For decades, educators in general, and those with specific training in music in particular, have been touting the values of the experience. As research continues on the intrinsic value of having students exposed to formal music education, more and more people are understanding how the functioning of the human brain is enhanced by training in music.

In cities throughout Texas, including the larger cities of Dallas, Houston and Austin, music educators,

supported by the Texas Music Educators Association, have been touting the value of making music an integral part of a well-rounded educational experience.

But in times of budgetary pressures, is the case for music education — all too often seen as an easy way to cut costs — one that stands up to the scrutiny? Music educators may argue that exposing young student minds to the unique disciplines required of music may be almost as important as having health insurance — the real benefits come when you need it most.

One of the most basic questions concerning music education in Texas may be “does it help produce a better citizen?” A number of statistics would suggest the answer is a decided “yes.”

A report by the Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse showed that secondary students who participated in band or orchestra had the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances, including alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs. That alone, with the obvious connection to health insurance issues, might be enough to convince doubters. But even those students who don’t make music a part of their career appear to benefit from integrating the subject into their education.

In “The Paradox of the Silicon Savior,” author Grant Venerable points to an interesting fact: the very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians.

Students in Dallas, Houston and Austin, and throughout Texas, are also more likely to do better in school when they embrace a curriculum that includes music, as suggested by an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students.

The study, reported by the College Entrance Examination Board in 2001, indicated that students with coursework/experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Specifically, students with backgrounds in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math portion of the SAT; students with backgrounds in music appreciation did even better: 63 points higher on the verbal and 44 points higher on the math, compared to students with no arts participation.

Those intending a future career in health should take note: a study by physician and biologist Lewis Thomas, “The Case for Music in the Schools” (Phi Delta Kappan, February 1994), discovered 66% of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group.

While there is evidence that smart students taking music excel, some studies suggest music education can also play a role in actually developing intelligence in Texas students as well as those elsewhere. Consider research by Dr. Timo Krings, who performed a study of pianists and non-musicians of the same age and sex. In the research, reported in Neuroscience Letters, no. 3 (2000), study participants were required to perform complex sequences of finger movements. A brain scan used to detect activity levels of brain cells demonstrated that the brain cells of musicians were more efficient at making skilled movements, an indication that musical training can enhance brain function.

The benefits of music education in developing intelligence appear to come early. In the Kindergarten classes of the school district of Kettle Moraine, Wis., children given music instruction scored 48% higher on spatial-temporal skill tests than those who did not receive music training.

How about success in life? And perhaps even more importantly, does music make us healthier?

Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, the world-renowned heart surgeon connected with the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, is one who believes in the value of music education. “Studying music encourages self-discipline and diligence, traits that carry over into intellectual pursuits and that lead to effective study and work habits,” said Dr. DeBakey. “An association of music and math has, in fact, long been noted. Creating and performing music promotes self-expression and provides self-gratification while giving pleasure to others.

In medicine, increasing published reports demonstrate that music has a healing effect on patients. For all these reasons, it deserves strong support in our educational system, along with the other arts, the sciences, and athletics.”

Finally, Dr. Frederick Tims, a leading music educator, as reported in AMC Music News (June 1999), says those who embrace music are healthier as they age. “There were significant decreases in anxiety, depression and loneliness following keyboard lessons,” Dr. Tims said. “These are factors that are critical in coping with stress, stimulating the immune system, and in improved health.”

Increasingly, society is seeing the intrinsic benefits that those on the front lines of music education have already seen.

Researchers are now discovering how the mind responds to something as simple yet powerful as music, an indication that the future, from a health and wellness perspective, is a bright one. How you treat your mind and body when you’re young will certainly affect your health when you get older. Eventually, it will also affect your wallet as well.

Millions of radio listeners in the United States and all over the world have become so much happier with the introduction of satellite radio. Now, people can listen to literally hundreds of stations that offer music, news, radio talk shows and more in virtually real-time and at a much higher audio quality than that which FM or AM radio provides.

With conventional radio, land-based stations broadcast their signals to your boom box, computer, or car radio via the earth’s airwaves. With satellite radio however, providers transmit encrypted signals to satellites they launched in outer space; these satellites in turn beam the signals to customers’ listening devices. But you can’t use just any radio; you need a special receiver (which is available at electronics retailers) and a satellite radio set. You can also listen to satellite radio broadcasts in your car since many new cars rolling of the assembly lines have satellite-ready equipment already installed. All you would need to do is pay for your monthly subscription.

