Marching Mocs

There are many people who like to listen to music while they work and I am certainly one of them. I find it helps me focus more on the task at hand. Of course I can imagine that there are people who listen to music because it helps them NOT to focus on their job.
Whilst there may be many reasons for wishing to listen to music in the workplace, can it really improve your productivity?
We know that music can alter your mood. Films have been using musical scores for years to create the right mood for a scene. At times you hardly notice the music at all but you are very receptive to the mood being conveyed. So can we use music to put us in a “productive” mood?
Research seems to support such a claim. For example, a trial where 75 out of 256 workers at a large retail company were issued with personal stereos to wear at work for four weeks showed a 10% increase in productivity for the headphone wearers. Other similar research conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois found a 6.3% increase when compared with the no music control group.
So if we accept that music does increase productivity, does it matter what types of music we listen to? Does all music have the same effect or are certain types better in certain circumstances?
If your goal is to increase your concentration then music which has a constant, easy beat and light melodies are recommended. These are said to be good for those trying to study as they help you pace your reading to aid focus and memorising. Baroque music is reported as an excellent example, especially the works of Vivaldi, Bach and Handel.
Rock music can have a similar effect. According to a report in the journal Neuroscience of Behavior and Physiology, the Russian Academy of Sciences discovered that a person’s ability to recognize visual images, including letters and numbers, is faster when either rock or classical music is playing in the background.
If you are aiming to be more productive through being more relaxed, then you may be interested to learn that research has shown that music with an upbeat rhythm can reduce stress hormone levels by as much as 41%.
Some of the most publicised studies into whether listening to music increases productivity have centred on what has been termed the “Mozart effect”. The term got its name after a study showed that college students had performed better solving mathematical problems when listening to classical music. The effect of listening to Mozart does not appear to be limited to humans either. Apparently cows will produce more milk if Mozart is played.

Why is it so important to know about the musical instruments and gear? What is the need of studying organology or knowing about it? Musical instruments and gear are devices that are created to produce music. So, without a proper knowledge on the basics of music gear and instruments, it is almost impossible to compose good music. Organology, a stream of much popular fine arts study, is in fact the academic study of musical instruments.
Product and Market Research

In the market there are a large number of products and gear and there are quite a few manufacturers who are making them. So the first option for the music gear for beginners is to do a thorough research on the instruments of choice.
Source of Knowledge

One of the primary sources, which you can consult, is your next door music expert. A person who knows a lot about instruments and gear can help a lot in deciding the appropriate music gear for the beginners.
The second source is the internet. If you spend at least good couple of hours you can get a sound knowledge on the instrument of your choice. There are customer product reviews, ratings, and problems at your mouse tip. You also have the option of posting your questions that will be answered by some expert in the field. You can also ask and mail the renowned and good musicians and ask them to help in your difficulty.
Budget of Music Gear for the Beginners

The first consideration should always be the budget. If possible you should first go for the first hand products. Music gear are costly so the second thing, which you have to understand, is whether you will invest your hard earned money in a first hand product or a second hand product. If bought properly second hand music gear can also be quite handy in learning the basics.
How Second hand Gears can help you?

Good quality music gear can be bought at a much lower price than the first hand one, with very little value difference. The hitch is you do not have the guarantee, unless it is almost new.
If the buy is from a garage sale, then you can meet the owner and ask him the reasons for selling it and the how old the instrument is to understand its functioning status. If it is an online store then the place should have customer ratings given to it. This would cover the reliability feature of the shop.
If it is possible you can also consult the help of someone, who knows a lot about instruments and musical gear. If you can take him to the store then it will also help your cause a fair deal.
The value for money is another concern in getting music gear for the beginners. There is no reason to pay more for a product, which does not worth it. You must have the knowledge of the first hand price. You should visit a number of stores and compare their prices before investing. You can also have a talk with the insurance company as that would help you in case of any tampering or damage in shipping.

Should you only play baby music and lullabies like Twinkle Twinkle to your baby or should you play Tchaikovsky?

What is the best music to play for your baby?

Popular opinion states that babies brains can only process simple sounds and melodies, and if you listen to most of the baby music CDs that are out there you would probably believe the same thing. But new research shows that babies can recognize complex and unfamiliar musical rhythms and harmonies far more easily than adults can.

Infant brains are more flexible in processing sounds and musical structures than adults. But as they get older they settle on those that are most common and meaningful to their culture. This is the reason why children find it much easier to learn a foreign language than adults.

Studies at Cornell University and the University of Toronto show that six-month-old babies can detect subtle variations in complex rhythm patterns that their parents would find extremely difficult.

Beatriz Ilari at McGill University in Montreal gave two pieces of complex classical music to parents, the “Prelude” and “Forlane” from “Le Tombeau de Couperin” by Ravel and had them play one of the pieces to their baby 3 times a day for 10 days.

