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March Means Music Because…

 



Yesterday I wrote a great piece about Target - - the history of the company itself and the boycott. I was one hundred per cent satisfied with it.

My iPad ate it. Blogger ate it. I don’t know who ate it but I know it was tasty.

You’ll just have to take my word for it.

Today I’m harkening back to an old post because, if the blog-munching demons are still hungry, I know I’ve got this one saved.

*****

Music in My Head, Village Green/Town² March 20, 2020

March is Music in our Schools month. Yesterday I came across a post by local blogger HoCoHouseHon that is a celebration of music from start to finish. Worth the read:

Soundtrack of the Self

The writer touches on a theme that means a lot to me:

Music is emotion, music is a lodestone. It doesn't matter if you can name chords or identify instruments in a symphony - it doesn't matter if you had piano lessons or played in your elementary school band - music is where our souls rest. Where we rejoice - where we are truly alive. Maybe the only way you hear music is in jingles or pop songs played low on the radio - it doesn't matter. Music is a part of us.

This post reminded me of a piece I wrote in 2015 entitled “Remarkable and Unique,” about the Music and Memory project.

Music connects. Music is the connection. Music travels within the brain to all the deepest parts of the self. Even when cognitive areas are damaged or degraded, the networks within us that are music can still thrive.

Whether you become a professional musician, a lifelong amateur one, or simply enjoy music in your day to day life: music is for everyone.

*****

March is still Music in Our Schools Month. One quick thing before I go this morning:

I keep reading articles about the current mental health crisis, especially among teens. I know that the issue is complex and there are many components. But one thing I wish we would look at more closely- - and with legitimate concern - - is the damage we do to young people by reducing their access to music programs, arts electives, and subjects that are perceived as “non-academic.”

These are the places where kids experience multiple ways to handle stress, learn to articulate feelings, to work with others, to feel a sense of connection and belonging. 

Every time we cut those we are cutting away at opportunities for self regulation. We are not making them more college-and-career ready by narrowing their options. We are jeopardizing the development of an organic process that encourages self esteem and builds pathways for lifelong wellbeing.

Do we really care about mental health or is it just something we wring our hands about occasionally without taking any action?

Again, music education isn’t the only thing in schools that support social emotional learning and mental health But it’s Music in Our Schools Month, so I’m giving them a shoutout. 

I don't expect that everyone in the whole world will choose to be a musician as their profession. But I do think that we are all musicians in our own ways. … Whether we listen to a whole album or a handful of songs - whether we see our identities reflected in our playlists or just enjoy dancing around the kitchen - we are all a part of music, and music is a part of us. It belongs to all of us. - - from “Soundtrack of the Self”, HoCoHouseHon


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