce, and some giggles, great harmony, a steady beat and a story and a snuggle.  If you now exactly what I’m talking about, get your tickets right here…. ‘cause it’s ALL NEW…..

-posted by Miss Allison, who will see you in the lobby after the show!