In the United States, service is offered by XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Sirius, a company based in New York City, has over 125 channels from which to choose, 67 of them dedicated to commercial-free music and the rest to various other content. XM, on the other hand, offers more than 160 channels, which offer content that is as diverse as that which Sirius extends to its customers. The services are available coast-to-coast, so geographical availability of programs is not an issue. A customer in Los Angeles, for example, can listen to the same talk show that another customer in say, Boston, is listening to at the same time, and with no degradation in audio quality. Remember that satellite radio also means digital radio—sound is crystal-clear. There’s none of the static or hissing you would sometimes hear on FM or AM radio. Non-US residents can also take advantage of the benefits of satellite radio; XM and Sirius offer their services in Canada, while WorldSpace broadcasts its service across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Australia has several providers of its own also.

Factors that attract people to sign up for satellite radio subscriptions are numerous. For one thing, there’s the pleasure of listening to commercial-free music. Since the providers make their money from subscriptions, there is still no pressing need for advertising revenue. Another attractive feature that this service offers is that information about the song being played at the moment is displayed on your radio set—a small convenience for those people who have to know about who is singing what song right-now. The fact that satellite radio programming is completely uncensored at the moment is also a draw for many people. Noteworthy personalities, such as shock jock Howard Stern (who was kicked out of network radio programming) has made satellite radio his new broadcasting home. Whether you want to listen to hip-hop music, stand-up comedy shows, or news programs, satellite radio offers them—all completely uncensored.

Because Sirius, XM, and other providers are the ones who set the channel selections, some people might find it a bit inconvenient that they won’t be able to listen to their local radio stations and get information on local goings-on. However, Sirius and XM do provide traffic and weather data for major cities, so that should be a bit of a relief for city residents. And if you think about it, not getting access to one local radio station wouldn’t seem to be such a bad deal if you compare it to the ability to listen to hundreds of channels of commercial-free music and unregulated non-regulated shows.

Sirius and XM plan to add even more features and functions to offer to their subscribers. Sirius, in particular, is readying the launch of a Windows Media Video 9 service and the company plans to offer several channels dedicated to children. That’s one more thing to keep the kids occupied and not distract their parents on long road trips. XM plans to release a similar video service. The two companies are anticipating that this will add to the number of their subscribers—Sirius has over one million, trailing after XM which has more than three million.

If you’re an avid radio listener and you’re finding yourself becoming fed up with the constant barrage of commercials on regular music stations or if you’re looking for more no-holds-barred commentaries or radio talk shows, you probably wouldn’t mind forking over the .95 monthly subscription for satellite radio service charged by Sirius and XM. And with the increases that the two companies see in their subscriber numbers, it’s evident that a lot of people feel the same way.

Being a music teacher can be a challenging task. It involves a dose of time and effort to be spent on research, enhancement and upgrade in terms of your teaching strategies and methods. Since teaching and learning are both dynamic in nature, you as an educator must know how to advance your music teaching resources and techniques so as to become efficient and effective at all times.

In this article, you would be informed and updated with the latest resources and strategies on music teaching – suitable for all students from different walks of life. This also includes their corresponding benefits, advantages and corresponding approaches. Here they are:

Brainstorming among Students

This is a process that is designed for generating multiple ideas/options in which judgment is suspended until a maximum number of ideas have been made. Following generation of ideas, options are typically analyzed; the best solution is identified; and, a plan of action is developed.

Its advantages include:

* the active involvement of learners in higher levels of thinking;
* the promotion of peer learning and critical thinking; and,
* the creation of synergy, teamwork and cooperation.

To meet their sets of objectives, music teachers must use methods that would stimulate thinking, creativity, inquiry, and consensus. They should also provide clear instructions on how the process exactly works – ensuring that all students adhere to the rules.

Computer Simulation

In this context, such specific and practical examination, procedural training and data interpretation skills in realistic situations through the use of highly realistic computerized dummies and multimedia are utilized and applied accordingly to further teach particular music lessons.

Advantages of computer simulation are the following:

* Students can portray realistic situations, provide immediate feedback and inquiry, and most of all, can make use of such learning and acquisition in real life experiences.
* This also allows the learners to stay focused on such topic – eliminating irrelevant and unnecessary aspects.

