WHY MUSIC MAKES OUR BRAIN SING

"More than a decade ago, our research team used brain imaging to show that music that people described as highly emotional engaged the reward system deep in their brains — activating subcortical nuclei known to be important in reward, motivation and emotion. Subsequently we found that listening to what might be called “peak emotional moments” in music — that moment when you feel a “chill” of pleasure to a musical passage — causes the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, an essential signaling molecule in the brain. When pleasurable music is heard, dopamine is released in the striatum — an ancient part of the brain found in other vertebrates as well — which is known to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli like food and sex and which is artificially targeted by drugs like cocaine and amphetamine. But what may be most interesting here is when this neurotransmitter is released: not only when the music rises to a peak emotional moment, but also several seconds before, during what we might call the anticipation phase." > read full article http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/why-music-makes-our-brain-sing.html?_r=1&

PRINCIPLE FIRES SECURITY GUARDS TO HIRE ART TEACHERS AND TRANSFORMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

One student comments: “There's no one particular way of doing something,” he said. “And art helps you like see that. So if you take that with you, and bring it on, it will actually help you see that in academics or anything else, there's not one specific way you have to do something.”

> Read/Watch the story here: http://dailynightly.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/01/18005192-principal-fires-security-guards-to-hire-art-teachers-and-transforms-elementary-school?fb_action_ids=10201095002525993&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=AddThis_Blogs&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210201095002525993%22%3A665265983488877}&action_type_map={%2210201095002525993%22%3A%22og.recommends%22}&action_ref_map={%2210201095002525993%22%3A%22AddThis_Blogs%22}

TOP 10 SKILLS CHILDREN LEARN FROM THE ARTS

Washington Post - "You don’t find school reformers talking much about how we need to train more teachers in the arts, given the current obsession with science, math, technology and engineering (STEM), but here’s a list of skills that young people learn from studying the arts. They serve as a reminder that the arts — while important to study for their intrinsic value — also promote skills seen as important in academic and life success. (That’s why some people talk about changing the current national emphasis on STEM to STEAM.) This was written by Lisa Phillips is an author, blog journalist, arts and leadership educator, speaker and business owner. To learn about Lisa’s book, “The Artistic Edge: 7 Skills Children Need to Succeed in an Increasingly Right Brain World,” click here. This appeared on the ARTSblog, a program of Americans for the Arts."

> READ ARTICLE

1. creativity
2. confidence
3. problem solving
4. perseverance
5. focus
6. non-verbal communication
7. receiving constructive feedback
8. collaboration
9. dedication
10. accountability

BRAZIL TO GIVE MONTHLY CULTURE STIPEND TO WORKERS

Brazil to give $25 monthly culture stipend to workers to go to movies, read books or visit museums.

BRASILIA (AFP).- Despite the economic crisis, Brazil announced Thursday it planned to give workers a 50-real ($25) monthly stipend for cultural expenses like movies, books or museums. “In all developed countries, culture plays a key role in the economy,” Culture Minister Marta Suplicy said in an interview on national television. She recalled that popular former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva created “Bolsa Familia” (Family Grant), the program of conditional cash transfers to the poor which his successor, President Dilma Rousseff, expanded. “Now we are creating food for the soul; Why would the poor not be able to access culture?” the minister said.

> READ MORE

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MUSIC MAKES YOU STRONGER

"Jealous of the “runner’s high” serious athletes feel after an intense, vigorous workout? Well, newly published research reveals three alternative ways you can release those mood-enhancing endorphins:

Singing, dancing, and drumming.

read more: http://www.psmag.com/blogs/news-blog/drummers-high-evidence-that-playing-music-releases-endorphins-49578/

WHY LISTENING IS SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN HEARING

"Listening is a skill that we’re in danger of losing in a world of digital distraction and information overload.... And yet we dare not lose it. Because listening tunes our brain to the patterns of our environment faster than any other sens e, and paying attention to the nonvisual parts of our world feeds into everything........“You never listen” is not just the complaint of a problematic relationship, it has also become an epidemic in a world that is exchanging convenience for content, speed for meaning. The richness of life doesn’t lie in the loudness and the beat, but in the timbres and the variations that you can discern if you simply pay attention." By SETH S. HOROWITZ Published: November 9, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/opinion/sunday/why-listening-is-so-much-more-than-hearing.html

WHY ARTS EDUCATION IS A CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE

“Access to arts education is one of the civil rights issues of our time….Creativity is not a specialized gift. Rather, it is an underlying mechanism of our mental lives. Our brains are constantly choosing: automate or mediate? Do I want the same answer every time or do I want options and novelty?……Because mediation is so extensive in human cognition, our thinking is truly an art form. Without training and practice in both facets of our intelligence, we diminish our brain function.” read full article: http://franklivewire.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/its-about-freedom-of-thought-why-arts-education-is-a-civil-rights-issue/