After 2 weeks of not hearing the music the babies were tested. Researchers found that babies listened 20-30 percent longer to the piece they had heard at home compared to the unfamiliar piece. The same test on babies who hadn’t heard either piece of music showed they had no preference for either selection.

The results were compared to an earlier study where infants were played a simple piece of music by Mozart. The comparison showed that the preference effect (the difference in listening time to the familiar versus the unfamiliar) was stronger for the simpler piece of music. So, simple music may be easier for babies to process than complex music. But they can learn and remember both simple and complex pieces.

Playing all kinds of music is important. Many studies have shown that music is a crucial part of an enriched environment. Babies take in information even while in the womb, and can perceive music and rhythm up to 3 months before they are born.

Exposure to complex sound patterns develops an important part of the brain. The more complex the sound, the more brain ability is developed. And the more the environment is enriched, the more developed the brain becomes.

So if you are wondering, should you play baby music like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or should you play Tchaikovsky…

The answer is both!

I am sure you are aware of the nationwide trend of downsizing, even eliminating, art programs in schools.

What is not entirely known is the impact of removing the fine arts from the education of children.

‘Champions of Change, the Impact of the Arts on Learning’ is the most comprehensive study on the subject of students involvement in the fine arts and how it relates to academic success.

The study builds a strong for students achieving higher levels of academic success and in higher overall numbers when involved with fine art.

Per the study;

- 82.6% of 8th graders earned mostly As and Bs who were involved heavily in fine arts versus 67.2% earning As and Bs who were not.

- 30.07% of the respondents who participate in fine arts performs community service where only 6.28% of the respondents who do not participate in fine arts perform community service.

- Students who are not heavily involved in fine arts have more than double the chance of dropping out of school by the 10th grade.

- 56.64% of the respondents who participate in fine arts read for pleasure where only 34.Chances are you will a handful of musical instruments in good condition gathering dust in a garage or attic.

These are only some of the findings in this study.

Fine arts help teach students far more than how to draw roses in a vase, or how to play the violin.

They help stimulate the creative part of the child’s mind, teach discipline, instill a sense of pride, accomplishment, and self-worth.

These attributes not only help students do better academically, but do better in their adult life, with their career, their new family, their emotional well being.

So what do you do if your child’s school has had major cuts in their art program?

Your first option is, of course, private lessons. You need to be cognizant of the pros and cons in this option.

Lets look at the pros first.

First, due to budget cuts and pressure for schools to ensure their students score well on standardized testing (oddly enough the students who are involved in the arts score better on average) the arts get less attention that other subjects in school. Thus the quality of instruction suffers.

Meaning your child has an excellent chance of getting better fine art instruction in a professional fine art instruction environment. The classes are smaller, sometimes even one on one. The instructor only has to teach that particular art form.

Another plus in private fine art education is that your child’s success is directly tied into the instructors income.

A public school teacher who has half of their art class receive failing grades will still be paid the same at the end of the week.

The equivalent in the private art instruction world would mean a bankrupt business in a very short order.

Providing private art classes is a business. They must produce a good product or risk not being around in the future.

The major con to private lessons is of course if you cannot afford them for your child.

Private lessons cost money. Knowing the benefits of a child being educated in the fine arts, I would happily drive a less luxurious car, or eat out less often to ensure their fine art education.

However if you are living on a fixed income this may not be an option.

To wrap up this point, private lessons are great, often better than what is provided even in schools that have ample art and music budgets.

An alternative solution may be needed if you you are on a limited budget.

There are things that you can do to help your local school raise money for their art programs.

First and foremost is fund raising. This can be gone about in a variety of ways.

For example in my high school in Burbank California a parent spoke to executives at NBC studios. Weeks later, NBC donated high-end production and editing equipment for our high school. Everything for the fine art of film making was at our school.

Long short or no, local businesses or celebrities should not be ignored when trying to solve this problem. In return they get good PR.

Of course you have the traditional events to raise funds. A car wash, garage sales, silent auctions, etc.

The real make break point for the above types of fund raisers is having the right person in-charge to ensure that all the details are taken care of and everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing.

If no one shows up to the car wash because no one knew about it, it won’t do anyone much good. Nor will the dozen cookies at the bake sale.

Organize and communicate.

I know a good amount of people. More pertinently I know people who know more people than I could ever hope to know.

When confronted with the difficult task of refitting your schools classical music program with instruments, it can seem overwhelming.

On the other hand, with a group of hundreds of students and adults it looks like this.

An email/phone call/mailer goes to your network about the problem.

Get your network to scourer their homes and the homes of people they know for instruments to donate. Last year I gifted a nice classical guitar that had been idle for years to a school.

Perhaps you find a few instruments in great condition that have been sitting in closets and garages untouched for 20 years.

