Many of the world’s scientists, medical doctors, and mathematicians have studied and played musical instruments since they were children. These eminent individuals have integrated music into their thinking process. Classical music has the power to motivate, inspire, and to soothe pain. Over the next several months of “Madeline’s Monthly Articles & Musical Tips”, Dr. Frank will share her secrets from her 2008 summer workshops for teachers, students, and health care professionals. Remember no one is immune to the power of classical music.
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 December 2008 newsletter.
Write me today! https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/contact-madeline-frank/
Judith A. Resnik, (April 5, 1949 – January 28, 1986) was an astronaut, electrical engineer, classical pianist and the second American women in space. She was from Akron, Ohio where she attended Akron’s Firestone High School. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1970 from Carnegie-Mellon and then worked for RCA Corp. in Morristown, New Jersey working on circuitry for radar control systems. “While working for RCA, Resnik authored a paper on design procedures for special-purpose integrated circuitry” (Brody, 1995, p.202. She earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1977 at the University of Maryland at College Park. In 1978 prior to her selection by NASA, she worked for Xerox Corporation in El Segundo, Calif. She was chosen from more than 8,000 applicants to be an astronaut at NASA. Resnik completed her one-year training as an astronaut in August 1978. She worked on several projects on the Orbiter development software, training techniques, and Remote Manipulator System. In space her first assignment on the shuttle “Discovery” was as a mission specialist. While in space a chunk of ice had to be knocked off the craft’s side. She “pointed a camera on the craft’s robotic long arm to inspect initial efforts” to remove the ice (p.201). She and her crew were successful at removing the chunk of ice off the shuttle with the robotic arm. Resnik on the “Discovery” mission logged in 144 hours and 57 minutes in space (Frank, 1997, p.13). Her next mission was on the “Challenger” where she was killed.
To read more click on the following links:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,960603,00.html
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/resnik.html
Click below for Madeline’s Musical One Minute Radio Show for November 2008.
How long did Judith Resnik practice her piano each day and what were her SAT scores?
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/madelines-one-minute-radio-show/
“World Doctors Orchestra to Make U.S. Debut at Severance Hall in February” (Oct 18, 2008) by Donald Rosenberg from the Plain Dealer Reporter, Ohio. “There is no shortage of physician-musicians qualified to play in an international ensemble.” The World Doctors Orchestra includes physicians from Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Armenia, Scotland, Ireland, Poland, Canada, the United States , and the United Kingdom . Twenty Americans will “play the Severance Hall concert”. Six are “from the Cleveland area – a biologist, an endocrinologist, a nephrologist, a psychiatrist and two ophthalmologists. The link between Berlin and Cleveland is Dr. Jonathan Lass, chairman of ophthalmology at University Hospitals and an experienced cellist. Proceeds from the concert will go to Cleveland’s Free Clinic and the Hugo Tempelman Foundation, which operates a hospital in Elandsdoorn, South Africa. ”
In 2000 Eric Jensen wrote “Arts with the Brain in Mind”. He said, “Arts enhances key neurological processes that support learning.” He writes a marvelous newsletter each month called “Brighter Brain Bulletin” To learn more about Eric Jensen’s work on “Brain Based Education” click on the following links:
http://www.jensenlearning.com/learning.asp
http://www.jensenlearning.com/BBLearn/whatis.asp
“Newtown Choir is a Haven for Children” (Oct 19, 2008) by Yvette Kimm from the Herald Tribune.com, Sarasota, Florida. The Newtown Choir is an after school program for children ages 6 to 12 from Sarasota and Manatee counties. “It is hoped that surrounding Newtown’s children with soothing classical music will create an enriching cultural experience…The program “aims to improve children’s lives by giving them a new, healthy option for their free time”. The choir performs at nursing homes, churches, special events, and community festivals. “The choir has advanced so quickly since its founding this year that it was invited to record a song with renowned composer A. Paul Johnson in St. Petersburg this summer.”
