Gift giving guide

Give the gift of music!

Many families have asked me for ideas of what to get their child for Christmas that will enrich their musical adventure.  In a blog post by LPM Making Musicians some great ideas are shared.  

One of my favorite ideas is for Grandma/Grandpa/Aunts/Uncles to give money to go towards tuition or write a check right to your teacher.  No more $5-10 gifts being broken the day of Christmas and going in the trash.  And score for you because you don't have to find a place for all those new toys that will never be played with!

Click HERE to read the entire article on "The Gift-Buying Guide for Musical Kids".

Sound Beginnings Registration

We have had so much fun this semester in Sound Beginnings!

We have played the gathering drum…

Learned how to point high and low on the staff...

Danced and laughed...

Twirled scarves...

Played sand blocks…

And made a new friend (lots of new friends).

We have had this much fun all while learning to listen with our ears, recognize letters of the alphabet, hear and say the sounds our letters amongst many other skills.

A new semester of Sound Beginnings is upon us. Sound Beginnings Gold Stars semester will be starting the beginning of January.  Don't miss out.  Now is the time to register!  Gold Stars will run from January to April.  Classes are offered on Mondays at 9am and 9:30am and Tuesdays at 9am and 9:30am.  Click HERE to register.

Sorry Kids...

Did you know…?

Music stimulates the mind, encourages creativity and helps to lay a foundation for learning that leads to higher intelligence and aptitude.

Preschoolers who studied piano performed 34% better in spatial and temporal reasoning ability than preschoolers who spent the same amount of time learning to use computers (Rauscher & Shaw. As reported in Neurological Research, February 1997).

Preschoolers who took singing and keyboard lessons scored 80% higher on object-assembly tests than students at the same preschool who did not have the music lessons (Rauscher & Shaw. As reported in Symphony, Sept.-Oct. 1996).

Listening to Mozart’s Piano Sonata K448 was found to significantly increase spatial scores of college students on IQ tests (Rauscher & Shaw. University of California as reported in Nature).

In a study of medical school applicants, 66% of the music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. Only 44% of the biochemistry majors were admitted (Lewis Thomas, as reported in the Phi Delta Kappan, February 1994).

The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians (Grant Venerable, The Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, New York, 1989).

For the unborn child, classical music, played at a rhythm of 60 beats per minute, equivalent to that of a resting human heart, provides an environment conducive to creative and intellectual development (Dr. Thomas Veert, The Secret Life of the Unborn Child).

In 1994, it was reported by the college entrance examination board that students with coursework in music performance taking the university entrance exam (SAT) scored 49 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 36 points higher on the math portion than students with no course work or experience in the arts.

It has been shown that high school music students have higher grade point averages than non-music students do in the same school (from Time Magazine June 11, 1999).

"It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force behind that intuition. My discovery was the rest of musical perception." - Albert Einstein on his Theory of Relativity.

Plato once said "...music is a more potent instrument than any other for education..." Now scientists know why. Music, they believe, trains the brain for higher forms of thinking. After eight months of musical training, 3 year olds were expert puzzle masters, scoring 80% higher than their playmates did in spatial intelligence – the ability to visualize the world accurately. This skill later translates into mathematical/conceptual and engineering skills.


Sorry kids but, music lessons make you SMARTER!

WE GOT TO ROUND 2!

Although some of you may already know, I wanted to enlist the help of all of you. :)  I have entered my business, Let's Play Music, into a contest called Small Business Big Game which is being put on by Intuit (the makers of Quickbooks, etc).  They are offering a small business the chance of a lifetime to get exposure for their business.  A commercial during the 3rd quarter of the Super Bowl!  Plus a trip to New York during the Super Bowl for PR and promotional work as well.  Let's Play Music with Kim needs this!

During round 1 I had to tell about my business in 600 characters or less.  No small feat! Then people went on the site to vote for my company.  And surprisingly I made it through to round 2! 

During round 2 I need you to VOTE DAILY for my business.  I will be expanding my profile by answering some questions they have asked as well as producing a 90 second video.  This will all be happening before October 13th.  So, we have until October 13th to rack up as many votes as possible.  You can vote from your computer at school, computer at work, computer at home, iPad, iPod, phone, etc.  Each one counts as a vote for me.

Click on this link to vote: Let's Play Music with Kim


Let's Play Music with After October 13th Intuit will determine the top 20 businesses based on the scores tabulated from the video, questions, and public vote.  That is why I need your votes each and every day. 

Please share with your friends and family.  The more we can rally together the better chance I have.

Thanks so much for your support!  We can do this!

P.S.  You can also vote each day right from this page.  Just click the "vote" button on the right side!  Happy voting. :)

Super Bowl Commercial

Big Business usually owns the Big Game.  Well, at least they used to.  Intuit is giving one small business a TV commercial on the 2014 Big Game.  I have entered Let's Play Music with Kim into this contest!  Now I need your help.

Find my story and vote OFTEN (you are allowed 1 vote per day - please vote each day)!  The number of votes determines  which businesses advance to the next round.

Click HERE to vote.  Then share with all your friends and family.  

We can do this!  

Sound Beginnings at the Loveland Library

If you have little ones and have not yet seen a class, I invite you to join us at the Loveland Public Library on Thursday, Sept. 12th at 10am.   The library has graciously invited us to come share this wonderful music curriculum.   Sound Beginnings is filled with kindergarten readiness skills and concepts.  We learn things from months of the year to alphabet letter names and sounds to finger numbers for the piano.

This is a great opportunity to try Sound Beginnings, the amazing pre-cursor to Let's Play Music, especially for ages 2-4.

Loveland Library

Bring a friend! You will love how much learning takes place and your child will have a blast :) Hope to see you there!  

Sound Beginnings - click to learn more about this fantastic program!

Parent Involvement is Key

One aspect of  the Let's Play Music program that is dramatically different from any piano lesson, or even any group piano class: parents are required to attend with the child every other week!

Why? Because one prominent goal  is to establish music as a venue for parents to play with, love, and bond with their child.  A child who perceives music study in this positive light flourishes!

This recently published thesis by Adrienne M. Wills on relationships between parental involvement in music class and the musical home environment sheds some additional light on the excellent reasons for attending music class with your child.

• 86% of young students need parental encouragement in music making during class.
• Parent involvement during music class helped students feel more competent.
• Parent involvement during music class fostered a strong bond between parent and child.
• Parent involvement coupled with a musical home environment improved music retention, plans to pursue music, music achievement, and music aptitude.
• Participation in early childhood music classes enhanced the musical home environment.
• Parents and children begin to communicate and relate to each other in a more meaningful way as a result of shared music class participation. 

As you gear up to attend class with your child this month, be mindful of the wonderful benefits of your participation and clear about your intentions.

• Model enthusiastic participation and respect (you are being watched and copied!)
• Look into your child's eyes, smile, give frequent hugs, rock him on your lap.
• Endorse the spirit of playfulness in class and at home practice. 

Your child's first experience with music will delight him because he sees your delight in being with him.  He will sing when he sees that you enjoy singing, that you enjoy hearing him sing.  For years, he will rely heavily on your nurturing and shared enjoyment.  Over time, he will discover his own joys in creating music, and blossom into a lifetime love of music.