Then invite everyone with a pulse and $20 to a bowling fund raiser. You make $20 for everyone who shows up. 50 people show. There is a $1000 right there for new instruments.

The following week target local businesses and parents in your network to gift items of worth for an auction. You get kids to pass out fliers and put up posters around town, put up announcements in craigslist, your local paper, and of course make sure everyone in your network knows and that they are telling everyone else.

The auction is a success raising $3,000.

When you have enough money for the instruments have the kids study hard and put on a fund raiser concert, charge $10 and put the money aside. Somehow someone will manage to lose a tuba.

It is plain to see, a dedicated group can accomplish much more than an individual.

What happens if your school is so strapped for cash and so over crowded that they cannot afford the fine art teacher let alone the space for art classes?

And what if there are no reputable private fine art instruction schools local, or you cannot afford them at this time?

At this point you have to take matters entirely in your own hands. However you are not entirely alone!

There are products on the market, that for a low cost, can still help educate your child in the fine arts.

Here is an example, for a onetime payment of $30 you can have you child take online violin lessons with Violin Master Pros.

There are also online lessons and DVD instruction programs for other musical instruments, writing, drawing, and more.

Any will be far more productive than another evening of video games or cable TV.

Beware of asking uncle John – who plays the piano – to teach your child. If someone demonstrates knowing how to do something well, it by no means demonstrates they can teach it well!

Bad lessons can very quickly turn your child off to the arts. Even if a huge donation is made to the school and the arts are saved, it will do little good if your kid is sour on the arts.

All in all our societies viewpoint must be changed in regards to how important the arts are to our children and our future.

It is irrefutable, children perform better on standardized tests when involved in fine art. Yet many schools will cut art and music to focus on getting better scoring results!

A small fraction of this nations defense budget could easily pay for art and music programs nationwide.

Many parents have the viewpoint, ‘if it is not reading or arithmetic then what real use is it my child’?

Yet in the top science schools in America all have a extensive fine art programs in their universities for a reason. It helps students perform academically!

It is our job as parents, budget cuts or no budget cuts, to ensure that our children receive the fine art education that they need.

If we don’t do it for our children, who is going to?

In the world of music, there are endless possibilities for creativity in production. But when it comes to sitting down and listening to your favorite artists, what is the best way to do it? Most people don’t think about it, but throughout the course of this article, you will obtain possible life-changing strategies to listen to your favorite music. There are 3 main methods for listening to music; perceptive listening, casual listening, and background listening. Each method will be outlined, and benefits will also be discussed. Now is the time to experiment with all of the ways you can listen to your music!

When in the state of perceptive listening, you are fully aware of your music; that is the lyrics, rhythm, all of the instruments and components of the track. This state may be difficult to achieve if you have never been a perceptive listener before. It is the most rewarding listening experience, clearing our mind of everything but the pure sound of music. We cannot achieve this state if there are other thoughts racing through our head; your mind must be completely blank, letting the music take you away. How do you know when you are in a perceptive listening state? You will become unaware of your environment (closing your eyes is strongly recommended), focusing on nothing in your life but the music going through your head. Your mood will be directed by the type of music you are listening to, and some will experience a state of Euphoria. When in perceptive listening mode, always aim to be in a Euphoric state, as it will make the music that much more enjoyable. This can lead to becoming more relaxed, having less stress, and an overall improvement in life. If you haven’t given perceptive listening a try, do it right after you finish this article. What have you got to lose?

We spend a lot of time in the Casual listening mode, which is the line right between Perceptive and Background listening. You are fully aware of the lyrics/rhythm, and auditory elements are comprehended. We are usually performing some task that distracts us from the full perceptive state, so euphoria cannot be experienced. When listening casually, our mind only donates part of its attention to the music, so only part of us is affected while listening. Our mood does change along with the music, but it is generally a weaker feeling than perceptive listening. While we listen to music casually for a long period of time, our subconscious processes the information, and songs have a tendency to get stuck in our heads. Unfortunately, you cannot be fully immersed in the music, and that takes away a key element of enjoyment. Since we spend so much time casually listening to music, we think this is the most involving method of listening. Practice perceptive listening, and you will see the vast difference.

Sometimes, we have so many mind-numbing tasks to do, hitting the play button is the only way to keep our sanity. This is called background listening, and it helps us get through our challenging days. Casual listening is very common among teenagers who study for tests, and generally people who listen to music while working with their minds. This is when we are in the weakest state of music perception, and auditory elements aren’t usually comprehended. You can get so caught up in a task that you forget any music is playing. Because our mind is focused on so many things, our mood will be least affected by music. Obviously, this isn’t how music was intended to be listened to. So what benefits does this bring? Lets look at Johnny: Johnny is studying for his math test, and he is really struggling on a concept. He puts on his headphones on low volume background listening to help him relax, and suddenly he is able to comprehend his math problems. On the day of the test, he can actually play back the song in his head, then his subconscious will recall his studying, and that helps him recall the important math concepts. Johnny gets an A on his test….So you see where this is going; background listening affects the subconscious mind, which leads us to the final point. Memory. As shown in Johnny’s case, memory can be improved by listening to music in the background. So what are you for? Listen to more background music, improve your memory!

