We are beginning a new school year which is a new opportunity to begin using classical music in the classrooms during class and in the hallways and on school buses to and from school. Classical music playing in the back ground helps students to relax, allowing them to concentrate and do a better job on their work.
The new school year is also a wonderful opportunity to start learning a musical instrument to learn discipline, cooperation, teamwork, motivation, concentration and self-esteem. Studying a musical instrument develops millions of new connections, synapses, between nerve cells in the brain. Many of the world’s scientists, doctors, teachers, authors and mathematicians are also musicians. July’s newsletter was a testimonial to the many Valedictorians, Salutatorians and grads of 2011 who are scholars and musicians.
Doctors have found power in having their patients listen and dance to Classical Music to improve motion and reduce tremors with Parkinson’s patients. Teachers are also using music to help them teach science, math and Geography in the Public Schools.
Our “Question of the Month”, shares the story of Ernest Ansermet mathematics professor, composer, and Conductor who founded and conducted the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande and the Argentine National Orchestra in Buenos Aires.
If anyone has an experience they would like to share with our readers on the benefits of classical music please send it and it will be include it in the October 2011 newsletter!
September’s article of the month
This has been a very difficult summer for many us and so you should always remember to “Count Your Blessings”.
http://madeline-firstimpressions.blogspot.com/2011/04/count-your-blessings.html
For other articles by Dr. Madeline Frank click on the following link:
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Madeline_Frank
Dr. Madeline Frank’s new book “Leadership on a Shoestring Budget” is now available through amazon.com. Click on the following Amazon.com link to order your copy of “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget”
Dr. Madeline Frank’s Musical One Minute Radio Show for September 2011:
How did Classical Music play a part of Ernest Ansermet’s life as a mathematics professor, Conductor, and composer and what instruments did he play?
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/madelines-one-minute-radio-show/
Question of the month: Who was Ernest Ansermet?
Ernest Ansermet was a mathematics professor, composer of Military Marches, and founded and conducted the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande (1918-1967) and the Argentine National Orchestra in Buenos Aires.
Ernest Ansermet was born on November 11, 1883 in Vevey, Switzerland to a musical family. At a young age he studied brass instruments, the violin, and the clarinet and later “wrote military marches for the Swiss Army.” In Lausanne he graduated with a Diploma in Mathematics in 1903 and “taught at the Lausanne Grammar School” through 1906.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Ansermet
At this time Ansermet attended the Sorbonne and also attended the Paris Conservatory. When he returned to Lausanne he continued teaching Mathematics for another year and then began his musical career. He went to Berlin to learn from conductors Felix Weingartner and Arthur Nikisch. As a conductor, “Ansermet was largely self-taught.” Inhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Ansermet
Conductor Ernest Ansermet founded and conducted the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande and the Argentine National Orchestra in Buenos Aires. He premiered first performances of works by Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Eric Satie, Manuel de Falla, Arthur Honegger, Frank Martin, Benjamin Britten, and conducted Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes (1915-1923).
Ansermet met Stravinsky in Switzerland and Debussy and Ravel in France. They discussed with Ansermet how they wanted their new works performed. Ansermet was famous for his “accurate performances of difficult modern music” and “his interpretations were widely regarded as admirably clear and authoritative.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Ansermet#Biography
He was also “one of the first in the field of Classical music to take jazz seriously, and in 1919 he wrote an article praising Sidney Bechet”, jazz trumpeter.
Ernest Ansermet died on February 20, 1969 in Geneva, Switzerland.
“Lessons With a Change of Tune” (August 19, 2011) by Glynys Hart from TES Magazine. Teachers are using music to teach science, math, and geography. “Music is being used to teach the most unexpected of subjects as schools discover its rewards across the curriculum.”
“Caroline Molyneux’s pupils walk into her classroom for a science lesson, they expect to hear music. As they enter, she asks them to search for the link between the music and the lesson’s title and objectives. It may be Under Pressure by Queen for a lesson on salt in the diet – the link, guessed by several pupils, is that too much salt causes high blood pressure. Ms Molyneux, teaches at Balshaw’s CofE High School in Lancashire, has developed a portfolio of music linked to the science curriculum, and her scheme of work for GCSE links music to topics. She is one of a rising number of teachers of different subjects using music to improve pupils’ motivation to learn.”
“Sue Hallam and Anastasia Kotsopoulou of London University’s Institute of Education studied three groups of children: one group completed memory tests while listening to classical music; another group while listening to jazz; and the third performed the tests in silence. The results showed that the classical group did best, while the jazz groups were the worst performers. And the effect of music seems to be more noticeable in the case of primary pupils and children with emotional and behavioral difficulties.”
