This Valentine’s Day serenade a loved one with a romantic ballade from your Classical Music library. Remember no one is immune from the power of music.
On Friday, Jan 18, 2008, CBS’ The Early Show with co-anchor Harry Smith reported the first documented evidence of a young women, Stacy Gayle, 25, from Alberta , Canada having had as many “as 10 grand mal seizures a day” triggered by listening to rap music. She began having the seizures when she was 21. The seizures became so bad she had to quit her job at a bank in Canada. She finally realized the rap music she was listening to on her iPod was triggering the seizures 18 months ago. The doctors at first “did not believe that a rap song could induce an attack so Gayle proved it. At the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Stacy had a video EEG” that showed she had three seizures triggered by listening to the rap song by Sean Paul on her iPod. The article is titled “A Musical Link to Epilepsy” (Jan 18, 2008) from CBS’ The Early Show.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/18/earlyshow/health/main3726674.shtml
Do you sit at a computer or at a desk for long periods of time do you have pain in your arms, legs and back? If the answer to these questions is yes, then you will want to Click here and listen to our guest on Madeline’s Musical One Minute Radio Show for Feb 2008
Parents remember to have classical music on your families iPod
Researcher Dorothy Retallack studied plants in a strictly controlled environment. One group of plants listened to semi-classical music station and the other to a rock radio station. The hard rock music plants grew erratically and died within a month. The plants listening to the classical music were “leaning toward the speaker.” At a Vineyard in Italy plants exposed to only classical music, Mozart and Vivaldi, grew faster and stronger. Plants listening to classical music grew in “10-14 days instead of the usual 20 day” (Velijkovic, 2007, p.1). In1997, David Merrell, a 16 year old student at Nansemond River High in Suffolk, Virginia, won an award for his science fair experiment. He studied 3 groups of white mice with no genetic abnormalities,4 to 6 weeks old, weighing between 15 and 20 grams. The base time for navigating the maze was established at 10 minutes. It was found that the mice listening to hard rock music took around 30 minutes to get through a maze .David said , it was as if the mice were confused ,dazed , and their senses dulled. The control group mice , the group without music, cut 5 minutes off their original time. The mice listening to Mozart navigated the maze “knocking off 8 ½ minutes” from their original time. During David’s four month experiment each mouse was housed in a separate aquarium as the year before in a “similar project he kept the group together. The results were horrific.” David said, “I had to cut my project short because all the hard rock mice killed each other. I can’t think of a positive effect that hard rock has on learning”.
“Music’s Mending Powers” (Oct 14, 2008) from Sunday Morning with host Charles Osgood. Dr. Oliver Sacks, a neurologist and pianist is interviewed about “his greatest passions- music and the brain.” His new book “Musicophilia” discussed the powers of classical music for healing.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/14/sunday/main3365434.shtml
Scientist and founder of the renowned Medici String Quartet, Professor Paul Robertson, has seen the effects music can bring as he has played for patients in the hospital. He says, “Music is potent in terms of providing relief for depression, anxiety and pain. Broadly speaking music seems to deliver a 30% relief to all those afflictions. If a drug company made a claim like that they would make a fortune.” The British Medical Journal has just suggested that “the Government spend more money on the arts and less on medicine. A recent report states around 50 billion is currently invested in health care each year and 300 million on the arts. Their suggestion is to divert 0.5% of health care budget into the arts to improve the health of our country.” “Doctors Backing Music Therapy” (12/5/07) by Our Correspondent, Western Mail from the icWales.icnetwork.co.uk/news.
Gerald M. Edelman, M.D., Ph.D. won his Nobel Peace Prize in 1972 for his Immunology work. Today his work centers around neurobiology- the brain. He has played the violin since he was a small boy and even contemplated being a concert violinist. Dr. Edelman continues to play the violin and has a regular series of classical concerts in the auditorium at his Neurosciences Institute in California. His father is also a medical doctor . In Dr. Edelman’s 1992 book “Bright Air, Brilliant Fire on Matter of the Mind” he talks about each of us having a Darwinian Brain. This is his” theory of neuronal group selection”, which is divided into the following 3 components: the development selection, experimental selection and re-entry. (Edelman, 1992, pp.82-98). The brain is a Darwinian organ that changes with the stimulation it receives.
