My Purpose

My Purpose

The purpose of this blog is to help people understand that music can be more then just entertainment, and what those things are. I want be able to help people with this blog. I don't know everything about music, I am still studying it, however, I will share what I have found. I hope you will be enlighted and edified by what I have to share. I worry that some people might turn a deaf ear to my blog if they read something on this blog that they don't agree with. I respect your beliefs. I don't agree with everything I read either. But I know you can find something that can help and interest you, if you just keep reading.

"Quotes Worth Mentioning"

QUOTES WORTH MENTIONING

When asked where his inspiration came from, Johannes Brahms said, "I immediately feel vibrations that thrills my whole being. These are the Spirit illuminating the soul power within, and in this exalted state, I see clearly what is obscure in my ordinary moods: Then I feel capable of drawing inspiration from above, as Beethoven ... Straighway the ideas flow in upon me, directly from God, and not only do I see distinct themes in my mind's eye but they are clothed in the right forms, harmonies, and orchestration. Measure by measure, the finished product is revealed to me when I am in those rare, inspired moods." "The powers from which all truly great composers like Mozart, Schubert, Bach and Beethoven drew their inspiration is the same power that enabled Jesus to work his miracles. It is the same power that created our earth and the whole universe"
("Talks with Great Composers", Arthur M. Abell)

"Give me power over he who shapes the music of a nation, and I care not for who shapes it laws"
Napolian Bonaparte

“Intellectual enlightenment consists of instruction in the arts, numbers, history, speech, and government. Music consummates a man’s life, giving his rituals meaning. Music has a trensforming effect on its listeners, and should be the first principle of government.” -The Teachings of Confucius.

I quote some remarks between,Gene R. Cook, and Mik Jagger made a few years ago:
Cook: "I have the opportunity to be with a lot of young people. Many say your music does not affect them adversely in any way. Others say it effects them in a very bad way. What is your opinion? What is your impact?”
Jagger "Our music is calculated to drive the kids to sex. It's not my fault what they do. It's up to them. I'm just making a lot of money.”
Cook: He was in Mexico making a profane and pornographic music video because the cost is 1/3 there. In addition it is easier to produce such videos there at the moment. He explained that though such videos with explicit sexual behavior is illegal on US national television, it soon will be, and they want to have the videos ready. Now not only audio pornography can be portrayed, but they can view it as well. He was making more money this way."
Jagger:“It doesn't matter what you do in life, there are no rules. There is no god. You can take whatever you want. It doesn't matter."

"To encourage literature and the arts is the duty which every good citizen owns to his country."
George Washington

"Music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul, and if it has the power to do this, it is clear that the young must be directed to music and must be educated in it."
Aristotle



(more qoutes to come)

PLEASE NOTE: It would greatly benefit the reader to follow blog postings from the first post to the most recent. Using the Blog Archive in the left column of the page to jump to the oldest posts. For now I will see if I can find a way to display the posting in chronilogical order, first post to the latest post.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Harmony Project

I came across the Harmony Project while watching the TV series, "Turning Point" on BYU TV.   It is a very fabulous thing that is going on.  It is a music program that is, well I will let you read ir for yourself.  Go to
http://www.harmony-project.org/ and read about it there.  Below is some research that I have gotten off of that website.  There are more stories and research about music programs helping children in many ways like the Harmony Project does, through out the rest of my blog.  Also check out the video link in the left column of my blog "The Creativity Factor"  
 
