ALLEGRO SCHOOL OF MUSIC

SEPTEMBER, 2011

Do you want your child to get better grades?

Students of the arts continue to outperform their non-arts peers on the SAT, according to reports by the College Entrance Examination Board. In 2006, SAT takers with coursework/experience in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 43 points higher on the math portion than students with no coursework or experience in the arts. Scores for those with coursework in music appreciation were 62 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math portion. The Student Descriptive Questionnaire, a self-reported component of the SAT that gathers information about students academic preparation, gathered data for these reports. Source: The College Board, Prole of College-Bound Seniors National Report for 2006; www.collegeboard.org Nearly 100% of past winners in the prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology (for high school students) play one or more musical instruments. This led the Siemens Foundation to host a recital at Carnegie Hall in 2004, featuring some of these young people, after which a panel of experts debated the nature of the apparent science/music link. The Midland Chemist (American Chemical Society) Vol. 42, No.1, Feb. 2005 Results of an IQ test given to groups of children (total: 144) who were provided with lessons in keyboard, voice, drama or no lessons at all, showed that the IQ of students in the keyboard or voice JJ cant wait to start lessons! classes increased from their pre-lesson IQ score, more than the IQ of those students taking drama or no lessons. Generally these increases occurred across IQ subtests, index scores, and academic achievement. -- Summary by MENC; Original source: August 2004, Psychological Science, a journal of the American Psychological Society; http:// www.psychologicalscience.org/pdf/ps/musiciq.pdf; Dr. E. Glenn Schellenberg (University of Toronto)

The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of the nation, is close to the center of a nation's purpose - and is a test to the quality of a nation's civilization. John F. Kennedy
Children with music training had signicantly better verbal memory than those without such training, and the longer the training, the better the verbal memory. Researchers studied 90 boys between the ages of 6 and 15. Half had musical training as members of their school's string orchestra program, plus lessons in playing classical music on Western instruments like the ute or violin for one to ve years. The other 45 students had no training. Students with musical training recalled more words in a verbal memory test than did untrained students, and after a 30-minute delay, students with training also retained more words than the control group. In a follow-up one year later, students who continued training and beginners who had just started learning to play both showed improvement in verbal learning and retention. -- Summary by MENC. Original source: Ho, Y. C., Cheung, M. C., & Chan, A. Music training improves verbal but not visual memory: cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations in children (2003) Neuropsychology, 12, 439-450. (Continued on page 2)
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ALLEGRO SCHOOL OF MUSIC

SEPTEMBER, 2011

Better Grades (continued)

A 2004 Stanford University study showed that mastering a musical instrument improves the way the human brain processes parts of spoken language. In two studies, researchers demonstrated that people with musical experience found it easier than non-musicians to detect small differences in word syllables. They also discovered that musical training helps the brain work more efciently in distinguishing splitsecond differences between rapidly changing sounds that are essential to processing language. About 40 adults, divided into groups of musicians and non-musician, matched by age, sex, general language ability and intelligence, were tested. To qualify, the musicians need to have started playing instruments before age 7 and never stopped, practicing several hours/week. Functional magnetic resonance imaging showed the musicians had more focused, efcient brain activity. This is the rst example showing how musical training alters how your brain processes language components. Prof. John Gabrieli, former Stanford psychology professor, now associate director of

MITs Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging. (http://news.stanford.edu/, Nov. 2005) Young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year, compared to children who do not receive musical training. The brains of musically trained children respond to music in a different way to those of untrained children, and that the musical training improves their memory. After one year the musically trained children performed better in a memory test that is correlated with general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal memory, Visio spatial processing, mathematics and IQ. Dr. Laurel Trainor, Prof. of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour at McMaster University, Director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind; Canada; published 9/20/06; http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060920093024.htm

I guess that we can cite academic studies and statistics until were blue in the face, however, as one of my old guitar teachers used to say, the proofs in the pudding!. So I asked this months lessons have helped her in school:

Student of the Month, Anakaren Romero how music

How old are you? I am 11 years old. How long have you taken guitar lessons? 4 years How have music lessons affected your performance in school? Since I've started playing guitar I've improved my grades. Specifically, in which subjects have you shown improvement? Mostly I've improved my math and science grades. I don't remember all of my grades from before I played guitar but math is definitely easier to understand. What skills have you learned in your lessons that help you in school? Pay attention to the teacher and always come prepared. How long and how often do you practice? I don't practice that much because school takes up most of my time but I still love playing guitar. Do you perform in the Allegro School of Music Recitals? Yes, I usually play in most of them. Please tell us anything else youd like regarding how music lessons have affected your schoolwork. Music lessons help you be more alert in school. From personal experience, they also improve your memory.

