Music Therapy Newsletter for March 2016

Music Therapy Newsletter-March 2016

March Newsletter

March is Music Therapy month! This month there will be information around Rhapsody about music therapy. It's a great time to tell people you know about music therapy and raise awareness! It is also Music in Our Schools month so read to the bottom of this email to learn about music education and academic achievement.

-Kim

What is music therapy?

I will be giving a talk to explain what music therapy is and how it can benefit children with disabilities. This is open to anyone who is interested in learning about music therapy so invite a friend!

Two sessions are available, either Friday, March 18th at 7:00pm to 8:00pm or Tuesday, March 22nd at 10:30am to 11:30am.

Group Lesson Week

Group lesson week is the week of March 14th. Your child will be having their normal session with me at the normal time. This is not a break week or a make up week. If your child is interested in any of the group lesson classes or if you have any questions, let me know.

Spring Recital Sign Up

It is time to start thinking about the Spring Recital. It is not required that your child plays in a recital, however, for some students, it can be a very positive experience that helps them build self confidence as well as a sense of accomplishment. There are recitals on the evening of Friday, April 22nd, and during the day on Saturday, April 23rd and Sunday, April 24th. The deadline to sign up to play at a Spring Recital is March 21st.

Spring Break

Rhapsody's Spring Break is the week of March 28. I will be doing make up lessons on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of that week. Please let me know if your spring break falls on a different week so that we can schedule a make up.

March Madness Bracket

We will be hosting a Music March Madness bracket here at Rhapsody. The winning piece of music will be performed at Spring Fling by Rhapsody Faculty Members. We will have different jars set up for different songs. When students come in for their lesson, they can donate coins to the jar of their choosing. Before choosing a song, we encourage students to listen to our playlist to familiarize themselves with the choices. Check out our YouTube playlist here to listen.

Art Contest

Rhapsody is excited to announce our 5th Annual Art Contest! Check out the bulletin board in the lobby for rules and to pick up a coloring sheet. Winners in each category will receive gift certificates good towards our brand new summer art classes. All entries are due by Friday, March 18th.

The More You Know

Music Education Can Help Close the Achievement Gap

Dr Nina Kraus is a researcher from Northwestern University who has been studying the effects of music lessons on the brain. She has concluded that 2 years of music education, in which the student is an active participant, can help rewire the child's brain and help disadvantaged students succeed academically.

Research has found that children who grow up in lower socioeconomic status environments are exposed to more ambient noise and have an increased risk for academic failure. Dr Kraus has found that after two years of high quality music education, students showed improved auditory processing which is an important part of literacy and communication.

Project Harmony is a program in LA that provides free music instruction to low income students and some of these students participated in Dr Kraus's studies. Between 2010 and 2014, 93% of Harmony Project alumni enrolled in post-secondary education, versus 67.6% of students graduating from public schools within Los Angeles County.

You can read an overview of some of these studies here.

If you believe that music therapy has be beneficial for your child and you know of another parent whose child might also benefit from music therapy, please pass along our information!

Rhapsody Arts Center|kim@rhapsodyarts.org| 608-848-2045 | rhapsodyarts.org