Marching Mocs

Weight loss camps, yes, they really do exist. If you’ve heard of training camps, band camps and all sorts of other summers camps then chances are you have an idea already why such summer weight loss camps exists. Various weight loss summer camps have distinct programs. You’ll find camps that offer programs from traditional dieting and exercising to the newest fad in weight loss programs.

A summer weight loss camp in New York, for example, supplements traditional diet and weight loss programs with alternative means of loosing weight. The camp set their priorities to keep their programs enjoyable and entertaining.

The want the teens and kids that enroll in their summer camp to have fun more than anything else. Their programs are spread out to a diversity of extraordinary activities which increases, hastens and maintains the calorie burning process.

And before the summer camp ends, parents and the teens themselves are very happy on the results of their weight loss program. The good thing from these summer camps is that most of their weight loss programs are geared towards continuity. If they decide to stick with their program, they will surely loose weight even after they return to their homes.

It has been observed that traditional diet camps are not producing the desired results. It is therefore important that you choose well which camp you will send your kid to. Look for camps that have great programs and impressive backings from the academe as well as the scientific community.

It is comforting to know that the diet programs your kids or teens will undertake are based on scientific research and meticulous studies. You don’t want to send your kids to a camp which will make them guinea pigs for a new exercise program. You want well established weight loss programs that deliver results.

Aside from diets and exercises, other camps offer skills trainings that will help kids and teens maintain a healthy body all through their life. Some still offers various behavioral therapies that will strengthen their mental and emotional state through whatever kind of issues that might arise from weight gain.

Also, there are summer camps that are specialized for the needs of teens with other issues aside from overweight like such as Autism, ADHD, Asperger’s, obesity, different learning disabilities or behavioral problems. There are camps that will handle the needs of these special kids all the while addressing their problems in weight.

For parents, these camps are God send. It might prove to very difficult for the parents to encourage their teens and kids that are hounded by psychological disorders to loose weight. They sometimes need the experts’ assistance on things.

One other thing the parents should look for in a weight loss camp is the ratio of instructors or counselors to students. The ratio of instructors and counselors to students should be high. By having more than enough instructors, camps will be able to focus on the kids and teens’ programs.

They will make sure that the teens will be following the program correctly and will guide them to the right techniques in order to maximize the results. Expert instructors will make sure that kids and teens as well as their parents and sponsors will leave camp satisfied and have greater self esteem.

Weight loss summer camps are scattered all over the country. There are also winter camps for weight loss. You won’t run out of options when it comes to health camps such as these.