Harmony Project programs are research-based. I developed Harmony
1. A robust body of literature shows the following. Tiny kids
want to learn everything, and they want to learn it now!
academic motivation (natural curiosity) of 3rd graders tends to be stably
and predictably high. For every year a child remains in school, however,
intrinsic academic motivation plummets. Ie., kids show up interested and
seeking mastery experiences, and the things we do with kids in schools
tends to extinguish their curiosity and desire to learn. (See 2, below, for
the exception.)
References:
Harter, S. (1981). A new self-report scale of instrinsic versus extrinsic
orientation in the classroom: motivational and informational components.
Developmental Psychology, Vol 17(3), 300-312.
Lepper, M.R., Corpus, J.H., Iyengar, S.S. (2005). Intrinsic and extrinsic
motivational orientations in the classroom: Age differences and academic
correlates. Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 97(2), 184-196.
Makri-Botsari, E. (1999). Academic instrinsic motivation: Developmental
differences and relations to perceived scholastic competence, locus of
control and achievement. Evaluation and Research in Education, Vol 13(3),
157-171.
Intrinsic
2. Shirley Brice Heath, a linguistic anthropologist at Stanford
(now at Brown), wanted to learn what kids, ages 8 - 18, do in
their discretionary non-school hours.
conducted a 10-year qualitative research study, embedding ethnographers
in 124 different after-school programs throughout the country. She
transcribed some two million words of recorded conversation. All the
students involved in after school programs had benefited relative to peers
who had not engaged in after school programs. But, relative to students
who had participated in sports programs or community service programs
(like scouting, religious clubs, 4H, etc.), arts-engaged kids sounded like
they came from a different universe. Heath determined that, hands down,
arts-based programs produced the most powerful and enduring pro-social
impact on young people. The effect was particularly striking for
disadvantaged students, who tended to self-select into arts-based programs
at greater rates than did their more advantaged peers.
Heath's study demonstrates that arts-engaged students tend to remain
curious, engaged, and interested in the process of their own learning and
development -- a striking "exception" to the downward motivation trend
described in #1, above.
Reference:
To answer the question, shehttp://www.aep-arts.org/files/publications/ChampsReport.pdf
Imaginative Actuality: Learning in the Arts during the Nonschool
Hours Shirley Brice Heath with Adelma Roach, page 19 The article on page 1 of the compendium is also of note. It describes an analysis of data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey done by James Catterall and colleagues. Music-engaged high school students performed significantly better in math and language. Students with high levels of music engagement scored even higher. The effect persisted for disadvantaged students.
http://www.aep-arts.org/files/publications/ChampsReport.pdf
Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts James S. Catterall, Richard Chapleau and John Iwanaga, page 1
3. The RAND Corporation followed up on Heath's work to
essentially answer the following question. "Do all arts programs
produce powerful and enduring pro-social benefits, or are there
specific factors within high-performing arts programs that
account for the powerful pro-social benefit observed?"
RAND's landmark "Arts and Prosocial Impact" studies answered the
question. Quality instruction was necessary, but insufficient to produce the
prosocial benefits observed. There were, indeed, a handful of specific
factors besides quality instruction that were common to the highestperforming arts-based youth programs.
RAND, Arts & Prosocial Impact:
http://www.rand.org/pubs/drafts/DRU1887.html
4. The question remains: How are quality arts programs
(containing the elements identified by the RAND study) able to
impact students' social and emotional well-being and improve
academic motivation?
University of Rochester researchers Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci.
Their "Self Determination Theory" posits three essential psychological
needs: the need for autonomy, for competence, and for relatedness. Using
an experimental design, Ryan and Deci showed that boosting students’
autonomy, competence, and relatedness resulted in statistically significant
increases in students' intrinsic motivation.
Quality arts education programs (that include the elements identified in
the RAND study) improve students' competence, autonomy, and
relatedness with laser-like precision. A student learns to play an
instrument herself (autonomy). Over time she develops the ability to play
it better, and to play increasingly difficult pieces (competence). And she
performs these pieces before family and peers -- either on her own or as
part of an ensemble (relatedness).
Reference: Ryan, R.M., Deci, E.L. (2000). Self-determination theory and
the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being.
American Psychologist, Vol 55, 68-78.
Self Determination Theory:
The answer can be found in the work ofhttp://www.psych.rochester.edu/SDT/;