Perceptive Listening, Casual Listening, and Background Listening. Each one has its pros and cons. When possible, try all 3 techniques, and see which one you like the most. If you haven’t experienced the thrill of perceptive listening, you have to try it soon. If you haven’t relaxed to some casual listening, you might want to give it a shot. Some people, however, aren’t able to have music in the background while working. You know who you are. Give these techniques a shot, you never know what kind of amazing improvements could come about in your life. It’s the little things that can make a big difference. Rediscover your music, rediscover the way you listen to it!

Music is a creative pattern of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal pitch in an organized and relentless manner. How about in health? Based on the study held by Journal Heart, the researchers discovered that listening to music is healthy for your heart whether you are seeking arousal and serene or relaxation. Listening to fast and convoluted tempos of music like classical and techno will increase the degree of physiological arousal. Meanwhile, listening to slower music such as love song, raga, and etc. could create induced calmness and fall in heart-rate. These are the reasons why the researchers said that these two kinds of music are could be helpful to decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke aside for boost immunity, ease muscle tension, and more.

In music treatment this is the use of musical intervention, such as listening, making music, recital composing, or improvising with instruments in order to reach a person’s therapeutic goals. According to the data from the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas; it occupies neurotransmitters that would otherwise be used to drive pain messages to the brain, thus decreasing your perception of pain. These are the reasons why it’s been one of the 8 natural options to relieve cancer-related pain.

Benefit for your brain

Another beneficial effect of music is that for your brain. Based on the study in year 2004 by the journal Heart & Lung even discovered proof. People who those listened to music while they workout, researchers said, it performed more than two times as well on a verbal fluency test than persons who listened to no music.

As said by the study’s lead author, Charles Emery, “… Listening to music may influence cognitive function through different pathways in the brain. The combination of music and exercise may stimulate and increase cognitive arousal while helping to organize cognitive output.”

The used of music therapy

The following are some of the used of Music therapy, the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to complete individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship, is a growing field. According to the American Music Therapy Association, music therapy can be used to help:

• Children, adolescents, adults and the elderly with mental health needs, developmental and learning disabilities.
• Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related conditions
• Substance abuse problems
• Brain injuries
• Physical disabilities
• Acute and chronic pain, including mothers in labor

As certified music therapists extend to burst up in psychiatric hospitals, rehabilitative facilities, medical hospitals, outpatient clinics, day care treatment centers and more all over the country, it is just clear how music therapy was a helpful tool for staying or becoming healthy.

It is usual for any guy to suffer from tension these days as everybody feels some form of tension or others. Modernization, financial stress, marital stress, children stress and work stress might make a normal individual to feel confused and frustrated. This is the cause why many people look for relieving stress studies.

There are more books, classes and sites which specialize in stress relieving studies. Typical stress relieving studies would teach you to the control and regulates stress through every day. The very best stress releasing techniques practiced nowadays are yoga, exercise and meditation.

Yoga is the integral share of stress relieving studies. It’s a form of workout which teaches you to stretch the various muscles of the body, and shows you the correct breathing techniques for relieving the stress in the body. With meditations, you may learn to concentrate over things than the objects of your tension. While you meditate, the mind is forced to forget about the stress and it would help you to relax and refresh yourself.

Laughter is a thing which is emphasized on stress relieving studies. While you laugh, you’ll learn to see very funnier things in our life, and hence, you’ll forget about problems which are causes stress in you. Truly, if you have a laugh heartily, your heart should also get exercise and the brain would get external stimulus needed to make you see at things possessing positive attitude.

Stress relieving studies also tell that diet and music should be given huge consideration if you would to get rid of the tension. Music would refresh our mind. However, everyone would feel relaxed and revitalized with some music. Some enjoy while listening to classical while others would feel relaxed when they would listen to some sentimental music. You’ve to decide which music suits you and helps you, relaxes you and makes you forget about the stress which you are undergoing.

Though it might not be so obvious, diet does play a very important share in stress relieving too. This is as the body digests only lighter food while it becomes stressed. Filling the stomach with oily and heavy junk food adds more stress our body. So take it as a point for maintaining a light and very healthy diet when you’re in stress.

Once you’ve gone through stress relieving studies, you would have a very different approach in life. As you start spending more time for practicing different stress relief types, you’ll feel less stressed and you’ll happier every other day.