Music has long been a sanctuary for many of us. It allows us to drift away in the lyrics, or the sounds of a violin at a major concert hall. It transforms us into another dimension, where we can be carefree, relaxed and not have to deal with our daily routine. For many, it is therapeutic. From a hard rock tempo, where a youngster can get lost with his or her air guitar, to a classical piece by Mozart that transcends the ages, music has been a major part of our lives.
But how is it that music affects a young child? Study after study suggests that music has quite an influence on a child’s development. More significant is the correlation between musical training and brain development. Cognitive, those mental skills that are used in the process of gaining knowledge, which include perception, reasoning, memory, and intuition are known to increase with musical training. The best example of this is Albert Einstein’s statement: “It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force behind that intuition. My discovery was the result of musical perception.” He was referring to his theory of relativity. He went on to state: “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”
It’s interesting that one of our generation’s greatest minds attributes his intelligence to music and he wasn’t wrong. The Foundation for Music Literacy http://www.LearnToReadMusic.org has found a considerable amount of research to support the claim that music improves the mind.
- “Students perform better on their college entrance examinations (SATs)” – The College Board
- “Band members get better math science and language grades” – University of Sarasota
- “Ten-year study shows music improves test scores” – UCLA Professor Dr. James Catterall
- “Music improves reasoning in preschool children” – Neurological Research
- “Piano instruction is thought to enhance the brain’s hard-wiring for spatial-temporal reasoning” …. “Music involves ratios, fractions, proportions and thinking in space and time.” – UCI Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
So how can we insure that our child has the best chance of improving their cognitive, math, science and language skills? Simple,
Start Them Off Young!
Musical genius isn’t something that’s taught, musical genius is something that we’re born with. The child that pulls out mom’s favorite cookware isn’t just banging for the sake of banging; he or she is making music. In their tender mind, it is the sound that culminates in a rhythm, a natural beat that to others, who haven’t quite developed their sense of creativity, is nothing more than noise. As parents and caregivers we need to recognize that hidden talent, that noise that can turn into a progressive sound of meaningful notes.
At The Alivel Foundation Inc., we’re inspired by that noise, because we know that deep down inside that tiny creative mind, there lies a musical virtuoso and it’s our responsibility to cultivate it, and turn it into something meaningful. Through initiatives such as our Musical Mentor Program, students can work side-by-side with some of South Florida’s most gifted musicians. Together with our Latin Music Historical Program, students and members alike can examine the roots of Latin Music’s tragic beginnings by way of symposiums and workshops designed to highlight Latin Music’s voyage from the sun drenched plains of Africa, to the Caribbean, where Latin Music first began to flourish. Cuban musicians created a blend known as Son, Puerto Rico saw the development of Bomba, and later mixing this with the sounds created by their Cuban brothers and exported it to New York City where Salsa was born.
Our workshops will unravel the challenges that gave birth to classic compositions, along with what influenced and inspired this magical musical journey that gave us the Meringue out of The Dominican Republic and Latin Jazz, Latin Funk and Latin Bugalu from such gifted artists as Tito Puente, Bobby Rodriguez and Joe Cuba out of New York City. Here’s how one of these gentlemen, Bobby Rodriguez was able to mix the sounds of the Caribbean, Ragtime Jazz & Latin Salsa with modern day pop lyrics.
So join us as we develop tomorrow’s great musicians and transform their noise into a brilliant composition.