5. How Music Learning Shapes Students’ Brains
Dr. Nina Kraus, Director of the Auditory Neuroscience Lab at
Northwestern University has studied how music learning shapes the brain and the abilities of music students for two decades. She has found that, over time, music learning shapes the development of the brain and nervous system in a way that improves students’ language learning and acquisition and also improves a student’s ability to listen in a noisy environment and hear the important messages, despite the accompanying noise. The following link contains short videos that provide the opportunity to listen to Dr. Kraus describe her research.
http://www.soc.northwestern.edu/brainvolts/#
6. Grades, Behavior and Mood
In our most recent impact evaluation survey, a high proportion of students' parents indicated that - since joining the Harmony Project - their child has shown improvement in his/her Grades (82%), Behavior (82%), Mood (80%), and Health (70%). These responses were recently validated in a research study conducted by Michael Uy, a UC Berkeley graduate who was awarded the Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize to spend a year comparing The Harmony Project with Venezuela's world-renowned El Sistema youth orchestra program (i.e., the program that produced Gustavo Dudamel, incoming Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director). The study
– based on in-depth interviews with students and parents of both
programs – found that 90% of Harmony Project students showed
improved focus and discipline, 73% improved academic achievement, 71%
improved family communication, 44% improved self-esteem.
7. Preventing School Drop-Out; High School Graduation;
College Attendance
Below is a link to a recent study conducted by the University of California
Santa Barbara which reports drop-out rates for cities throughout
California. Drop-out rates for Los Angeles were reported to be 50% for the
entire city. Drop-out rates for low-income communities can be as high as
70%, or even higher. Harmony Project operates programs in four of LA’s
12 high crime “gang reduction zones”. Our students come from lowincome
homes (family income below 200% of the federal poverty level), yet
they all remain enrolled in school.
http://cdrp.ucsb.edu/dropouts/pubs_cityprofiles.htm
In 2010, 100% of Harmony Project’s high school graduates went on to
college. Each was the first in the family to attend college.
8. 21st Century Learning skills:
Harmony Project participation supports the following 21st Century
Learning Skills:
Core Subjects: English, Reading / Language Arts, Arts
21st Century Context: Global Awareness
Harmony Project students discover the world and other cultures through
the music they learn. They also participate in classes with students from
diverse cultures and backgrounds.
Learning & Thinking Skills Critical thinking & problem-solving
skills Communication skills Creativity & Innovation skills Collaboration
skills Contextual learning skills
The process of learning to play a musical instrument takes place over
multiple years, and develops student discipline, persistence, strategic
thinking, creativity and accountability. Ensemble participation develops
the ability to collaborate well with others.
Life Skills Leadership Ethics Accountability
Harmony Project students develop leadership skills as Teaching Assistants
and Peer Mentors within the program. They develop a personal ethical
framework and moral values through service-learning opportunities within
the program. And they learn accountability by participating in ensembles
and youth orchestras where the quality of the performance depends upon
each member learning and performing their part well.
21st Century Learning Skills (
http://p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=254&Item
id=119
40 developmental assets from Search Institute
org/content/what-are-developmental-assets
);http://www.searchinstitute.
Focus group interviews of Harmony Project students and parents show
that Harmony Project participation develops 30 or more of the 40
developmental assets identified by the Search Institute. This reflects a
level of social support associated with personal resilience and a significant
reduction in students’ problem alcohol use, violence and school problems

There is this and more information at http://www.harmony-project.org/ Check it out!
 


Harmony Project – Research Basis Summary Prepared by
Margaret Martin, MPH, DrPH Harmony Project Founder

Project as a youth development and mentoring program targeting students with the greatest needs and the fewest resources. Utilizing a public health perspective, we focused on the after school environment, when children are at greatest risk of accident, injury, assault, abuse, criminal activity, and substance use. I didn't know about Dr. Abreu or El Sistema at the time I founded Harmony Project, but I began this work for essentially the same reasons, and we continue to learn as much as possible from the work being done in Venezuela and elsewhere. The following is a narrative describing
key pieces of research upon which Harmony Project programs are based.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Micheal Ballam Videos

Don't forget about Dr. Ballam's Videos I have in the left column on the page. Good stuff!