“Spelling, Math, Science . . . and Violin?” (Oct 20, 2008) from the Life News (Arts and Humanities) of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. “First graders at Fairview Elementary School in Bloomington will be taking violin lessons three times a week throughout the year.” In the school 90% of the students are on the free or reduced school lunch program. In Indiana instrumental music classes usually start in the fifth grade this program wants to improve academic performance by starting in the first grade.
http://www.newswise.com:80/articles/view/545541/?sc=dwhn
“Learning Arts and the Brain: The Dana Consortium Report On Arts and Cognition” (March 2008) A three year study lead by Dr. Michael Gazzaniga of the University of California at Santa Barbara. The research was conducted “by cognitive neuroscientists from seven leading universities across the United States.” Dr. Gazzaniga says, “A life-affirming dimension is opening up in neuroscience to discover how the performance and appreciation of the arts enlarge cognitive capacities will be a long step forward in learning how better to learn and more enjoyably and productively to live. The consortium’s new findings and conceptual advances have clarified what now needs to be done.”
The following are quotes from the Dana Consortium Report: “Specific links exist between high levels of musical training and the ability to manipulate information in both working and long-term memory; these links extend beyond the domain of musical training.”…”Correlations exist between music training and both reading acquisition and sequence learning. One of the central predictors of early literacy, phonological awareness, is correlated with both music training and the development of a specific brain pathway”…
Gazzaniga, M. (2008) “Learning, Arts, and the Brain: The Dana Consortium Report on Arts and Cognition” Edited by Asbury, C. and Rich, B. Published by Dana Press. New York/Washington, D.C. web access:
http://www.dana.org/news/publications/publication.aspx?id=10760
“An Interview with Dr. William Green, Superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools. Why should the arts be integrated into learning other core academic subjects?” (2008) Dr. Green says, “The arts create a learning experience that helps to develop problem solving and critical thinking and decision making capacities- all those things are really critical to the academic subjects.” He is from New Orleans and played the cello for ten years in an orchestra. He says “Music was very much a part of my household. I was surrounded both by classical and modern music. I just know how important music was to my parents.”
http://www.keepartsinschools.org/Programs/Minneapolis/AdvocateProfile.php
“Songs of Experience: Music and the Brain” (Sep 30, 2008) by Kathleen McGowan from The New York Academy of Sciences Magazine. “Music has the power to cure. Melody and rhythm sometimes activate neurological abilities that have lost to disease or damage.” Michael H. Thaut of Colorado State University says, “Music is probably a biological language of the brain, and may be a precursor to higher cognitive function.” Using music to re-learn speech after a stroke . Dr. Gottfried Schlaug of the Department of Neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center & Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. is re-teaching his patients to speak through singing. Dr. Eckart Altenmuller and his staff at the Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine at Hannover University of Music and Drama in Germany is teaching his patients “to play piano” to support “fine motor rehabilitation after” having a stroke.(June 28, 2008)
http://www.nyas.org/ebriefreps/main.asp?intEBriefID=746#
Reminder & review for all teachers from Dr. Frank’s summer workshop on her “10 Creative Ways to Inspire Students & Curb Teachers Burn Out!” It’s never too late to remove chaos from your classroom. (3 secrets included)
4) Don’t just lecture tell a story. Make the material visual. Be creative by becoming a teaching artist! Example: Dr. Madeline Frank’s “Musical Notes On Math”, teaching fractions and decimals to children in K-5 through the rhythm of music. Winner of the Parent-to-Parent Adding Wisdom Award. www.madelinefrankviola.com
5) Make your course come alive. Make it fun to learn. Remember that Alicia Keys and Dr. Condoleezza Rice both studied the piano learning Classical music and skipping grades in high school. They were both at the top of their high school classes all through school because they played Classical music every day. Playing Classical music made them smarter! Dr. Albert Einstein was able to win his Noble Peace Prize and make his scientific discoveries by playing Classical music on his violin or piano every day. Dr. Judith Resnik astronaut and electrical engineer made perfect scores on her SAT’s through playing her Classical piano music every day for one hour. Louis Armstrong learned Classical music on his cornet at age 13 and his life was changed forever! Your students can be smarter too by playing Classical music every day!
6) Involve your students in your course by posing a problem and helping them solve it! Make them into detectives. (Sherlock Holmes and his side kick Dr. Watson) Help your students work cooperatively. (In a musical String Quartet, members work together cooperatively with set goals and without violence.) Put on your Classical music to help your students concentrate better.
Reminder & Review for all Students from Dr. Frank’s summer workshop on her “10 Secrets to Stop Students Boredom, Inspire Them & Make Them Smarter” (3 Secrets included)
4) We remember the stories of Albert Einstein, Louis Armstrong and Condoleezza Rice. Their stories are easy to remember and with humor the story is even more powerful and visual. So, use stories to help you remember and put on your Classical music to help you get smarter.