Music educators must choose learning objectives that involve hands-on experience that can allow the students to have direct control and access to music technology. However, the faculty must be trained and equipped with such simulation skills so as to instruct the learners correspondingly and facilitate experiences and feedbacks accordingly.

Interactive Demonstrations and Games

These strategies pave way to activities where learners can observe how they are being done and administered in preparation to practical application. These may involve competitions, participations, drills and feedbacks into the learning experience as a motivating factor and a ground for application of principles.

It is really beneficial to both music educators and students to integrate such demo and games in the learning process. These help boost their self-confidence and broaden their attention span – targeting questions and answers. Such techniques also actively involve learners, regenerate motivation, provide challenges and express oneself while creating a fun learning environment.

These may be just some of the many effective music teachers’ resources and teaching strategies that are readily available online to help all music educators around the globe spread this message: Learning music is a rewarding and fun experience that can change and touch lives.

Many people have musical interest of different types and classical guitar is an amazing kind of music that can give you such great joy and happiness. The best ways to learn more about classical guitar music, is to do the proper research on the internet or check out some self help books on learning classical guitar at the library. There are many resources that you can go through to gather the information that would be required for learning about classical guitar music. If it is something you are truly interested in and have the time to practice as much as will be needed, then it may be time for you to get to it, and eventually you may be able to show off your musical styles to your family and friends. They will be delighted and so proud of you for being so driven and dedicated to learning something new. It will also give you a great feeling of accomplishment.

While surfing on the internet you will find that there is so much helpful material that can help in guiding you on your journey to learning more about classical guitar music. Perhaps you could even get your hands on an instructional manual which would teach you how to play classical guitar music and you might even be able to find out about some classical guitar music classes, available to you, for teaching you more about the art and style of learning the classical guitar music. If you are really interested, then you should have no problem when it comes to getting started with this new attraction in your life. You may be able to find someone around your town that knows some about guitar lessons, of various styles. Maybe they could give you information that would be helpful in getting you started with your guitar lessons.

As you are searching for ways to teach yourself classical guitar music, just know that you had better be prepared for a great challenge. It is not always going to be easy but if you allow yourself enough time and have enough patience, it can be accomplished. This type of music has been around for many, many years, so there will be an abundance of information available for teaching you this style of guitar playing. For many people, learning how to read sheet music is probably one of the more difficult tasks. Learning how to read classical music sheets can be even more of a challenge, not just for beginners that know nothing about it, even experienced guitar players would probably have a tough time with this style of sheet music. It can be quite tricky.

You will find different mp3′s that would be available to you, for listening to the guitar music styles that you choose, there are some sheets of music that you could actually find on the internet that will not cost you a dime. Listening to this music can give you a better idea on what you will be attempting to play, just getting to know the music is very important. You just have to know where to look and who to talk to about this new interest and you should be well on your way to a new hobby or perhaps even a new career.

Benefits of Music Education Shown to Include Leadership and Teamwork Skills

Besides being a sure way to become the life of the party, learning to play an instrument can make your children smarter, better adjusted, and better equipped to adopt a position of leadership in a diverse world. Some of the benefits of music education include the development of leadership and teamwork skills.

The idea that music education makes children smarter isn’t just our opinion. Music has a mathematical precision; the rhythms, pitches, and motifs in musical composition can all be expressed with numbers and equations. Maybe that is why the 1993 Standardized Achievement Test (SAT) showed above-average scores in both mathematical and verbal portions of the test by high school students who studied music. At the time, President Bill Clinton and Education Secretary Richard Riley were calling for enriched arts education for all children.

Being smart is important, but it’s also critical that children be well adjusted. Children with music education—especially those in a school setting with other musicians—develop the key people-skills that are essential to functioning in society, including teamwork, problem solving, and leadership. They gain from the hard work of music mastery, learning self-discipline and self-worth through accomplishments. Studies demonstrate that the students most likely to be elected to class office, achieve the highest grades, or receive honors for academic achievement are the students who—you guessed it—study music.

There is also an impossible to quantify, yet essential quality that music adds to each of our lives. If, as argued by the Oxford Review of Education as far back as 1996, the richness of music is itself enough justification for the teaching of it , then are music’s other benefits unimportant? We do not believe so. Music education should and does have measurable benefits.

