The Children’s Music Workshop provides some great information about the benefits of music education for youth.  The full article is here>>, but there were some key points I wanted to point out as our youth music organization works hard to prepare for our upcoming fundraiser on May 8th.  Click the flyer to the left to visit our homepage and purchase tickets. 

The article lists four areas where music education provides benefits.  It leads to Success in society, school, intelligence and life. 

Success in Society:  studies have shown that secondary school students who participated in band or orchestra report the lowest lifetime use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs.  It has a noticable impact on reducing teen violence.  Music study is credited with broadining understanding and appreciation of the world around you and stimulate and contribute to intellectual development.   The College Board in New York lists the arts as one of the six basic academic subject areas students should study in order to succeed in college.  Most of the very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry area are, nearly without exception, also practicing musicians.

Success in School:  Success in school leads to success in society.  Learning music builds study skills, communication and cognitive skills.  Through participation in ensembles, students learn to work effectively in the school environment without resorting to violence or inappropriate behavior.  Music education leads to significantly higher levels of mathematics proficency, regardless of the student’s socio-economic status.  66% of music majors applying to medical school were accepted; the highest of any group; for example: 44% of biochemistry majors were accepted.  More high school students identify music teachers as role models than any other kind of teacher, and finally; students who participate in arts programs have shown significant increases in self-esteem and thinking skills.

Success in Developing Intelligence: 

Music training enhances brain function and fine motor skills.  The constant adjustments made for tone, tempo, style, rhythim, phrasing and feeling train the brain to organize quickly and multi-task.  Abstract reasoning skills (the skills needed to learn math and science) are dramatically enhanced through studying music.  Spatial-Temporal skills have repeatedly been shown to improve through even the simplest of music study.  Overall “self-concept” was significantly increased in at risk children who participated in music and the arts.

Success in Life:

See this blog post from Andrew Bertoff, publisher of Pipes|Drums magazine: Credit Piping for a very interesting reflection on the important role of bagpiping in his life.  Everyone wants their children to flourish in life, school, work, and most of us want all children to flourish in these as well.  Participation in music brings countless psychological, physical and spritual benefits, encouraging self-discipline and diligence, bringing people together and more. For bagpipers and drummers, Facebook and other social networking mediums are really opening up the whole world to our youth to meet people with their interests, and many of our members are connected to some of the most talented musicians in the world in this way as well as at the various camps and highland games we attend.  They are learning of all the places they could go in this world, they would very likely be able to find someone interested in bagpiping, or a bagpipe band to play with, and they will always be able to find someone interested in music to connect with.

Music fills us with wonder, helps us stay healthy longer, and improves our communication, creativity, and cooperation skills.   

Northwest Junior Pipe Band raises the funds necessary to continue our program through performances, competitions, and fundraisers.  The May 8th 15 year Anniversary party at Lynnwood Convention Center is the most important and largest fundraiser in the band’s history.  We recognize that we are all stretching our dollars farther and farther to get by, but we hope you can agree that this is a very important part of providing our youth a valuable foundation in their lives.

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Playing the bagpipes is a unique kind of exercise, for your arms, hands, fingers, and lungs.  For a beginner just starting on bagpipes it can take months of regular practice to just keep the bag going for half an hour.  This article suggests it may be just what’s needed to combat asthma symptoms as well.

The Northern Echo – Tunes Help Me Breathe More Easily

See this resulting discussion on the Bob Dunsire Forums as well>>

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I know that some of you have discovered the wealth of piping and drumming info on the internet – but I thought I would pass along some of the more useful bits I’ve found in my browsing (there are loads of non-useful bits out there and it can be hard to distinguish between them)

FREE Resources!!
Dunsire Piping Forums – The Bob Dunsire Forums if you haven’t already, please browse through the Dunsire forums. They are a great place to keep up on what’s new in piping, drumming and bands. Plus they have a ‘trading post’ where you can buy and sell used bagpipe and drumming items.
Pipers – do not hesitate – download and print this PDF document!!!!
The Ultimate Pipe Guides – soooo much good info in this Ebook. And now they have a new addition to the series! Get it.

For those of you competing in solos this summer, here are some great tips that will make the process easier. Most of these are specific to pipers, but drummers should read them anyway. Piper or drummer, the competing experience is the same.
Tips for a Novice Competing Piper of Any Age - From Michael Grey (gold medalist canadian piper and composer)

So you want to compete? - From the EUSPBA (eastern US Pipe Band Association) – PDF document with LOTS of good info

Magazines:

There are several piping/drumming magazines online that are not only a great way to keep up on the latest piping gossip, but can also be a fabulous collection of resources for the knowledge-hungry piper or drummer.

Pipes|Drums (formerly known as piperanddrummer.com) is always good. They used to produce a print magazine, but recently stopped due to costs. So pipesdrums is exclusively online now. For all the goodies you have to buy a subscription for $10 a year. Well worth the money! They have the latest news and info on the piping world, as well as some great articles and tune downloads. I usually check this site every few days for the latest news.

Eastern US Pipe Band Association the Voice is a magazine produced by the EUSPBA. It has been a fantastic magazine for many years, with intelligent articles and loads of info. Well worth the subscription for their high quality print magazine.

Ok, that’s it for now. Every week or so I’ll be sending out more info, so please read it and be prepared to discuss it at band practice.

Thanks! See you Thursday,

Kevin

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