Amidst all the huge media press devoted to the subject of the recording industry’s difficulty in protecting their interest in the new digital age, one might wonder – who are these people who download music? What is their motivation? Presented here, a case study. This is a composite study which blends together the reported experiences of many music downloaders – the study is true to a large part of this set, but not accurate to any specific case, with names removed:
What follows is a short history of my economic experience of music and a simple business plan proposed for the labels to recapture my wallet.
Back in the old days, when I bought my first CD player, I went out and replicated my sizable vinyl record collection at $12-$13 per album. This took all of my spare cash as a struggling student with no loans. Over the course of a year, I bought more than eighty CDs. It was hard, but I hated records and tapes because they wouldn’t be portable. Back then, the local rumors had it that the price of CDs was inflated to cover the cost of manufacturing in the new media format and would eventually come down below record prices because they were considerably cheaper to make.
Five years later, the prices didn’t go down and I had the misfortune of my CD collection, then at over 200 albums, having been stolen from my ghetto apartment. That was more than $2500 and I was still pretty poor due to the early 90s recession affecting my industry. The upside was that stolen CDs were so valuable then because there was a budding used CD market in the major cities. Once record stores started selling used CDs in quantity, I stopped buying any new CDs altogether. This is the early 90′s and I already dropped out of the record label’s direct market. Here I was, an early 20′s kid that was so in love with music that I would spend the better part of my expendable cash on CDs and yet I dropped right off of their books because I could buy an album for $9 if I waited a month after it came out.
As I matured in my career, I started making serious money, but I still wouldn’t buy new CDs. I was used to paying between $6 and $9 and there was no way I would go back. I probably missed out on a lot of music, because I was limiting my selection to what college kids would buy and return.
Then came CD burner technology. I spent many hours burning all of my friends’ CD collections. Shortly thereafter came the MP3 file format. These services made it easy to download music for free or a nominal service charge, and was not at the tie seen as illegal, so suddenly my music collection no longer involves CDs at all anymore.
So where does this leave me now? Well, I’m in my late 30s, making a six-figure income, and I like a huge variety of musical genres. I could easily spend $100 per month on music and not bat an eye, but I still don’t. The record labels have alienated me by suddenly treating me as a criminal for the cost of doing business with them. So, what can they do for me that would convince me to give them my money again? It’s really quite simple!
A reasonable service at a reasonable price, like the Russian sites do. I select the quality and quantity of the songs and pay a reasonable price for downloading them. The bottom line here is that I’ll pay up to $4 for a CD encoded at 256k VBR with no obnoxious DRM interferences – no less quality and no more money.
Give me FTP access to a full catalog with all of the labels in one place. They should be high quality MP3s, verified, DRM-free, properly tagged, and in a format that guarantees I can port them. How much would I be willing to pay for this, well for a ballpark number figure $2 to $4 for 10 songs. That works out to 20 to 40 cents per song. You could also bill based on bandwidth per megabyte downloaded.
I promise that this would keep me, and most music listeners, from downloading music “illegally”. I might give some of this to my friends for free, but that is usually stuff that they wouldn’t have bought anyway. Burning a CD of songs for my friends is fair use to me, as it always has been to the public at large. RIAA, I haven’t given you money in over 10 years; that is a huge failure on your part.
Win me back. It’s not that hard and it’s not too late. I am the consumer and you are supposed to be serving me. Make me a happy to do business with you, and I’ll open up my wallet for you; but treat me like your enemy, and I will be a wolf poaching your chickens with impunity. The choice is yours to make.

Advances in technology over the past 20 years has meant that it is now possible to record and create professional sounding music armed with just a laptop, software for producing and a pair of monitor speakers. However without training in how to properly use the equipment, you may feel your music lacks the production quality required to sound good on large sound systems, or impress scrupulous record label heads. This is why many people are heading to audio engineering school with the intention of reaching a more professional level.

Practical, hands-on training under the supervision of an experienced audio engineer will not only save you a lot of time overcoming the daunting first steps of how to set up and navigate your recording software, but it will also ensure that you never pick up any elementary bad habits.

With so many courses out there though, how do you make sure you are picking the best audio engineering school for you?

Music school Credentials

Firstly make sure you conduct some thorough background research into the audio engineering school. Key questions to ask are:

-          How long has the school been established? It takes time for schools to develop and refine their courses. A course that has been running for a long time is therefore likely to run more smoothly than a new one. Schools that are well established are usually so because they are good at what they do.

-          What sort of qualification you like to earn and for how long would you like to study? The type of accreditation can vary from course to course and school to school as can the duration. Many have no official accreditation at all. Make sure the course can provide exactly what you want.

Industry Connections

Check what sort of connections the school has within the music industry:

-          Do they have any links with publishing companies or record labels that can send your music to and potentially start earning from your music?

-          Do they offer any kind of careers service which helps you find jobs within the music industry?

-          Do they have links with live venues? Some music schools put on their own events to help their students gain live sound engineering experience at real gigs.

Tutors and Former Students

Research the credentials of the audio engineering tutor. What can they offer you in addition to technical training? Someone who has achieved significant success within the audio engineering industry, working on hit records with famous artists, is likely to have a good network of contacts that you may be able to tap into.

Also a useful indicator for the quality of the audio engineering school is the success that past students have achieved. Look to see if the school’s website has a section for star students, or testimonials.

