Music Monday in the USA
The two organizations are encouraging schools and after-school programs, organizations, groups and individuals across the U.S. and Canada to participate in Music Monday by either performing the designated Music Monday piece or a song of their choice at exactly the same time on May 3. NAMM is also encouraging people to pick up any instrument of their choice and play anytime on that day.
NAMM has supported the Coalition for Music Education in Canada's Music Monday event since its inception in 2004. This is the third year that NAMM has hosted this galvanizing event in the United States and featured it as the kick off event for its "National Wanna Play Music Week."
What
is Music Monday?
Music Monday is hosted annually on the first Monday of May in North America by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada and NAMM. The special event demonstrates an appreciation for music in our lives and in our schools. Many schools, along with community and professional organizations, perform one piece of music at the same time. The performance is intended to transcend all genres and unite people through the melody and the act of performing the piece at the same time. The idea is that if one were to open the front door of his or her home and stand on the street on the first Monday in May, one would hear music and the skies would be filled with melody.
Last year, the event inspired
more than 700,000 students across North America to participate in a
simultaneous concert and celebrate music education in schools.
How
Do You Participate in Music Monday?
Be
a part of this special day that unites music makers across North America! Be
sure to register yourself, your school or your
organization by sending an email to musicmonday@namm.org, and download this kit that explains how to organize an event of your own. And if you are interested in performing the designated Music Monday song called "Sing! Sing!" by Serena Ryder, download your specific musical arrangement here and practice, practice practice! Then, if you or your group want to unite through music making, perform your song at the same time that other participants will be at 10 a.m. PST, 11 a.m. MST, 12 p.m. CST, 1 p.m. EST, 2 p.m. AST or 2:30 p.m. NST--or in sync with other afterschool programs in your area.
Also, follow Wanna Play By NAMM on facebook to stay updated and to share your Music Monday videos and stories.
Who
Participates in Music Monday?
"We had to have our Music Monday inside because the
playground was drenching in the rain... We had a small gathering of about 30
staff and students to participate in an echo version with clapping of Sing Sing
here at the Delaware Autism Program.... It was fun and enjoyable with a lot
of clapping and singing!"
-Delaware Autism Program
"The Lower School students at Brownell-Talbot are
celebrating Music Monday with a week of allowing students to perform a solo (on
an instrument of their choice) for their classmates during music
time. Students may participate (or not) as they choose. The only restriction
is that ‘the performance must be practiced.' I am trying to teach the students
that, just as audiences have the responsibility to be respectful to the
performer, performers have the responsibility to present a practiced
performance in respect to the audience."
-Brownell-Talbot School, Omaha, NE
In 2009, NAMM hosted bicoastal Music Monday events featuring celebrity talents in New York and Los Angeles. To help launch the Music Monday event on the East Coast, The Bacon Brothers and Yoko Ono appeared on "Fox and Friends" in New York with local students from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, who performed on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, the Bandleader of late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Cleto Escobedo III and lead guitarist Toshi Yanagi performed music with a band class at Nightingale Middle School.
What
Does Music Monday Look Like?
Here's an
example of how Chaska Middle School West in Chaska, Minn., planned the day:
7:30 a.m. - Our
Mariachi Band performed on our video morning announcements
10:15 a.m. - Our
Woodwind Quintet played music in the hallway during passing period
10:50 a.m. - Our
staff rock band played during sixth grade lunch
11:20 a.m. - Our
Mariachi Band performed during seventh grade lunch, followed by two staff
members who palyed an acoustic guitar set
12 noon - Our
jazz combo and vocalist performed "Sing Sing" over the closed circuit television
station for the entire school
12:10 p.m. - Our
staff rock band played again during eigth grade lunch
1:30 p.m. - Our
Woodwind Quintet played music again in the hallway during passing period
Why
Participate in Music Monday?
According
to the organization, 85 percent of the people who have never played an instrument
wish they did. So NAMM is encouraging everyone from U.S. schools, businesses
and organizations, to individuals who have always wanted to play an instrument
to make music on Music Monday and heighten the public's awareness about how
playing music enriches our lives.
NAMM
also believes strongly that music education empowers children with important
tools such as creativity, achievement and social engagement. Many schools
across the country have cut music programs because of lack of funding and cannot
offer students the proven benefits associated with hands-on musical training.
As a not-for-profit association, NAMM has supported research to examine the effects of music on children and adolescents. The studies have shown that playing music positively affects the development of cognitive skills in children and teens. The activity also builds confidence, instills self-discipline, increases productivity and helps kids and teens connect socially with their peers.
Studies specifically show that playing music:
-Develops skills needed by the 21st century workforce: critical thinking, creative problem solving, effective communication, and teamwork
-Keeps students engaged in school and less likely to drop out
-Improves the atmosphere for learning
-Helps communities share ideas and values among cultures and generations
-Provides a sense of belonging for teens
-Gives teens the freedom to be themselves, to be different, to be something they thought they could never be; to be comfortable and relaxed in school and elsewhere in their lives
-Helps adolescents release or control emotions and cope with difficult situations such as peer pressure, substance abuse, pressures of study and family, the dynamics of friendships and social life, and the pain of loss or abuse.
How
Can You Tell the Story and Get Local Media Involved?
Use
this press release to contact your local television and radio stations, promote your event and highlight the benefits for everyone who gets involved!