To read more on Dr. Gerald Edelman research on the brain go to:http://www.consciousentities.com/edelman.htm
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1972/edelman-bio.html
Many of the world’s scientists, medical doctors, computer scientists and mathematicians have studied and played musical instruments since they were children. These eminent individuals have integrated music into their thinking process. Music is a powerful tool for motivating, inspiring, educating and soothing pain.
“Mixing Art/ Music and/or Science and Math the List” (Jan 1, 2008) by Nicholas Drozdoff . To read about the list go to:
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/3941/thelist.html?20082
If anyone has an experience they would like to share on the benefits of classical music please send it and it will be include it in the March 2008 newsletter.
Mr. O in NYC sent in the following: “Don’t forget Dentists! Mine offers a headset with his choice. I bring my own CDs. a certain M Frank prominent among them.” Nov/Dec 2007)
Mrs. C in VA. says her dentist has a choice of radio stations to listen to and she always picks the local classical music station. It makes the visit to the dentist’s office less painful. (Jan 2008)
This March if you have a question about the power of music for education and healing … what would your specific question be? Tap on the link below and look on the left side to where it says ask Madeline a question:www.madelinefrankviola.com
“In This Class, Math Comes With Music” (Oct 23, 2007) by Michael Alison Chandler from the Washington Post Company. Eric Chandler is playing his guitar to teach the Standards of Learning to his second grade class at Mountain View Elementary School.
Chandler says, “A song, if it’s catchy enough, gets stuck in your head.” “He re- writes the words to a song with a particular lesson in mind so “that kids might hum one day when sitting for a test” the correct answer. “Chandler, 33, embraced musical pedagogy after learning about a teaching method called Quantum Learning, which encourages using music to keep students engaged and focused.” A Michigan based web site, http://songsforteaching.com/ has for the past three years been offering music for core subjects special education, foreign languages, and class room management. Around 200 artists have contributed. There are other web sites specializing in science or math songs. To read more on this article go to:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/22/AR2007102202243.html
“Longview School Board Reviews Improvement Plan” (Jan 8, 08) by Adam Holland from the Longview News-Journal in the Longview, Texas schools. Rebeca Cooper, district director of planning, research and accountability says, “Among the academic improvements plans put in place this year increased teacher training, targeted tutorials and math-integrated music , physical education and Spanish classes are the highlights.” The purpose is to “increase the number of students who go to college and technical schools.” To read more go to:
http://www.news-journal.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/01/08/01082008_lisd_board.html
To help your children learn fractions and decimals through the game of music look at Madeline’s Musical Notes On Math a Parent-to-Parent Award Winner. Go to:
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/musical-notes-on-math/
“To Provide Quality Music Education Now, Schools Could Learn From the Past”
(Dec 25, 2007) by Allan Kozinn from The New York Times. Last summer, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced “that New York City schools would be required to teach the arts, and that principals would be rated annually on their success, much as they are in other subjects.” Mr. Kozinn is concerned that the plan for music education is boundary free and the money made available could be miss-spent by the department of education. . He is also concerned that the programs in the public schools are not hands on for students as it was taught 40 years ago where “music was part of the curriculum, like math, science and social studies.” Children in kindergarten and first grade learned to sing, read notes and beat rhythms. If the students wanted to learn an instrument the school would lend an instrument and the lessons were free. To read more go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/25/arts/
“Love of Arts, Music Plays Into Horne’s Job” ( Dec 25,2007) by Eric Graf from the azcentral.com in Arizona. The state superintendent of public instruction, Tom Horne is a fine pianist and is very enthusiastic about classical music. He says, “Music has been a lifelong passion.” He knows the value of studying musical instruments in the schools. Horne also says, “Music has an intrinsic value and an instrumental value in education. Students involved in music do better in academics.” To read more go to:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1225horne1225.html
“How Can Music Reach the Silenced Brain” (Jan 1, 2001) by Concetta M. Tomaino from the Dana Foundation. Concetta M. Tomaino as a music therapist has seen what music can do for her patients. Twenty years ago she played at the piano the popular song “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” and after a few minutes “silent patients turned their gaze to” her and she heard singing from the patients with “limited cognitive skills”. She uses the rhythm of music for her patients recovering from a stroke to walk and move by. One patient said “he wasn’t thinking about walking, he was thinking about dancing.”
