Music for Young Children Mississauga Blog

May your holiday season be filled with music

12/1/2019

In Music for Young Children, we encourage the children to perform as much as possible. The incentives are built into the program to motivate the children in playing the piano in front of friends and family as music is a community event. Children music lessons are more than just learning how to play piano, but to also learn to play in public. Let us help our children to play in this holiday season, and invite them to play for your friends and your family. This will not only build their music playing skills but also their confidence. They will also know how much you value their playing and that you are proud of their hard works.

Have a great musical December and New year! Let the music flows in your house!

Ms. Esther
https://www.myc.com/members/eng/

There are so many benefits to Music for Young Children!

11/1/2019

There are so many benefits to Music for Young Children!

How interesting that this research article shows that a child's brain develops faster with exposure to music education. This article discusses the effects, value and impact of music education especially in young children. How important then is it to get your child involved in Music for Young Children!

Don't stop the music! Let us all get involved in music!
Read and enjoy:
https://musiceducationworks.wordpress.com/2016/06/19/a-childs-brain-develops-faster-with-exposure-to-music/

By Ms. Brenda
https://www.myc.com/members/bcornacchion/

“Heal the World” Through Music Making

10/15/2019

04.22.19

Mrs. F and myself were very proud of our “show stopper” this year at our annual Music For Young Children (MYC) 2019 recitals in March: a version of Heal the World by Michael Jackson!

Like most great ideas, it started with a seed of inspiration, one that we developed in our music lessons for two months’ until the final presentation where everything came together so beautifully. Mrs. F was watching a video that was posted to our Facebook page at the top of the year, where there was a wide array of children performing this piece as singers, instrumentalists, and a full choir. Mrs. F thought to herself: well our kids could do that! We started to reflect on the talents and abilities of many students who have completed their Music For Young Children foundation with us, and who have continued with our music school for many years afterwards. It was through this reflection that we put together a “Heal the World band” (pictured with this article), the majority of which started as Sunshine 1 students many years ago. The band featured: a piano player, drummer, djembe player, electric guitar, three vocal soloists, and the MYC choir who performed the chorus with accompanying sign language! We all saw this great unveil for the first time together with our audience, and the final product exceeded our wildest expectations; it was a resounding success!

One of the reasons these performances were so successful is due to the type of music education Music For Young Children offers: not only do kids learn how to play piano but they are exposed to singing, rhythm and movement, and group ensemble playing from a young age. Many of the children on stage at the recitals this year were participating in their first ever public performance, the skills of which they had been previously exposed to during the year. Mrs. F and I had an opportunity to expand the musical education of our senior level performers in the Heal the World band, as these musicians were involved in multiple dress rehearsals, as well as the tech setup and dismantling of all of the musical gear following the afternoon’s performances.

One of the audience members who participated in the MYC choir was further inspired to perform this at her school’s talent show! The seed of inspiration has been firmly planted; there’s no knowing how these music students will continue to expand and grow with their music lessons in the coming years. Both Mrs. F and myself look forward to doing our part of cultivating this love of music that was made possible through their exposure to the Music for Young Children program!

By Ms. Michelle

Music lessons develop young children’s brains and enhance creativity

9/3/2019

Benefits of Music Lessons for Young Children

8/1/2019

Music has been around almost since the world began and humans intuitively gravitate to music when it comes to expressing emotion. But did you know that the benefits of music go far beyond expressing emotion? Particularly for young children, music lessons provide a myriad of physical, social and intellectual benefits as well.
Parents who provide music lessons for their young children are investing in the development of their children. Learning to play piano and read music improves math and science testing scores (University of Texas). This can be helpful all through life and particularly during the application process to universities.
Piano lessons promote coordination and patience in children. Gross and fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination are significantly increased through music lessons for young children. In a reputable study by Hochman, improvements in ability to solve mazes, copy patterns of color and draw geometric figures were seen in children who took music lessons.
Piano lessons are character building for children of all ages. Two great qualities built into a child studying music are patience and determination which will come in handy when life's challenges increase as the children mature into adults. Children also learn to relax to music as they learn to appreciate it in music lessons. This is a great coping skills for the whole lifespan.
Music for Young Children music lessons provide the added, and very important, benefit of socializing in the group class. This great advantage over traditional piano lessons motivates and encourages children in their learning of all aspects of music and increases the length of time they enjoy music lessons. Parents who choose the group classes with Music for Young Children are giving their children a great start in life!

By Ms. Elizabeth (https://www.myc.com/members/edettweiler/)

Music works on the autonomic nervous system

7/1/2019

Contributed by Mrs. Chandrika de Almeida

I was researching for articles that would talk about benefits of listening and learning music. I came across this interesting article that was published in the Daily Mail in the UK written by Naomi Coleman. The article talks about how research has discovered that listening to music has a variety of health benefits. According to the writer, fresh research from Austria has found that listening to music can help patients with chronic back pain. As a person who suffers with back pains, this caught my attention and thought of sharing with the readers.

How it helps: Music works on the autonomic nervous system - the part of the nervous system responsible for controlling our blood pressure, heartbeat and brain function - and also the limbic system - the part of the brain that controls feelings and emotions. According to one piece of research, both these systems react sensitively to music.
When slow rhythms are played, our blood pressure and heartbeat slow down which helps us breathe more slowly, thus reducing muscle tension in our neck, shoulders, stomach and back. And experts say that apart from physical tension, music also reduces psychological tension in our mind.

In other words when we feel pain, we become frightened, frustrated and angry which makes us tense up hundreds of muscles in our back. Listening to music on a regular basis helps our bodies relax physically and mentally, thus helping to relieve - and prevent - back pain.

Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-137116/Why-listening-music-key-good-health.html#ixzz5Ejy8bCR5

Music of Healing and Hope

6/3/2019

Healing Through the Power of Music

Learning how to play the piano can also help others and serve the community.
Music therapy can help patients recover and soothe their emotions. Students can gain community service hours for their high school credits while serving the community at hospitals, elderly homes and community centres.
The following is taken from the site of Credit Valley Hospital, Music of Healing and Hope, Healing Through the Power of Music.
Best regards,
Ms. Helen Chu
VOLUNTEER PERFORMERS
Guidelines for performances:
The Steinway grand piano that resides in the hospital’s main lobby was donated by Mr. Grant Clarkson in honor of his late wife, Janet Elizabeth Clarkson so that Credit Valley’s patients, visitors, staff, physicians and volunteers would continue to enjoy its music.
In an effort to continue our philosophy of “healing and hope”, Trillium Health Partners - Credit Valley Hospital is now providing music in the beautiful main atrium of the hospital Monday - Friday. The Music of Healing and Hope Program will feature accomplished volunteer musicians from our own hospital community and the Mississauga area.
We invite you, or any other musician who plays professionally or who has achieved a minimum grade nine level standing in music, to consider volunteering 45 minutes of time to perform for our patients, visitors and staff.
Do you play a musical instrument? In an effort to continue our legacy of “healing and hope”, music is provided in the lobbies at Credit Valley Hospital and Queensway Health Centre. Musicians are also required at the Mississauga site to play on patient units. We invite community musicians who play professionally or who have achieved a minimum grade nine level standing in music, to consider volunteering 45 minutes of time to perform for our patients, visitors and staff.
Performer must be 15 years of age or older with minimum grade 9 musical performance standard or provide recognition of standard of performance by a recognized performing arts organization. Hospital will review the application and approve or decline performance based on established criteria.
Performance will be limited to agreed upon lobby area. Individual performances in patient rooms or other areas of the hospital will not be permitted due to infection control issues.
For more information, please contact:
Diana Gawel, Volunteer Resources Administrative Assistant. (905)-813-4112 diana.gawel@trilliumhealthpartners.ca

Find Your Creative Voice

5/1/2019

When you take time out of your day to focus on learning how to play piano, you’ll find that you have space to express yourself creatively in a way that you weren’t able to before. With a busy schedule and
fast-paced lifestyle, spending even a small amount of time on your creative voice will also give you the opportunity to relax and unwind from the stressors of daily life. You also may find that you are able
to reorient yourself with your daily goals. Everyone has a creative voice, but it’s up to you to find your own. Learning how to play piano is a great opportunity for creative expression in a world that doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on these goals.

The modern lifestyle is extremely fast-paced and based on material results, which is another reason why taking time for yourself, especially for music, gives you a chance to center yourself and consider what is truly important to you. Making practice part of your daily routine is not only the best way to learn piano fast, it’s also useful for self-expression and relaxation.

It’s true that advanced techniques like improvisation require a substantial amount of musical knowledge and technical mastery, but there’s also an element of self-expression involved.

Luckily, these skills all grow together over time and with practice: as you improve your skills, you’ll learn more and more about the music you’re playing and those who have written it. This will also help you
understand what genres of music move you and, eventually, what it is about them that makes you feel that way. Thus, the process of learning how to play piano is far from just technical—it also involves personal
growth and understanding.

Once you start learning how to play piano, you might find that this new creativity is easily applied to other aspects of your life. Creativity, of course, isn’t only related to music, but has outlets in every part of life. It can improve and change the way you see the world as well as your problem-solving abilities. All in all, there are a wide range of effects that learning how to play piano can have on you, and only so many of them can be communicated through words.

Source: pianoin21days.com

Music for Young Children curriculum teaches harmonization and composition to children at a young age. It opens up and enables young children to develop their creativity through making their own music.
Please feel free to contact any MYC teacher to get to know more about this wonderful program!

Ms. Helen Chu
https://www.myc.com/members/hchu/

Music does wonder to children!

4/1/2019

Look at how music brings people together. Such joy it brings to people!
Thanks to Ms. Brenda for finding this and sharing this with us.

Group versus Private Lessons

3/1/2019

Here at Music For Young Children we start the students in group classes. The children attend classes with a parent in which they learn to play a keyboard instrument. We sing, play games, play rhythm ensembles, do sight reading and ear training activities. It’s a total music lesson and the children learn from each other. Each week they can see how others are progressing in their studies and can measure their own progress. When a child is one on one with the teacher, they don’t have that same advantage of seeing how the group is progressing. They can’t hear how a piece should sound, how quickly it needs to be played. When preparing for examinations, all students are placed in private lessons so the teacher can fine tune what the examiner is looking for. I find that the students who have come from group lessons are far superior to the students who take private lessons only. It isn’t too hard to fine tune students who already know their pieces and just have to correct a few notes and work on tempos and dynamics. Many private students just don’t have that model to follow as they are relying on themselves for everything. It becomes very discouraging, they feel they are the only ones experiencing the difficulties and they aren’t very successful. As a result, they drop out of lessons much earlier. There is something to be said for a student finding that a particular piece is challenging only to find out that a classmate is having the same struggles. They can learn together. “Two heads are better than one”.

Please check us out at myc.com.

Sincerely,

Mrs. F
Gwen Fedorowich
B.Ed., ARCT, ECE, MYCC
https://www.myc.com/members/gfedorowich/

Music for Young Children Mississauga