What we know is that music education helps children improve academic skills, develop leadership skills, and gain a sense of accomplishment. We also know that support for music education in public schools is always under financial pressure. You may have to resort to private or virtual lessons to help your children learn music. Be involved, pay attention, and behave as if your children’s music education is as important as math and writing education. Why? Because it is.

But if that doesn’t convince your son or daughter to study music, perhaps the fact that musicians are the life of the party will! Guitar players and singers and pianists are always in demand, no matter what the venue; whether in church musical groups or jazz combos or contemporary rock groups, with bass players and drummers close behind. With the current decline in support for music and arts education, it is more important than ever for parents to encourage their children to study music.

You love music and love to surf a lot of free music videos online but as a matter of fact you are expecting too little from your favorite free music video site if you think that it is all about the music video being provided for free. In fact a lot of sites provide this and what you consider as a favor provided for free is nothing but a gimmick. The reason that the site provide the videos for free are that they want visitors as well. There is nothing wrong in it but the fact is that there are sites that cater a lot more to you and there is no reason that you have to do with mediocre services to browse free music videos. <br /><br />

Aptly, your favorite free music video sites should be able to give you a lot more than just music videos, it should offer you related information on the genre of music so that you can get to know more about the music while you actually see the video. Other than the popular music video you should also cater a reasonable amount of private videos so that you can get a better variety and access to some fresh music. You don’t want to hear and see the same stuff that you already see on TV. <br /><br />

Moreover there should be dance music videos so that you can also enjoy yourself seeing the dance performance while you listen to the music. Lastly, you can also expect the most controversial video also being shown as this will keep you updated about things that you might not know about otherwise. <br /><br />

Other than the above features the site should also have the regular search options and should also show user ratings so that you know whether a free music video is worth seeing or not. You do not want to fall in a trap by try to experiment with horribly bad videos. <br /><br />

Nowadays, a blog that carries discussion on music can also be an added feature worth mention as it can enhance the exchange of music video knowledge as well as allow you to express your thought freely. http://favoritemusicvideo.com/ is one site that fits all criteria that your favorite free music video site should have. In case your music site does not offer you all things that you deserve you should surely consider switching over to sites like http://favoritemusicvideo.com/. With so much on offer online you should ensure that you do not settle for second best!

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Benefits of Music Education Shown to Include Leadership and Teamwork Skills Besides being a sure way to become the life of the party, learning to play an instrument can make your children smarter, better adjusted, and better equipped to adopt a position of leadership in a diverse world. Some of the benefits of music education include the development of leadership and teamwork skills. The idea that music education makes children smarter isn’t just our opinion. Music has a mathematical precision; the rhythms, pitches, and motifs in musical composition can all be expressed with numbers and equations. Maybe that is why the 1993 Standardized Achievement Test (SAT) showed above-average scores in both mathematical and verbal portions of the test by high school students who studied music. At the time, President Bill Clinton and Education Secretary Richard Riley were calling for enriched arts education for all children. Being smart is important, but it’s also critical that children be well adjusted. Children with music education — especially those in a school setting with other musicians — develop the key people-skills that are essential to functioning in society, including teamwork, problem solving, and leadership. They gain from the hard work of music mastery, learning self-discipline and self-worth through accomplishments. Studies demonstrate that the students most likely to be elected to class office, achieve the highest grades, or receive honors for academic achievement are the students who — you guessed it — study music. There is also an impossible to quantify, yet essential quality that music adds to each of our lives. If, as argued by the Oxford Review of Education as far back as 1996, the richness of music is itself enough justification for the teaching of it , then are music’s other benefits unimportant? We do not believe so. Music education should and does have measurable benefits. What we know is that music education helps children improve academic skills, develop leadership skills, and gain a sense of accomplishment. We also know that support for music education in public schools is always under financial pressure. You may have to resort to private or virtual lessons to help your children learn music. Be involved, pay attention, and behave as if your children’s music education is as important as math and writing education. Why? Because it is. But if that doesn’t convince your son or daughter to study music, perhaps the fact that musicians are the life of the party will! Guitar players and singers and pianists are always in demand, no matter what the venue; whether in church musical groups or jazz combos or contemporary rock groups, with bass players and drummers close behind. With the current decline in support for music and arts education, it is more important than ever for parents to encourage their children to study music.