http://www.dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=1722
The question of the month:
A student asked: What is the best musical instrument to study for obtaining higher grades?My Answer: Dr. Arnold Scheibel director of the Brain Research Institute at the University of California in Los Angeles says that one can sharpen the mind by studying a musical instrument which requires coordination and concentration; muscular and mental tasks. “Scheibel says, as soon as you decide to take up the violin, your brain has a whole new group of muscle control problems to solve. But that’s nothing compared with what the brain has to do before the violinist can begin to read notes on a page and correlate them with his or her fingers to create tones. This is a remarkable high level of activity.” (Golden & Tsiaras, 1994, p.69) The longer the students took instrumental music the higher their academic scores. Students who studied in the band scored 10% – 12 % higher and in orchestra 16%- 20% higher. Test scores show string students scoring higher in reading comprehension and mathematical problem solving.
For more 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 go refer to The Secret of Teaching Science & Math Through Music by Madeline Frank, Ph.D. Go to:
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/the-secret-of-teaching-science-and-math-through-music/
To help your children learn fractions and decimals through the game of music look at Madeline’s Musical Notes On Math a Parent-to-Parent Award Winner. Go to:
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/musical-notes-on-math/
Evidence and articles to support the benefits of music are listed below:
The benefits of Classical Music in your daily life, in the Public School Classrooms, and while doing homework after school:
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. 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. 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 yeas of her teaching career.
Mrs. J has 3 children, ages 16, 12, and 8 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”
“Home Schooling Popularity Grows in WNC” ( Oct 14,2007) by Ashley Wilson from the Ashville Citizen -Times Voice of the Mountain, N.C. “We have classical music playing all day long. We have National Public Radio in the background. It’s amazing how cultured your children can become…” To read the article go to :
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200771013084
“Musical Training Found Important for Communication Skills” (Oct. 24,2007) To read the transcript and hear the radio broadcast go to:
http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2007-10-22-voa2.cfm
“Granite Falls Educator Is Nation’s Teacher of the Year” (April 26, 2007) by Lynn Thompson from the Seattle Times Newspaper. The nation’s teacher of the year is Granite Falls music teacher, Andrea Peterson. Andrea Peterson, 33, teaches choir and music classes at Monte Cristo Elementary School. She plays “almost every instrument in the orchestra, sings, composes music, writes lyrics for her students on subjects as diverse as ocean ecology and Shakespeare.” Superintendent Joel Thaut, says, “Music isn’t a subsidiary subject in Granite Falls. It’s part of everything we do.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2003680199_teacher25m.html
“How the Arts Make Kids Smarter” (July 7, 2007) by Mary Belle McCorkle and Shirley Kiser from the Tucson Citizen, Tucson, Arizona. Gene Jones, a retired businessman.
To read the entire article go to:
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/opinion/56776.php
“Blue Heron Middle School Honored for Academic Gains” (Dec 12, 2007) from the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader. Principal Decker says, “In reading and writing we’ve made significant strides…in math I know we’ve come up about 12 percent. …Music is a big factor. Two-thirds of our kids are involved in art and music.”
To read more go to: http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp
“Music Lessons Pay Off in Higher Earnings: Poll” (Nov 14,2007) from the Reuters Life, poll from Harris Interactive. “The poll by Harris Interactive, an independent research company, showed that 88 % of people with a post-graduate education were involved in music while in school and 83% of people earned $150,000 or more had a music education.”