Follow the link to find out additional information on selecting an audio engineering school

Be clear about the goals you want to achieve and follow the guidelines in this article and you will be well on your way to finding the ideal audio engineering school for you.

It is interesting to observe how fast children learn when they are young! Research supports our observations that learning experiences must begin in the early years from birth to age five. This is a critical time in a child’s musical and cognitive development. The benefits of music and movement in the preschool years have been well documented. Research studies show that music enhances brain development and academic learning. Music affects many areas of brain function and neurological development. Many levels of neurological readiness exist in children, and music is a powerful enhancer at each stage of neurological development. The earlier a child is exposed to music and movement, the better.  Research findings include:

•    Children who receive early music training score higher on standardized tests.
•    The use of music during learning can increase a child’s IQ.
•    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.
•    There is a link between spatial reasoning and participation in music and movement activities.

Preschool children are at the beginning of the learning spectrum. Parents and teachers set learning patterns and attitudes and introduce children to learning by providing the first exposures. These exposures should encourage the joy of participating in music and making music. Joyful experimentation will result in the growth of musical skills and lay the foundation for future music learning as well as for future academic success.

As a music educator for 40 years, I have seen the positive results of music education for children. At Silly Bus performances, I enjoy seeing the positive reactions of the children to the songs and interactive presentations as they learn a variety of educational skills and concepts. The music and shows have great appeal for children.

As children make music, listen to music, and move to music through a variety of experiences, they develop creative abilities, attention spans, motor and rhythmic coordination, socialization skills, mental agility, and the ability to process aural information. It is very important for parents to expose their children to music and to encourage participation in music and movement activities informally at home and in more organized music education settings.

Movement is innate in children and provides the basis of everything young children learn. It contributes to the growth and coordination of the large and small body muscles. In addition, movement is an important nonverbal learning tool. Preschoolers understand much that they cannot yet put into words.  They demonstrate their understandings through gestures and other movements. As we observe the child’s movement, we gain insight into what the child is thinking and understanding.

Songs help us to learn as well as express ourselves in a musical manner.  Appropriate songs for preschool children include nursery rhymes, finger plays, educational songs that incorporate counting, letters of the alphabet, animals and animal sounds, colors, etc. Songs and recorded music should promote activities such as walking, jumping, dancing, and marching. Clapping or patting the steady pulse or beat of rhymes, songs, chants, and recorded music is a valuable activity and preparation for future music ensemble participation. The ability to perform a steady beat while singing, speaking, or listening to music aids the child’s success in reading and other academic areas. Music education is an important aspect for a child’s learning process in life. From simple beginning experiences the child is guided to more sophisticated musical and creative activities.

While music is a viable stand alone educational program, music also reinforces and enhances the learning of other skills and benefits learning in many ways. This is especially true for reading and language arts. Music helps children focus on the structure of sounds which is an important aspect in language development and literacy skills. Having a musical vocabulary of melodic patterns and phrases directly transfers to the ability to develop a spoken vocabulary of patterns and sounds—thereby aiding the child’s success in reading and communicating.

It has long been believed that brains change as a result of music learning. Researchers in neuroscience, utilizing recent advances in MRI technology, are actually studying the human brain in the act of creating or listening to music. And what they are finding is remarkable.

Perhaps the most exciting news is the evidence that music can actually change the physical structure of the brain – a fact that has critical implications for both education and medicine. Music may even be a major key to unlocking the mystery of how the brain actually learns.

What better way to celebrate the start of spring, than to join Hershey‘s Springtime Stroller Parade in Hershey‘s Park, America‘s number one amusement park in the North East of America. The Stroller Parade opens Hershey‘s Park every spring, a free-entrance pay-as-you-go weekend preview of the summer season. If you have a child four or under, dress up your stroller and you might win a prize!

Hershey‘s Amusement Park has over 60 rides including roller coasters, water rides and kiddy-rides for people‘s amusement. There is a Strolling Band and you can have your picture taken with Hershey product characters.

