Yet another study has come out this month, demonstrating the value of music in general education. Click here to view a summary of the study.

The study looked at 4,739 elementary and middle school students in four U.S. regions, and found that across all areas, students scored significantly better (17-33%) in English and math if they attended schools with high-quality music programs. Schools with higher-quality music programs showed better results than schools with lower-quality music programs, and both showed better scores than schools without music. Oddly, schools with what the study called “deficient choral programs” scored worse than the others. It seemed to be the instrumental programs that lifted the student’s learning across the board.

The study was funded by NAMM, an association for companies in the music products industry, and was published the week of June 10 in the Journal for Research in Music Education.

There are, no doubt, many reasons for these findings, and all of us music teachers probably have our pet concerns about it. One unheralded reason that I think music helps performance in other subjects is that music teaches communication skills: no one can be well understood, face to face with other people, unless they have a good sense of rhythm and timing in their speech. Just try saying something forcefully and you will notice how clear your rhythms are. Kids do not learn this in academic subjects or on a computer; only in music and drama are these skills essential for success. In addition to rhythm, musicians also learn sensitivity to others, and an ability to perform in real-time situations.

Sometimes it seems that school systems are so focused on management, administration, budgeting, test scores, and legal paperwork, that the only people who really seem to care about kids anymore are the parents and teachers. Let’s hope more official studies about the benefits of music can push administrators to step up to the plate and fund and improve music programs for the sake of our kids, and our society as a whole.

How similar is reading music to reading words? Is playing from written music something like reading a speech or a story out loud? If so, what happens if we read phrase by phrase, or word by word? What does it sound like to play music by phrase, by beat, or note by note?

When someone delivers a speech, it’s more effective to speak from notes, memory or extemporaneously than to simply read a text. Many speakers simulate directness with teleprompters even though they are reading. How does it feel when someone plays music from memory, or improvises, as opposed to reading off a music stand?

We enjoy storytellers and plays, yet we also enjoy having someone read a story or book to us. Which is the best model for music performance, or does it change from one type of music to another?

[Before going on, thanks to Valerie for her comments on memorizing music, and Derek on practicing, both responding to Is Music More Mental or Physical? Also, thanks to John for his survey of cancellations; he’s interested in other people’s figures on that, responding to Lesson Payments and Cancellations.]

And what does this say about learning to read music? (more…)

We’ve had a lot of teachers ask for a way to upload files that their students can download, such as music, Word documents, etc. So we’re pleased announce the new File Upload Area! We’re allowing several common file types, so you can use it for almost anything, including:

• mp3 audio recordings of your students’ performances
• Word documents containing worksheets, assignments, reports, policies, or anything else
• PDFs of sheet music or exercises for your students to download
• Pictures of your latest event
• Movies of your students (although a link to YouTube would take up less space)
• Much more!

When you upload a file, you can state whether you want it viewable to anyone who visits your studio website (it will be on the “Resources” page, which used to be called “Links”). Or you can specify individual students who should have access to the file after they login.

To upload a file, login to your account, and go to “Students” -> “File Area”. The amount of space you have for uploading depends on the pricing plan you are using. See www.musicteachershelper.com/signup for more details.

I just got back from the Texas Music Teacher’s Association Conference and enjoyed meeting the many teachers there. As I was showing them Music Teacher’s Helper, a question I heard asked many times was, “I charge a [$100] fee to my students at the beginning of the year to cover all their books and materials for the whole year, and then deduct whatever I buy in books for them, from that amount.”

The reason some teachers do this is so they don’t have to charge parents a different amount every month if new books are needed, since they’ve already been paid for. If the teachers had used Music Teacher’s Helper from the start, this probably wouldn’t have been such a burden, since it calculates and sends invoices to the student automatically, and if they owe more for a book that month, it already knows that, and adjusts the invoices accordingly. But to make it easier for the parent, some teachers like the simplicity of charging a materials fee.

So, how do you handle this in Music Teacher’s Helper? It’s easy! (Although I did have to do some thinking to figure out the best way to handle this from an accounting standpoint).

1. First - at the beginning of the year, charge the student your normal materials fee. (Click Billing -> Fees -> Add Fee(s))
2. Then, when you buy a book for that student, since it is a business expense to you, it will go in your expenses. (Click Billing -> My Expenses. Add a transaction, and for the category, put something like “John Doe Materials”, where John Doe is the student’s name.
3. Then, when you run your Income & Expense report, you’ll see a categorized list in your expenses for how much you’ve spent on John’s materials. If you want to keep a total of how much you’ve spent on each student, then you’ll create a category for each student you buy materials for, and it will break these out into separate categories in the report.

That’s it! Now you can know if you’re keeping within budget on the materials you purchase for your students. One other thought: If you don’t want to charge the materials fee upfront but just want to charge students for books as you buy them, you’ll want to create two transactions. The first is an “Expense” for when you buy the book, the second is the “Fee” where you charge the student for the book. Just add those two transactions in there, and Music Teacher’s Helper will take care of the rest!

Would you say playing (or singing) music is more mental or more physical? Student (and teacher) perceptions of this can color how we practice and play an instrument (including the vocal chords).

Do we mentally make fingers do what they need to do, or physically drill them so they do the work for us? How we balance the ebb and flow between mental and physical tells a lot about how we and our students practice and learn.

[Before we discuss this, I want to invite you to review teacher comments by Sherie, Chris, and an extensive response from Toby, all on Payments & Cancellation Policies; from Betty on How to Get Connected; and a controversy presented by Jeff commenting on Finding Students For You, with explanations by two online companies represented by Brian and Steve.]

Below are some student examples, and maybe a surprise conclusion, which I hope provide food for thought. I don’t have scientific answers about the balance of mental and physical in playing music, but by thinking about this, we certainly can benefit in terms of practical ideas for learning and teaching.

(more…)

Hello everyone! I’m going to be attending the Texas Music Teacher’s Association Conference this weekend. I know we have a lot of teachers from Texas who use Music Teacher’s Helper, but that teachers from all over come to this conference. So if you’re planning on being there, please stop by the booth and say “Hi”. I’d love to meet you!

Normally we have at least two people helping at our exhibit, but this time I’ll be going alone. So to keep me from being lonely, and to give me a chance to talk to more teachers, I’d like to give three free months of Music Teacher’s Helper and lots of free chocolate to anyone willing to help out at the booth for an hour or two. If you could help me tell other teachers about Music Teacher’s Helper, answer their questions, and give them a brochure, I’d really appreciate it. I think it would be fun to get to know some of you better as well.

If you’re interested, just send me an email some time before the conference to let me know when to look for you. We’ll be at booth #38.

Thanks!

Brandon Pearce