Penn State researchers who call themselves the ‘Happy Birthday Club’ suggest that we shouldn’t make judgments about our singing abilities based on familiar tunes that happen to be really hard.
Prince performs at Minneapolis’ First Avenue nightclub in August 1983.
Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Prince was a musical genius, but he didn’t come of age in a vacuum. A human geographer explains how Minneapolis’ unique musical culture nurtured and inspired the budding star.
More than half of students who took music in year 10 in NSW had dropped out by year 12.
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Kids can stop music lessons at any time, due to boredom or disliking practice. It’s OK to let them stop if they genuinely don’t enjoy it, but it’s best to test a few things out first.
What can teachers and parents do to ensure that children select musical activities based on their real desires?
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Researchers who looked at over 110,000 students found that learning an instrument in elementary school, and continuing music study into high school, significantly improves school achievement.
The Suzuki method requires a lot of parental involvement, so it may not be right for every family.
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The Suzuki method can work, but requires a high level of parental involvement.
Montreal-born pianist Oscar Peterson waves after playing at the Montreal Forum in July 1984. The Coalition for Music Education is inviting schools and communities across Canada to sing “Hymn To Freedom,” written by Peterson and Harriette Hamilton, on Music Monday 2019, a day to celebrate music.
(CP/Jean F. Leblanc)
Nagging or bribing a child to practise their musical instrument only makes the activity feel like a chore. Here’s how to support your child and bring back harmony to the whole family.
Butner Elementary School students sing patriotic music on Fort Bragg, North Carolina. April 2, 2009.
Jessica M. Kuhn / U.S. Army
Children with difficulty singing can be labelled as ‘nonmusical’ by parents, teachers and pop culture. This toxic idea of ‘talent’ can deprive people of music’s benefits for the rest of their lives.
How does music training in early childhood help the developing brain?
woodleywonderworks
Technological advances in music production have all but obliterated the need for popular music to be transcribed into musical notation. So why is musical literacy still important?
Can all young children – or only prodigies – compose music?
Nick Oliver
Not all children move through the same range of processes when they compose music – but those processes, in themselves, nurture important human qualities.
NRF Accredited & Senior Researcher; Lead Coordinator of the South-South Educational Collaboration & Knowlede Interchange Initiative, Cape Peninsula University of Technology