Hershey Park Arena, which seats approximately 26,000 people hold many events, including: Disney on Ice. The Hershey Park Stadium holds 30,000, and the Star Pavilion accommodates smaller concerts and events.

There is never a dull moment in Hershey Park. An 11-acre zoo has over 200 animals on show. There is a Hershey Museum and many shops selling Hershey Chocolate, Hershey T-shirts, souvenirs and glassware.

Take a tour of the Hershey World of Chocolate and find out how Hershey‘s make all their delicious candy and chocolate. You can enjoy the jungle scenery as you make your way down the stairs to the rotating base. Catch a tour car where a Hershey tour guide will give you a running commentary as you journey through the Hershey‘s World of Chocolate. You will learn how the cocoa beans are picked, how Hershey‘s chocolate is manufactured and packed. At the end of the tour you will be given a free bar of Hershey‘s Chocolate.

Hershey‘s Park is definitely not to be missed when visiting the Northeast of America.

Mahad Ahmed is the Under-13 Scottish champion in the 200m and holds the British record in the 100m. He attends Glasgow School of Sport at Bellahouston Academy, which excels in coaching athletics, badminton, gymnastics, hockey and swimming. Pupils have eight hours of sport coaching a week which fits in around their academic commitments and entry is by selection only.”One of the school’s hockey coaches saw me running and suggested I had a trial,” says Mahad. “My parents were really proud when I was accepted. Yes, I study hard but I also get to run the 60m, 100m and 200m, which is great!”

Mahad Ahmed is a budding athleteGlasgow School of Sport is the first academy of its kind in Scotland and one of an elite collection of UK schools for talented children. These adapt the curriculum specially for pupils so that they can focus on core academic studies and develop their talent in tandem.

Inevitably some subjects have to be sacrificed, but many of these schools achieve excellent academic results. In 2007, 84 per cent of pupils at The Purcell School for Young Musicians in Hertfordshire achieved grades A or B at A-level and the overall pass rate was 100 per cent.

‘Results’ take on new meaning in these remarkable schools. “By nurturing our pupils and creating individualised programmes, our coaching teams have had some outstanding results – more than 60 pupils have represented Scotland in their sport,” says the school’s director, Angela Porter.

Gifted or talented?

How do you know if your child is gifted enough to warrant a place at a specialist school? The Department for Children, Schools and Families defines gifted learners as ‘those who have abilities in one or more academic subjects such as maths or English’ and talented learners as ‘those who have particular abilities in sport, music, design or creative and performing arts’. To give an approximate guide numbers, the most talented children represent the top five per cent among their peer group.Pupils can borrow instruments from schools

If teachers believe that your child falls into this category and your son or daughter is passionate about developing a talent, it may be worth talking to them about a specialist school. There are various ages for admissions so if a child has qualms about boarding or attending a new school perhaps they could join in sixth form.

A nurturing environment

Children with great talent may need the kind of nurturing that these schools provide. Yehudi Menuhin was conscious that children specialising in music often struggled in the school system, so in 1963 he founded what was to become a world-famous music school.

Based in peaceful surroundings at Cobham in Surrey, the school is home to 60 musically gifted children from all over the world. Pupils are not only taught by excellent teachers, they are given plenty of time to practise and the chance to perform regularly both solo and as part of an ensemble.

“I believe specialist schools are necessary because children need the atmosphere, environment, special curriculum and above all the specialist teaching if they’re to develop their talent,” says Nicolas Chisholm, the headmaster of school. “It’s essential that gifted children realise they’re not so unusual and that others have the same aims and aspirations – it makes for a very focused and united cohort.

Small classes, bright children

“Inevitably, the curriculum is restricted but the classes are small and the children are bright,” Nicolas continues. “We cover two thirds of the curriculum in half the time, leaving the remainder for music. Our pupils have many wonderful opportunities to perform and they learn a great deal from each other.