5) Romayne Leader Frank, Mother, friend, Family Advocate & Lawyer, always said “every child has one gift.” Find that gift by playing classical music !
6) Dr. Frank’s favorite saying is “every student is a gem in the raw.” Each of you is a gem! Believe in yourselves and put on your Classical music to help you!
Reminder & Review for all Health Care Professionals from Dr. Frank’s summer workshop on her “Nine Management Secrets for Health Care Professionals”. (Two secrets included )
3) Have Classical Music on in the background to relax by, sooth your clients, and to improve concentration.
4) Don’t just lecture tell them a story. Make it visual. Be creative! Become a teaching/Artist.
Madeline’s question of the month: Can music improve learning in prisons?
According to a new article in BBC News, U.K. “Music Boosts Prisoners Learning” (Oct 3, 2008). A program called “Beats and Bars” has been in 51 prisons for 13 years to teach young inmates to learn, rehearse and perform music. “About a quarter of these prisoners were illiterate- and the study found that music projects increased their readiness to learn to read and write”. Loraine Gelsthorpe and Alexandra Cox researchers at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, said “music projects improve the motivation to participate in additional learning and skills projects. With many prisoners having low levels of educational achievement, collaborating in a creative arts project can be a push towards raising skills”. Cox and Gelsthorpe added that “this might mean improving communication and listening skills, testing and expressing one’s voice, and building the self-efficacy that may be necessary to try new skills, such as learning to read and write”. These prisoner’s lives were “dominated by violence and low self- expectations” and learning music provides “a means of communication and self-expression”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7650466.stm
“Music Therapy Helps Patients Recover Brain Function Following Stroke” ( Oct 10, 2008) by David Gutierrez from Natural News.com ( originally published in the Journal Brain). Researchers from the Cognitive Brain Research Unit at the University of Helsinki, Finland “studied 54 people under the age of 76 who had suffered a stroke of the middle cerebral artery, in either side of the brain. This is the most common type of stroke. Strokes are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Stroke survivors often suffer from impaired motor control, speech and cognitive function.” Prior studies suggest “that an environment rich with sounds can aid brain function, stroke survivors typically spend most of their non-therapeutic convalescence time idle. But this window just after the stroke is critical for restoring cognitive function, the researchers said.” The three groups “listened to the music of their choice (classical, folk, jazz or pop) for at least one hour a day, one group listened to a self-selected audio book for the same time period, and one group was given no auditory stimulation. All three groups were given standard treatment, including medical care and rehabilitation. Verbal memory scores in the music group improved 60 percent after three months, compared with only 18 percent in the language group and 29 percent in the control group.” In the music group “the ability to focus improved by 17 percent… which was significantly better than the control group and marginally better than the language group. In addition, those who listened to music showed significantly less depression”
http://www.naturalnews.com/024455.html
“Youth Singers Tap Into Music’s Ability to Sustain Memories” (Oct 9, 2008) by Kara Patterson from the Post –Crescent.com. Singing has the power to revive memory.
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081009/APC04/810090487
“Music in the Prisons: Irene Taylor Trust” http://www.musicinprisons.org.uk/
“Prison Inmates Perform in Musical” (March 2, 2007) from the BBC News, U.K. For 16 years Pimlico Opera has staged musical “productions in prisons.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6411485.stm
Classical music has the power to organize the brain while listening to it as background music while you are doing your homework , to help you relax after a hard day of work or while doing exercises. Begin listening or playing your musical instrument for 30 minutes at a time. It helps because of its highly developed mathematics and therefore exercises the brain as physical exercise exercises the body. 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 go to 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” 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/
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
This November if you have a question about the power of music for education and healing … what would your specific question be? Click on the link below and look on the left side to where it says ask Madeline a question:www.madelinefrankviola.com
Evidence & Articles supporting the benefits of classical music in your daily life, in the Public School Classrooms, and while doing homework after school:
“Using Music in the Classroom” ( 2001) by Dorothy Lockhart Lawrence, editor of PPOV from the Advanced Brain Technologies, Ogden, Utah. “Welsh science teacher Anne Savan couldn’t believe the difference it made in her chemistry lab. When the government insisted that all children complete the standard National Curriculum, Savan became concerned. For some reason her new group of pupils in the mid 1990’s was the most challenging ever. Her class of boys had special educational needs plus emotional and behavioral difficulties. One of her students had such poor coordination he made 19 attempts at a lab experiment requiring the student to put a peanut on a spoon, then heat it in the flame of a Bunsen burner.” Because of the student’s inability to do the lab experiment he became frustrated and uncontrollable. Savan saw a television program “that music of a certain frequency might help students with poor coordination.” She discovered that orchestral music by Mozart was the most effective music “during daily science lessons over a period of five months. The response to the music was dramatic as the pupils became calm and cooperative within minutes of entering the room.” Savan says, “No one spoke, quarreled, asked to borrow anything, wanted to go to the toilet for the whole lesson. I have not had such a relaxed lesson .. ever.” The next five months of classes with Mozart Symphonies “produced the same results, calm, cooperative students who were able to complete each lesson.” … “Savan believes the music may have relaxed her pupils enough to improve their physical coordination and lower their frustration levels enough to allow them to perform manual tasks effectively and efficiently.” To read more click on the following link:
http://www.advancedbrain.com/Article_Music_in_Classroom.asp
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. I’s fourth grade reading, writing, and math class in the York County Public School District in Virginia. “During the summer, I taught students from all the schools in the county. About the middle of the term, I decided to start playing classical music while students worked independently. I noticed that students were more focused on tasks than they had been previously while doing independent work. They also talked to each other less. One day, when I forgot to turn on the music, a number of the students came up to me and reminded me to turn it on. At the end of the term, all the students had reached their academic goals in both subjects, (reading and math) and most had gone way beyond their goals. (Most of the student’s scores went up 15% to 36% higher.) I know that the atmosphere that was created by the classical music contributed a lot to this.” (Sep 24, 2008)
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 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”
Tullio Simoncini, MD. (B. 1951) Italian medical doctor specializing in Oncology has written the new book“Cancer is a Fungus” and is a musician playing the piano and guitar. He has discovered that “sodium bicarbonate, a.k.a. baking soda, is the most potent anti-fungal substance there is.” He says, “The problem with anti-fungal drugs, .. is that fungi are extremely adaptive, and can adapt to a new environment in three to four days. This renders anti-fungal drugs largely ineffective. The fungi do not adapt to the baking soda, but it is far more difficult to use as it needs to be injected directly into the tumor; swallowing the baking soda would not work at all. Candida yeast is not “one shared element,” so to speak, but rather “social elements,” or colonies, that are highly communicative. Because of their unique adaptation skills, sodium bicarbonate must be administered directly onto the tumor, and in so doing changing its ph very quickly, from acid to alkaline, which quickly and effectively kills off the yeast before it has time to adapt. Dr. Simoncini has shown that 99 percent of breast- and bladder cancer can heal in just six days, entirely without the use of surgery, chemo or radiation, using just a local infiltration device (such as a catheter) to deliver the sodium bicarbonate directly to the infected site in your breast tissue or bladder.”
“Mozart, MD- Music for Mind and Body” ( June 17, 2008) from a study done from “Critical Care Medicine” evaluating “the mechanisms of music-induced relaxation in critically ill patients. The researchers measured blood pressure and heart rate, brain electrical activity, serum levels of stress hormones and cytokines, requirements for sedative drugs, and level of sedation before and after an hour of listening to piano sonatas through headphones.” Results: Researchers” found that serum levels of growth hormone went up after listening to Mozart, while those of epinephrine and interleukin-6 went down. The levels of all three should decrease with lower stress.”
http://brainblogger.com/2008/06/16/w-a-mozart-md/
“Miss. Classrooms Work to Integrate the Arts” ( June 29, 2008) by Eleanor Barkhorn from the Clarion Ledger in Greenville. Marcia Daft , a teaching artist, has been using her classical music to teach teachers and students, for the last two years, at Melissa Manning Elementary ,to teach geometry through ” singing songs instead of memorizing facts”. Learning through the arts has students retaining more information and enjoying the process. “Artists as Education Consultants” (Feb 13, 2008) by Marcia Daft from Education Week.(pp.32-33) For the past fifteen years, Ms. Daft, a pianist, has worked as a “teaching artist” collaborating with classroom teachers to teach geometry, math, science, history and language arts.