Professor Hallam and John Price, in another study, “found that playing soothing music (Bach and tunes from Disney films) to disturbed nine and 10-year-olds while they took math tests made them less unruly and helped them achieve higher scores. Nina Jackson, head of music at Ogmore School in Bridgend, South Wales” is researching the power of music “to raise standards and motivation among her secondary pupils. Her findings suggest music can help motivate pupils and improve concentration and study skills. Other teachers at Ogmore who increased their use of music were optimistic about its effects and wanted to keep on using it in teaching different subjects.”
“Some schools have used background music to provide a welcoming atmosphere in their reception areas or to help prepare students for particular learning tasks, while others have used it as part of their behavior- management strategy. Instead of copying out traditional lines as a form of punishment, children at West Park School in Derby must transcribe the words of poems while listening to Mozart’s Requiem and Verdi’s Aida during detentions – a system introduced by the school’s head Brian Walker .Music is also being used to calm children who have just finished energetic or exciting lessons. Pupils at St Mary’s RC Comprehensive in Newcastle upon Tyne arrive at school each morning and leave every afternoon to the accompaniment of soothing music or sounds from nature, such as recordings of birdsong. Music is also played at lunchtimes to keep children calm, and staff are convinced it makes pupils easier to manage.”
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6109318
“Music in OR, ICU May Reduce Sedation Needs” (August 2011) from the Pharmacy Practice News. “Researchers at San Francisco General Hospital conducted the pilot study in five patients being ventilated in the ICU after general surgery or trauma. All of the patients could hear, and none had evidence of mental illness, brain injury or hemodynamic instability. The researchers recorded the patients’ vital signs, as well as how much sedation-in this case, dexmedetomidine (Precedex, Hospira)-and analgesia they received for an hour. Then they fitted the patients with headphones through which they piped classical music from an iPod player for two hours. During that time, the researchers gradually reduced the dose of dexmedetomidine to the patients. By the end of the two-hour period, the patients required an average of 33% less dexmedetomidine than they had before the music exposure, according to researchers. At the same time, their vital signs, pain and agitation remained steady.”
“The effect of the music treatment persisted for at least an hour after the experiment ended. Anesthesiologist Julin Tang, MD, MS, who led the research, said he and fellow Dante Yeh, MD, have added five patients to the ongoing study.” Dr. Tang said, “I believe music will have some reduction” on the amount of sedation patients require.” The findings, which Dr. Tang presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (abstract 903), ought not to be surprising. Soothing music in the operating room has been shown to reduce anxiety in patients undergoing surgery while receiving regional anesthesia (Anesth Analg 2004;98:1260-1266).”
“The playlist included piano works by Chopin, Mozart and Beethoven, as well as pieces by Haydn, Schumann and Bach-and for good measure, a quartet from the Russian physician-composer Alexander Bordin.”
Evidence & Articles supporting the benefits of classical music in your daily life, in the Public School Classrooms, and while doing homework after school:
Mrs. S teaches 7th grade Math at Davis Middle School in Hampton, VA.: “Students perform better on tests and quizzes while listening to Mozart Symphonies in the background..”
Mrs. C’s high school math class in Colorado: “The students asked for music in class. I told them I would play only Mozart. At first they objected but soon decided they liked the music, because it made them feel better and able to focus more on their lessons. Consequently, not only did the grades get better, so did the discipline. Then the students began requesting Mozart.”
Mrs. G had her fifth grade students listening to classical music, played softly, while the children did creative writing assignments and when they did problem solving in math. It created a calm atmosphere conducive to problem solving and creative thinking as well as an appreciation of music that they might not have experienced. The results were so good that she incorporated this into her teaching for the last five years of her teaching career.
Mrs. JC had her fourth grade reading class of 22 students, listening to Mozart and other classical music during class for the entire school year .The children have consistently made 100’s on tests and work. These are just average students not exceptional.
Mrs. J has 4 children, ages 18, 15, 11 and 7 who have been listening to Mozart and other classical music while doing their homework after school since March 05. She has seen them become more focused and relaxed, finishing homework quicker, with more accuracy which has led to higher grades.
Northside Middle School in Norfolk, Virginia is using classical music in halls and class rooms with very good success. “Classical Music Plays at Norfolk School”
For more scientific evidence, medical evidence, test results, and true stories of the world’s scientists, medical doctors, and mathematicians who have studied and played musical instruments since they were children read “The Secret of Teaching Science & Math Through Music” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D. Click on the link:
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/the-secret-of-teaching-science-and-math-through-music/
“Musical Notes On Math” by Dr. Madeline Frank teaches your child fractions and decimals, the fun way, through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent To Parent Adding Wisdom Award. For more information click on the following link:
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/musical-notes-on-math/
For Tips on how to use “Musical Notes On Math” click on the following link:
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/pg47.pdf