The selection process at the school is thorough and rigorous: “We spend a great deal of time selecting our pupils,” says Nicolas. “They must have the potential to be world class and we only select those pupils that meet our standards – it’s just like choosing a world-class football team.

Funding is available for dancers and athletes“Pupils from the UK get bursaries from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, but these are means-tested so the parents pay what they can afford. It’s great because those parents on extremely low incomes get their child’s education free. We have a stock of valuable instruments that we lend to pupils, although some are able to purchase their own.”

Bursaries for talented performers

The bursaries at The Yehudi Menuhin School are funded via the government’s Music and Dance Scheme, which enables young, talented dancers and musicians to receive full-time education and training at a specialist school irrespective of their parent’s finances. Support is provided for almost 800 pupils at nine specialist music and dance schools, including Chetham’s School of Music, in Manchester.

“Schools like Chetham’s are essential,” says Nick Oliver, Joint Head of Accompaniment. “The students are surrounded by others with the same passion and staff who teach to the highest standards. I believe such standards are unique to specialist music schools.”

The concept of specialism is being extended to secondary schools, with private sponsors and the government providing extra funding for state academies that specialise in one of 10 disciplines. These include arts, business and enterprise, engineering, humanities, languages, mathematics and computing, music, science, sports and technology.

State schools are required to identify a number of gifted and talented pupils in every year group (usually around 10 per cent). Research suggests that this happens in well-run schools, but falls by the wayside in others. In another initiative, the government launched a national register of gifted and talented children, the Young, Gifted and Talented Learner Academy. Registered pupils receive e-learning opportunities and vouchers for extra lessons.

Nicolas Chisholm recognises the advances made in the UK but acknowledges there are limitations, also: “It’s great that there are lots of opportunities for young people. At least we have an education system now that recognises the gifted and talented, however blunt that recognition can be.”

For more articles on education and family life, visit www.tom-brown.com – the essential guide for parents

I remember when I started to study the history of music, I did not realize what I was getting into. I had a notion that music history was like a trivial pursuit. Honestly, I only took my history of classical music class because I needed the credits. I did not realize how fully interesting music history is. You see, in our culture a lot of us do not truly study to comprehend music. For much of the world, music is a language, but for us it is something that we consumed passively. When I began to study about the history of Western music, though, it changed all that for me. I have had some experience playing musical instruments, but I have never mastered one enough to really understand what music is all about. This class showed me.

When a lot of us think about the music history, we think of the history of rock music. We suppose that the history is plain because the music is plain. Actually, neither is the case. The history of music, whether you mean classical music, rock music, jazz music, or any other kind, is always complex. New chord structures are set up carrying with them new ways of comprehending humanity. New rhythmic patterns are introduced, bringing with them new ways of understanding time. And music shows all of it.

Even when the class was finished, I would not stop learning about the history of music. It had whetted my appetite, and I wanted more. I searched for all the music history volumes that I could locate. I even began to explore forms of music that had not interested me before in the hopes of improving my musical knowledge further. Although I was in school studying toward a very different subject – a degree in engineering – I had thought about giving it up and going back to get a degree in musicology. That is how much I am enthralled by the issue. If you never took a course in the history of music, you don’t realize what you are missing out on. The CDs will never sound the same to you again. The whole thing will sound a lot more rich, a lot more shinny, and much more significant. A new song can reflect a new way of being, and a new way of imagining life in the world. This is what learning about the history of music would do to a lot of us.

If your occupation is musician, sooner or later you will have to work into something kind of humiliating in order to pay the bills. A lot of musicians play for weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, or graduation and birthday parties. Others create songs for commercials and soundtracks. In my case, I am able to pay the bills working in a cover group.

It is tougher than you might imagine. You have to be on top of the tastes of the bar crowd, and that can be painful. At first, I really ignore how to stay up to date. I looked at the top 40 songs charts, figuring that that would be the best method to know what was in and what was not.