“A Preamble to a Passionate Love Story: Argentine Tango” (Oct 8, 2008) by Olivia Damavandi from the Malibu Times. The power of the Argentine tango was “featured in the July 2008 issue of Scientific American magazine” proving “that Argentine tango helps relieve the symptoms of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, and has also been linked to improved heart health, better balance (particularly for seniors susceptible to falls and injuries), improved memory and weight loss.”
http://www.malibutimes.com/articles/2008/10/08/life_and_arts/art1.txt
“Teen of the Week: Autistic Teen’s Piano Recital Marks Milestone” (May 16, 2008) by Wendi Winters, For The Capital, Annapolis, Maryland Hometownannapolis.com. Fifteen year old Evan, who has autism played his first public recital.”He stays focused. He uses the piano to bring joy to himself and others, ” says Carolyn Sonnen.”He did very well. He played his pieces in front of an audience, a first for him. “ Classical “Music is helping him grow. He ‘s getting a lot of external feedback that a lot of autistic kids don’t get.” “Being on stage is a really big thing. It’s a breakthrough because his confidence is building. He is getting feedback that the audience members enjoy and value what he is doing.” Evan “is a straight A student. Since the beginning of this year he has attended Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore for one hour each Monday evening for piano lessons. Classical pianist Brian Ganz says “Evan is a dear soul and it’s been a privilege for me to know him and his wonderful family. Evan is a talented pianist and musician, too.” Susan Bellamy his social worker says, “In the time he’s been here at Hannah More, he’s had tremendous growth in language skills and expressing himself.” “He often will intervene on behalf of another student who is crying or upset and advocate for them. A good student, he likes to learn and come to school and please others. He has a sense of humor and can joke.”
“Going Under the Knife? Ask for A Concerto First” (July 19, 2008) by Susan Tomes from the guardian.co.uk. An eye surgeon in Hawaii played live Classical music for one group of patients before operating on them decreasing stress, heart rate, and other signs of anxiety.. The non-musical group of patients “showed an increase in heart rate and other signs of anxiety when they were in the theatre.” To read more click on the following:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/19/health.classicalmusicandopera
“Tunes To Soothe: The Healing Power of Music” (Sep. 2, 2008) by Roger Dobson from The Independent.com. UK/ life-style/health. In the operating theatre in Hawaii classical music was played on the piano by the surgeon while “the patient was sedated and prepared for surgery.” This is the world’s first experiment for “testing whether music has an effect on health, pain and vital signs, such as blood pressure and heart and breathing rates, as well as levels of hormones and antibodies. Meanwhile, a second team of researchers has found that music has a powerful effect on the immune system, boosting compounds that defend the body against infections. Evidence is growing that music can have a beneficial effect for patients.” Recent tests have shown how listening to classical music has aided recovery after a heart attack and stroke.
In South African researchers have successfully used Bach’s Magnificat to benefit mood, boost the immune system and lower stress hormones in people undergoing physiotherapy for infectious lung disease. Regularly listening can also lower high blood pressure. Patients who listened to 25 minute of music a day for four weeks lowered their blood pressure, while a control group who were played no music saw no change in their condition. After four weeks, the average drop for the music group in systolic blood pressure was 11.8 mmHg and for diastolic, 4.7 mmHg.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/
features/tunes-to-soothe-the-healing-power-of-music-915528.html
“Hearing the Music, Healing the Brain” (Sep. 7, 2008) by Matthew Shulman from the
U. S. News and World Report. For decades music therapy has been treating “neurological conditions from Parkinson’s to Alzheimer’s to anxiety and depression. Now, advances in neuroscience and brain imaging are revealing what’s actually happening in the brain as patients listen to music or play instruments and why the therapy works. It’s been substantiated only in the last year or two that music therapy can help restore the loss of expressive language in patients with aphasia” following brain injury from stroke, says Oliver Sacks, the noted neurologist and professor at Columbia University, who explored the link between music and the brain in his recent book “Musicophilia.” Beyond improving movement and speech, he says, music can trigger the release of mood-altering brain chemicals and once-lost memories and emotions.”
“Parkinson’s and stroke patients benefit, neurologists believe, because the human brain is innately attuned to respond to highly rhythmic music; in fact, says Sacks, our nervous system is unique among mammals in its automatic tendency to go into foot-tapping mode. In Parkinson’s patients with bradykinesia, or difficulty initiating movement, it’s thought that the music triggers networks of neurons to translate the cadence into organized movement.”
