C&P music education

Last week, Peter led a presentation at the IUSB Music Tech Forum about electronics troubleshooting and repair. He'll return for part two, a workshop offering hands-on soldering experience for the students!

Congratulations to all our students who performed in last night's Fall Recital - here are a few highlight photos!

The stage is set: we're excited for our students to perform tonight at the fall recital!

Congratulations to our students on another wonderful recital!

Few adults play musical instruments, and even fewer do so in a group, Caroline Mimbs Nyce writes. What health benefits might they be giving up? https://theatln.tc/oglkQfzJ

“Kids receive plenty of music education, but as people get older, they fall out of practice. Many stop picking up their instrument,” Nyce writes. “This is unfortunate, in part because plenty of research shows that adults could benefit from playing music.”

Playing music helps build larger brain networks and new pathways. “Musicians tend to have better attention than nonmusicians,” Nyce continues. “Banging on a drum or tooting a horn can also relieve stress, reduce burnout, and help with anxiety and depression. For older people specifically, research has shown potential cognitive benefits along with a possible decrease in dementia risk.”

Adults may be skipping out in part because music education is associated with childhood and coursework. And after people grow out of music education in their childhood, they tend to think that music is a special talent, Nyce writes, not something that just anybody can learn.

“Of course, people are busy; they simply may not have the luxury of sitting down to study Bach once a week, much less the money to pay for an instrument or private lessons,” Nyce writes.

Playing music in groups has additional benefits, such as allowing adults to feel more trusting of and connected to one another, and to the world in general. But while it’s easy to go to a park or gym and pull together a game of pickup basketball, “piecing together people at the same skill level to play a concerto or even just jam in a garage is another matter.”

Nyce herself recently began to play the recorder. “I plan to keep learning,” she writes, “not because it strengthens my neuropathways per se (though I certainly don’t mind that), but because making music, even when it’s silly—perhaps especially when it’s silly—is just a whole lot of fun.” https://theatln.tc/oglkQfzJ

📸: Photo Media / ClassicStock / Getty

It's true.

Congrats to all of our students on great performances at our 2024 Winter Recital! 🥳

Parents: keep an eye out for an email with the full set of photos as soon as we receive them - typically a few weeks after the recital. In the meantime, enjoy these preview images from our event photographer!

Happy first day of school, Professor Metzger !

It's always exciting to welcome new students to the studio!

A little reminder from our friends at Bethel University Music Department to practice your instrument today : )

A little finals week funny for all of us! Juries are upon us!