Canadian Music Trade - August/September 2017 | Page 27

subjects , but improves estimation and computation skills and enhances student engagement in school learning overall .” That ’ s a lot of learning …
Okay , we get it . The research supports it . So what do the educators say ?
Sandy Thomas , a lawyer and a board member for Jazz Performance and Education ( JPEC ), is in charge of JPEC ’ s school outreach program . She volunteers to set up music programs in schools in high-needs and under-serviced areas – particularly those with limited or no formal music programs . It works out to about 50 visits a
year in the Toronto area .
Thomas has witnessed the children ’ s concentration , focus , and thinking in the sessions . “ These interactive workshops examine the various components of jazz , the roles of various instruments , the importance of improvisation , composition , and more .”
After one session , a teacher said : “ I noticed that even the children who have some behavioural challenges were fully engaged with the programming and calmed down . With the room full of instruments formed in concentric circles , I felt that it added to the philosophy of community at the Africentric school .”
JPEC is one of several not-for-profit organizations with a school program . In JPEC ’ s case , musicians are paid to visit one or more classrooms and conduct workshops , either as individuals or in groups . The kids come away inspired to learn .
Teacher and musician Andre Soares uses all kinds of music ensembles as a way to teach repertoire , soloing , listening , and basic music theory .
He has seen resources in schools reduced for the arts , including music . If teachers , faculty , and parents want music for their children , teachers are responsible for making it happen themselves . “ I usually have to contact the people who will provide the funds ,” Soares notes .
Because some of the kids he teaches come from low-income families , he spends his own time researching and arranging for them to attend symphony performances and other events , as well as bringing musicians to his school .
Tafelmusik , the internationally known Canadian baroque orchestra and chamber choir , does its part by offering free afternoon concerts , providing 150 free tickets to full performances for student audiences , advancing downloadable preparatory materials for teachers and parents , and arranging musician visits to schools throughout North America .
There are others , too , but often , for the kids to get up close and personal , money is needed to pay for workshops and musicians .
We know that music is social . Music in schools can bring people together for all kinds of causes says James Miller , a grade eight teacher in Newmarket , ON . Music , he says , can be the catalyst for fundraising events , recognition events like Black History Month , and special campaigns like anti-bullying and mental health awareness .
Miller is also a professional musician , has taught songwriting at York Region Arts Camp for seven years , and conducted local elementary choirs for 11 years , involving over 3,000 children from over 20 schools .
All the teachers and musicians I spoke to feel that music in schools is much more than just fun . Soares confirms the research : music can help with social interaction , cooperation , emotional wellbeing , goal setting , and concentration .
So back to the research … The Coalition for Music Education has shared research on its website that once again talks about the benefits of music . Study after study tells us that music education enhances learning on many fronts .
School curriculum is set by individual provinces , and some are more positive about music education than others . For example , the Manitoba curriculum for grades one to eight says : “ Music enriches a vibrant culture and is integral to human life . It has the power to illuminate , deepen , broaden , and enhance human experience . Music and musicians have an impact on daily experience , help define and express individual and collective identities , and shape , reflect , and comment upon societal and cultural values .”
Integral to human life . That ’ s a pretty strong statement . Ontario ’ s curriculum document for kindergarten to grade eight is a little different : “ Since arts experiences offer other modes and ways of experiencing and learning , children will have opportunities to think and feel as they explore , problem solve , express , interpret , and evaluate the process and the results . To watch a child completely engaged in an arts experience is to recognize that the brain is on , driven by the aesthetic and emotional imperative to make meaning , to say something , to represent what matters .”
PBS Parents , a parenting resource from the American public broadcaster , reports the benefits of making music : “ Making music involves more than the voice or fingers playing an instrument ; a child learning about music has to tap into multiple skill sets , often simultaneously . For instance , people use their ears and eyes , as well as large and small muscles , says Kenneth Guilmartin , co-founder of Music Together , an early childhood music development program for infants through kindergarteners that involves parents or caregivers in the classes .”
But is the money where the political mouths are ? Children are influenced by music from – and even before – birth . Most cultures sing to their babies to soothe and calm them . As kids grow , rhythm makes them happy . Often one of the first tricks children learn is how to clap to a beat . In pre-school , music encourages focus and cooperation .
By the time kids enter the first grade , whether they are tonedeaf or not , music is usually part of their makeup , and those benefits of focus , teamwork , sight , smell , touch stimulation , and confidence continue to be strengthened throughout their lives .
Art and science explain each other ’ s depths , as physicist / saxophonist / author Stephon Alexander explores in his 2016 book , The Jazz of Physics : The Secret Link Between Music and the Structure of the Universe .
During a short but dense seven-minute TED Talk , Dr . Alexander referenced the structure of jazz great John Coltrane ’ s composition “ Giant Steps ,” drawing connections between quantum physics and a Coltrane-created diagram that Alexander identified as a “ musicalmathematical realization of quantum gravity .”
Imagine Coltrane and Einstein on the same stage . Mind-blowing . So back to my first point ... When kids are involved with music , they are learning so much . The science is there . So why do school boards and governments seek to cut arts funding when international research confirms the wide-ranging cognitive , emotional , physical , and social benefits of music instruction ?
Beats me .
Nancy Miller is a children ’ s writer and a jazz fan .
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE • 27