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_10398078
“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, and writes lyrics for her students on subjects as diverse as ocean ecology and Shakespeare.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2003680199_teacher25m.html
“Opera Enlightens Local Elementary School” (Feb 15, 2008) by Steffaney Clark from the Gulf Breeze News. The students at Navarre Primary School in Pensacola, Florida created an entire opera, words, music, and sets, with the help of the Pensacola Opera Company and their music teacher, Ann Leffard and their art teacher. “The opera takes the entire year to complete” and this is the school’s second year working with the Pensacola Opera Company. Jamie Pahukoa, a second grade teacher said the opera “focused on reading, writing and basic skills. It shows that there are more creative ways for kids to learn than just handing out worksheets. We learn together and it boosts their self esteem and gives them a sense of pride for what we accomplish during the course of a year.”
http://www.gulfbreezenews.com/news/2008/0214/Front_Page/007.html
“Opening Minds Through the Arts” (OMA) On March 8, 2008, Saturday at 3pm, the Opening Minds Through the Arts will have a fund raising Showcase at Rincon/University High School Auditorium and Cafeteria. OMA program “integrating the musical “arts into teaching reading, writing, math and science.” The program began 8 years ago in three elementary schools in Tucson, Arizona and is now in 44 Tucson Unified School District elementary and middle schools serving 19,000 students. The program has 700 teachers and 53 Teaching Artists. To read more click on the following link:
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/opinion/56776.php
“A Medical Maestro: Can Mozart Treat Heart Disease” (March 18, 2008) by Roger Dobson from the Independent.co.uk. In London at the Institute of Neurology, doctors reported that a 46 year old man with severe epilepsy for most of his life had tried every thing to stop his “seven generalized seizures a month.” including 7 epileptic drugs and brain surgery to control his seizures without success . In the last three months, he decided to change his lifestyle by listening “to Mozart for 45 minutes a day” and he has been free of seizures. To read more click on the following link:
“Quantum Learning Empowers Students Through Accelerated Learning” (Feb. 21, 2008) from Education News, Trans World News.com. For over 26 years Quantum Learning school programs and Super Camp academic summer camps have been Accelerating Learning through Dr. Georgi Lozanov’s work developed in the mid- 70’s. Dr. Lozanov, from Bulgaria, a professor of psychiatry and psychotherapy used “baroque music, …steady 60-80 beats per minute, melodic chord structures and instrumentation assists your body to access an alert yet relaxed state whereby stimulating receptivity and perception allowing you to perform better and remember more.”
http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=37683&cat=15
“Mozart Gets Parkinson’s Sufferers Back In Tune “(August 25, 2008) from the N.Z. Herald.co.nz. “Parkinson’s sufferers got their groove back with the help of world-renowned choreographer” Mark Morris and his Dance Group from New York. They “are in Auckland for the first time in their 28-year history” to “perform ballet lifts and poses choreographed by Mark Morris” to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Ten members of the Parkinson’s Society took part in a workshop at the Civic. In his New York headquarters, Morris gives “dance classes for people with Parkinson’s disease”. Dance helps “loosen tight joints, improve overall movement, and generally lift spirits.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=18&objectid=10528760
“Relaxation Tapes or Mozart Lower Blood Pressure” Approaches could supplement other therapies to treat the condition, study says” (Sep 17, 2008) by Serena Gordon, Health Day Reporter from the U. S. News and World Report. Listening to classical music by Mozart or relaxing tapes regularly, three times a week or more reduces “your blood pressure.” A new “study of 41 seniors living in retirement communities, researchers found that regularly listening to relaxation tapes reduced average systolic (the top number) blood pressure readings by 9 mm/Hg, while those who regularly listened to Mozart saw a 7 mm/Hg reduction in their blood.” Jean Tang, lead author of the study is “an assistant professor at the College of Nursing at Seattle University in Washington.” She says, “This is a simple program that’s very easy to do, and blood pressure did decrease, but it won’t replace medicine. It can only reduce blood pressure to a certain point — it’s like making lifestyle changes.”
“Dance Lifts Bodies and Souls for Parkinson’s Patients” (Oct 20, 2008) by Sacha Pfeiffer from the WBUR.org in Waltham, Mass. Goodman, the instructor, “tells the group to reach for the ceiling, lean toward the floor, and twist from side to side. She explains that these moves will loosen their bodies. Weiss says that’s exactly what they’ve done for her. “I did find that my body was, my movements were looser. I had better range of motion, and I had a great feeling of well-being.” That sense of well-being can lift the depression that sometimes comes with Parkinson’s. But dancing does more than that. Studies show that it can help people with Parkinson’s improve their balance and mobility. And the music can help them remember how to move their bodies.”
http://www.wbur.org/news/2008/80798_20081020.asp