The world in the music industry has a lot of issues and events that trigger critiques to give their opinions and views regarding a certain subject. These views are either constructive or destructive to the enthusiasts in the music world. There can be learning or lessons that can be derived from these opinions especially if the person that aired out his views has established credibility about the subject on hand.

This is one reason why Music Biz is an interesting site from which independent artists can visit. It is full of articles that relate to particular subject in the music industry. If an independent artist wants to gain ground and get updates in the music world, he can read various articles in Music Biz and know about what the music business is facing. The articles in Music Biz are not news though but are commentaries, opinions and point of views of music insiders. Music Biz, however, make sure that the articles added to their site are reasonable, related to specific incident, relevant and informative. The experiences and discussions in the articles may be subjective but one who wants to know the world of music can gain something from these articles.

Music Biz is a unique community site intended to cater independent artists, music enthusiasts, disc jockeys, music marketers, and other players in the music business. Unlike other community sites that feature an individual profile, Music Biz features articles based on certain issues concerning the music industry. These articles come from different sources or contributors who air out personal opinions and analyses on whatever subject they have related to the music world. Although this is so, contributors are encouraged to practice responsible journalism so as not to be too disrespectful to certain issues. Articles in Music Biz are not necessarily facts but more on critiques and scrutiny.

However, this is not the only composition of Music Biz site. One of their menus shows real news about different music events, artists, and the business as a whole. The news in Music Biz links to the original source of the news. Independent artists can get real updates and real news in the music industry in Music Biz. The news is up to date and new events and issues are added every now and then.

Aside from editorials and news, visitors in Music Biz can also read feature articles in the music industry. Feature articles present interesting and factual events and subjects. Independent artists can get their updates from these features as well. The feature article, just like editorials, can be contributed by anybody as long as it is credible and reliable. Proper editing is also done to ensure that it meets the Music Biz standard to categorize it as feature articles. Members who log in to Music Biz can also contribute reviews regarding existing articles and other issues.

There are more than just articles, editorials, news, or features that Music Biz can offer. There is forum for music enthusiasts, marketplace where visitors or members can buy CD or DVD copies, and reviews.

Robert Lauri’s Liberty album is now available in France from one of the main French music download websites. The album is also available from other major download websites worldwide and contains eleven varied titles, including two instrumentals. Each track has its own musical ambience, as have the tracks Je Ne Peux Plus, J’ai Si Peur, Toi, Mon Destin and C’est Lui.

The Liberty album was recorded in Paris and New York City and reflects the riches of those different cultures by mixtures of several musical styles. The Liberty project is the fruit of the joint efforts of Alain Pype, French sound engineer, and Robert Lauri. Three tracks, “Liberty” (“Liberté”) and “So Much Love, So Much Hate” (“Tant s’aimer, tant se haïr”) and “C’est Lui” (“it’s Him” ) are released as singles.

With the single “Liberty”, title and extract of the album composed and performed by Robert Lauri, the public sets off on the discovery of the new album of the same name – “Liberty”. This song is at the same time a mixture and an example of synergy between the Pop and Rap musical genres.

The lyrics of the French version are by Claudine Marousek-Dornhakl. The English adaptation is by Vivien Goldman. The English voice is that of Laura Carbonell Smith. The Rap part is written and performed by Robert Lauri’s son (Jessy), JNB.

The single “So Much Love, So Much Hate”, is one of the album’s varied moods where intense choruses rise in a hum, while a Scandinavian-style walk provides the backdrop rhythm.

More than 6.000.000 internet users have already discovered the videos of these titles, as well as an instrumental, Energy, Toi mon destin (You, my destiny) and It’s Him (C’est Lui) on different websites.

For information:
http://ca.video.yahoo.com/search/?p=ROBERT+LAURI&t=video
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/robert%2Blauri
http://ma-tvideo.france2.fr/search/?q=nouvel%20album%20robert%20lauri

Two albums with some hits and some till today, unreleased timeless songs are now also available: ” “If I Die By Chance” And “Still Believe In It” (“Si je meurs par hasard” and “j’y crois encore”)

Robert Lauri has been an author, a composer and a performer since his tenderest years. His musical career has been punctuated, for more than thirty years, by some records and a successful international career – both in the United States and in Europe – with the Alef Band.

For further information on the artist’s career:
THE OFFICIAL ROBERT LAURI WEBSITE
http://www.robert-lauri.com
http://www.myspace.com/robertlauri