Minds On Music – The Kindermusik Blog
For three generations, Kindermusik has helped millions of children around the world build a strong foundation for a lifetime of learning.
It’s that time of year when everyone is talking about resolutions. Losing weight. Exercising. Working less…but when it comes to parenting resolutions, those are little harder to navigate.
Here’s the thing—changes you make for the sake of stronger development for your child(ren) and easier communication between everyone are WORTH it. So, here are 4 practical musical resolutions you can start right away and stick to.
Continue reading “4 Musical Parenting Resolutions for the New Year”
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The New Year is upon us! Over the past month many of us have been dwelling on resolutions. What can I do in 2017 that will make me a better version of myself? What can I change? What can I add? What can I take away? We all do it to some degree. Well friends – you’re reading a music blog. Hopefully it won’t be overly surprising that we make some music-based suggestions that can hopefully have a positive impact on your new year.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
There’s a rather old tradition in many English speaking countries in the world. The song, Auld Lang Syne is sung. As a musician, I love that important moments of our collective life on this planet are marked with music. It’s a ritual – something that carries special meaning and is repeated time and time again. That song looks back across the previous year and reminds us that as we look forward, to not forget all the good times of the past – those close connections with friends and family, time spent together enjoying each other’s company.
As this new year starts, what new traditions might you start? What memories will you create – memories so strong and moving that they will be the memories you think of when singing Auld Lang Syne at the end of 2017? And…how might they be musical memories?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Experience something new! I’m a classically trained musician who never had much time for popular music. It was never that I didn’t like pop music. It was an “only so many hours in the day” kind of thing. So…I am going to experience a concert in 2017, something I’d never go to normally. I’ve already started looking.
Check your area’s concert listings. Is there a bluegrass band that looks interesting and you’ve never experienced bluegrass? Maybe a symphony performance? Try something new and expand your musical horizons. Get a group of friends together, or find something family friendly that works for the kids.
Perhaps your town or city has an annual New Year’s event that involves live music. Go! Experience life – and do it in real time with your eyes. Limit how much you experience the world through a five inch screen. Take a few pictures and then be in the moment with friends and family. See smiles first hand. Make memories in the original hard drive – your brain! And get this, when you make new memories and music is included, hearing that music again brings back those memories with greater richness.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This suggestion makes me thing of the group, Postmodern Jukebox. This is a fantastic collective group founded and lead by Scott Bradlee. They take some iconic songs and reimagine them, quiet amazingly, in completely different styles. Musical theatre as 70s soul…pop as 40s jazz – what this group does is incredibly creative. Old favorites can be experienced in a new way. Here’s the group performing Madonna’s pop anthem, Material Girl, as a Roaring 20’s number, featuring Gunhild Carling singing, rocking it on trombone, and tap dancing![/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/RUuQ4hoXsCM”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Trust me on this – I’m a doctor! Well…a music doctor. And we are experts at music and movement. Like so many of us, I am going to try my best to get in better shape in 2017. And now I’ve announced this to all of you…so keep me honest!
The right music can positively affect physical activity. Samantha Lafave over at Fitness Magazine wrote a great article on selecting the right playlist for your workout. Here are the basics:
There’s a reason T-Swift’s “Shake It Off” is so popular—the song is catchy, feel-good and relatable. Cook deems it the perfect mid-workout song. When you’re ready to give up, it can literally help you “shake off” negative thoughts, she says. Same goes for Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Kelly Clarkson’s “What Doesn’t Kill You (Makes You Stronger).” Tune in to the empowering words next time you’ve hit struggle city to power through.
– Samantha Lafave, Fitness Magazine
Don’t forget to pick music to which you might have a personal connection. It makes the experience more meaningful. And don’t forget cool down music!
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It’s a solid prescription. Exercise – with music. When you’re with friends and family – let that time be filled with music. Try something “musically new” this year. And as far as your kids? Well…the earlier you expose them to musical activity, the more they will appreciate it as they get older. It will just be part of their story. Beyond all the developmental benefits music impacts as they grow, music will bring joy into their lives – yours, too! Get them moving and grooving, singing and playing this year. We are waiting for you with life changing Kindermusik experiences.
Happy New Year from all of us at Kindermusik International![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]