For the article go to: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071114/lf_nm_life/music_dc
“Culture Zohn: Gustavo Dudamel, Hearthrob and Conductor, Lands in LA” (Nov 2, 2007) by Patricia Zohn from The Huffington Post. We first heard about Gustavo Dudamel, 26, the new music director of the LA Philharmonic in an article called “Music Saved the Street Children of Venez Classical music lessons transformed the lives of thousands of children “in the slums of Venezuela.” Dudamel is a product of the “free classical music lessons” and a wonderful new role model as well.
To read the full article go to:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patricia-zohn/culture-zohn-gustavo-dud_b_70791.html
For the August 13, 2007 article go to: tohttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2246441.ece
“The Famous Neuroscientist Listens in On the Marvelous and Mysterious Ways that Music Inhabits, Enlivens, and Sometimes Even Hijacks the Brain” (Jan 2008) by Susan Kruglinski from Discover Magazine : The Year In Science. In his book “Musicophilia”, Dr. Sacks relates to Susan Kruglinski how he used music- the Volga Boatmen song , after he injured his leg 33 years ago, to push himself down the mountain with his elbows. He was five or six thousand feet high on a mountain by himself, before cell phones, and he used music going through his mind to save his life. Once again after his leg was set he used the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto to trigger “the ability to walk again.”
“Bro Menn’s Musician-Volunteers Play for Patients” (December 3, 2007) by Paul Swiech from Pantagraph .com In October BroMenn Regional Medical Center began offering its patients a program called Music for the Heart. Three student volunteer musicians “play for willing patients and their family members in some patient rooms and lounges.” Bob Brandt, 84, was “undergoing dialysis in a hospital bed at BroMenn Regional Medical Center” while he was listening to music. He “smiled from time to time” and his wife , Barbara Brandt said “that was lovely. I think this is a marvelous idea. A patient in the hospital has little to look forward to. Music is a wonderful addition.” The other people in Brant’s hospital room enjoyed the music very much and applauded.
For the entire article go to:http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/12/03/health/doc47542631e95f7000997037.txt
“Music Has Power to Improve Health” (Dec. 3,2007) by Laura Urbani from the Tribune-Review, Pittsburghlive.com. Sarah Bitner, a music therapist at Excela Health Hospitals says, “Everybody loves music. For some people it’s calming. For others it’s energizing.” There are three music therapists on staff at the Excela Health Hospitals. Music therapy is “offered in conjunction with regular medical intervention. Music therapy may be used to help decrease pain and sickness during chemotherapy treatments , to reduce anxiety before surgical procedures, or to relieve depression during long hospital stays.”
For more of the article go to:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyindependent/teenscene/s_540603.html
“Music Is the Key to Healing” (Dec 21,2007) by Kurt Loft of the Tampa Tribune. After receiving her new heart at Tampa General Hospital, Robyn L’Heureux recovery was aided by the music played by live musician . Ms. L’Heureux says music “just takes you totally out of the hospital to another world.” She says, “One night , I had a five piece orchestra in my room.” The director of the Integrated Medical Program at Tampa General, Sheela Chokski says, “It promotes the process of getting away from an environment of tension. And it has no side effects.”
To read the full article go to:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/dec/21/music-key-healing/
“Conductorcise a Musical Workout for Seniors” (Dec 21,2007) by Marc Cabrera from Monterey County, The Herald. Conductor David Dworkin uses a “ workout DVD playing on a high-definition television screen, Larson is getting a symphonic workout through Conductorcise, the new fitness program at the senior living community.” The class is conducting , moving, and “sweating to the oldies- specifically, Mozart. Bach and Beethoven.” Carl Larson, 84 , says “The most important thing is to move to the music…Feel that Gypsy Music!” To learn more about this marvelous conducting exercise program to the classics go tohttp://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_7776752
Performing at Hospitals, Rehab Hospitals, and Retirement Homes
Madeline Frank, violist has shared her music with patients at local Hospitals and Rehab Hospitals in Virginia.
Wishing you and your family a happy Valentines Day from your Non-Invasive Medicine Music Expert, Madeline