Pharos Music Studio

10/20/2022

Attention, please! Pharos Music Studio is once again up and running! Details in comments.

01/17/2019

I wholeheartedly agree!

01/05/2019

Someone asked me recently about music and the brain. The question was regarding children, but the answer applies to all ages. In a nutshell, every cognitive function of the brain is active when we "do" music. It is some of the most complex and sophisticated work the brain does, so neurologists use music to help them understand what the brain is like when working at peak capacity. Because it is a whole brain activity, music has many applications in therapies for neurological issues. It seems to help the brain re-form connections or find work-arounds for damaged areas. Basically, if you want a better brain - do music!

If you want to learn more, I highly recommend the documentary Music Instinct: Science and Song. The writings of Daniel Levitin and Oliver Sacks are also interesting and informative.

01/02/2019

Looks like a great way to explore various instruments and learn about the symphony in an informal way.

Here's the perfect way to introduce your little ones to the music of Mozart! This Saturday at The Mozart Experience, see what happens when a young musician "becomes Mozart" for the day and confronts dilemmas and opportunities similar to the famous composer. Come early to try out instruments, get a face-painting, and more!

Get your tickets for this family-fun event >> http://bit.ly/MozartExperienceNCS

01/02/2019

True. Learning how to practice effectively is a big part of success. It will look a bit different for everyone, and it will change throughout your life. It need not be drudgery, short practice sessions can be very helpful!

(via Sarah Andersen)

12/29/2018

Learning to practice is an important step to becoming an independent musician. It's especially important for young students since time at home is far more plentiful than time in lessons. Sometimes small consistent changes can yield encouraging results!

The British cellist shares his wisdom on practising effectively

07/19/2018

We've known this to be true for some time, but it's facinating to understand why it is so.

Why do children who perform better at rhythmic memory skills tend to have better language skills? 🧠🎶👏

Because to remember and then reproduce a rhythm works out the subcortical and cortical motor regions of the brain as well as motor planning abilities in the brain. That’s a big work out for the brain.

Enjoy this jam packed article featuring the Auditory Neuorscience Lab at Northwestern Univeristy.

http://www.apamonitor-digital.org/apamonitor/20180708/MobilePagedReplica.action?pm=1&folio=64

07/10/2018

Conductors have a tendency toward longevity. I think this is partly because it is physically demanding - it is rather aerobic! It is also mentally demanding. Ed Simons explains that he has to hear the music in his mind in order to communicate what he wants from the orchestra. Deeply understanding a piece of music is not a small undertaking. The more experience you have, the easier it is, but one's brain is at peak capacity when doing something like this. Perhaps most importantly, music is a source of joy. It was something to live for. I'm always inspired by a well-lived life. This man knew what he was about.

06/15/2018

This is a well constructed study. The study showed children 9 to 12 years old with at least two years of private music lessons weekly and home practice have better executive function.

"Executive functions are the high-level cognitive processes that enable people to quickly process and retain information, regulate their behaviors, make good choices, solve problems, plan and adjust to changing mental demands."

No wonder music students achieve more across many different subjects.

Lessons during the elementary school years can be powerful, but this age group must be taught carefully in engaging and developmentally appropriate ways. I'm finding that the Music Moves materials are excellent for this, and my students and I are having a lot of fun!

A controlled study using functional MRI brain imaging reveals a possible biological link between early musical training and improved executive functioning in both children and adults, report researchers at Boston Children's Hospital. The study, appearing online June 17 in the journal PLOS ONE, uses....

06/03/2018

I was in that chorus. Westminster Symphonic Choir has been the Choir-in-Residence for NY Philharmonic since the 1940s. I got to do this while I was there, and some lovely choruses by Berlioz under Sir Colin Davis's direction.

Make our garden grow Candide: Paul Groves Cunegonde: Kristin Chenoweth Old Lady: Patti LuPone Dr. Pangloss: Sir Thomas Allen Maximilian: Jeff Blumenkrantz Pa...

05/30/2018

Improvisation and play should be an important part of music instruction. When notation is taught too soon, and the emphasis is on playing the correct note at the correct time above all else, creativity can become stifled. Too many of us fear making mistakes. Improvisation and play can help us find our freedom again. In older students, we it takes some courage to find this again. In younger students, it seems to be their natural state. We teachers must encourage and preserve it!

05/28/2018

This is only one study, but there are mountains of research showing how beneficial music study is for all brains. Since so much learning and development is happening in young children, the effects are even more profound. My mission as a teacher is to make sure as many parents and teachers know the power that music has to build brains and to make it an engaging and fun process for students.

A study by researchers at the University of Southern California shows that exposure to music and music instruction accelerates the brain development of young children.

05/18/2018

How long does it take to build a habit?
Helping a student create practice habits is one of the most challenging parts of teaching. It's also something I struggle with myself - well, not struggle exactly, but it requires some care and attention. When something in your life changes, you have to re-adjust.
Gretchen Rubin is a writer who is interested in habits and how they can improve our lives. We've all heard the "it takes 30 days for a new habit to form" or 60 days - there are many opinions out there. Rubin says that there is no one formula for this. There are simply too many variables.
What have you found helpful in building practice habits? When something in your life changes, is it easy for you to adjust, or do certain habits fall by the wayside?

05/02/2018

04/18/2018

“The fundamental issue to consider is how students learn, not how students are taught.” --Edwin E. Gordon (p. 101, "Discovering Music from the Inside Out", 2014)

Seem obvious, doesn't it? And yet, do our teaching practices really reflect this? Good teachers will ask this question of themselves often.

04/11/2018

Great video, and very interesting! This child may have perfect pitch, but she might not. Perfect pitch is the ability to hear a particular frequency and associate it with a name. So if I play 440hz, a person with perfect pitch will call that "A." If I ask them to sing an "A," they will sing 440hz. Most musicians don't have perfect pitch, but have very good relative pitch. That is, they perceive the relationships between pitches with great accuracy.
In Music Together, we always are sure to get the pitch for a song before we sing it. We always sing a song in the same key. Why? Because research shows that children are much more likely to recognize the song when they hear it in the same key. Transposing the song a little higher or lower can sound like an entirely different song to them! Because this little girl has heard these songs in the same keys, she hears it that way in her head and she can compare what she hears to the song she is thinking.
This is a great example of what children can do when given a rich music environment, and I love how it is something that she shares with Dad!!
www.musictogethersparklers.com

04/07/2018

Ah, the dreaded foe, laryngitis! It is so hard to rest one's voice, but absolutely necessary.