Anakaren Romero

We would like to extend a special thanks to the Romero family for referring their friends to Allegro!
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ALLEGRO SCHOOL OF MUSIC

SEPTEMBER, 2011

PRACTICE TIPS!

by Aaron Hultstrand, guitar instructor

New Students!

Do you practice with a metronome? If not, you should be-at least part of the time! Playing with a metronome can sometimes be a struggle, but the benefits are well worth the effort. So, what is a metronome and why should you use one? A metronome is the tool by which you learn to control the time element of your performance. How can you know whether your tempos are even if you don't know what "even" truly is? Musicianship is about developing control over all aspects of music, and timing should not be overlooked. Just how important is timing? Beginning musicians invariably pay more attention to notes than to timing. But did you ever stop and think about the fact that it is just as "wrong" to play the right note at the wrong time as it is to play the wrong note at the right time? An inexperienced musician may tend to push the pulse, giving a stilted, jerky quality to the performance. Laying back "in the pocket" makes magic happen. This comes with experience, of course, but you can do a lot to hone your rhythm and timing ability by correctly using the metronome in practice. Metronome tips: 1. Learn the music first! Unless you are focusing specifically on your sightreading ability, it can be helpful to practice without the metronome until you have a solid grasp of the notes before attempting to play the piece with a metronome. If you're focusing too much on what notes to play or how to finger a particular chord, you can't focus on rhythm. 2. Start slow! Don't try to push the pace immediately. Find a tempo that is comfortable and at which you can perform the piece while making the fewest mistakes possible, then slowly increase the speed from there. 3. Find the trouble spot! Playing with a metronome will often help highlight the areas of a piece of music that need the most work. Without it, you are likely to unconsciously slow down at these points, as you attention falls away from the pulse and becomes absorbed in the difficulty at hand. Once you find your trouble spots, focus in on them specifically. Don't start over at the beginning every time you make a mistake! 4. Change it up! Hearing the relentless click of the metronome can be tiring for some over time. In that case, don't forget that you can also use other methods of keeping time, like a drum machine or the CD backing tracks included in most method books. If you're learning a popular song, try to play along with the CD or audio track. If you know a drummer, try practicing together! Use these tips to master the metronome, improve your sense of time and take your playing to the next level!

Allegro School of Music would like to congratulate guitar instructor Aaron Hultstrand, whos band, The Tryst just won the best new release for their new album, Truth Be Told in the 2011 Tucson TAMMIES!

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11 mber 20 Septe ter Newslet

In This Issue:
Findouthowmusic lessonsimproveyour grades! StudentoftheMonth! MeetourSaturdayOffice Manager WelcomeNewStudents! PracticeTipsfrom guitarteacher,Aaron Hultstrand

ALLEGRO SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Tucsons number one choice for music lessons!
4641 North First Avenue #5 Tucson, AZ 85718

(520) 670-9162 www.AllegroSchoolOfMusic.net

15 things you dont know about our Saturday office manager, Suzanne Amador!
1. I have lived in Tucson for 19 years 2. I enjoy listening to 70s rock 3. I am a big baseball fan...especially fond of the AZ Diamondbacks!! 4. I am a native Arizonan 5. The beach is my favorite place to relax 6. I love to bake...mostly cakes and cookies 7. I enjoy reading suspense novels 8. Iced tea is my favorite drink 9. I have an 11 year old toy poodle who is my Baby...and her name is Baby 10. I would love to learn how to drive a race-car 11. I am the youngest of six girls 12. I currently do not play an instrument but plan on taking piano lessons in the future 13. I enjoy walking my doggies every evening 14. I am a huge fan of Arizona Wildcat Men's Basketball 15. and I love working at Allegro School of Music every Saturday!!

Suzanne and Baby

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