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This Ted Talk, given by Alan Harvey, explains the many ways that music affects the human body and brain. Harvey explained the history and use of music within our lives. In this lecture, Alan Harvey explained the ways in which music triggers signals in our brain. He demonstrated the impact of music on the brain through images of the brain, showing the alpha waves notated by an EEG, and by giving examples of a video with peaceful music and then again with a faster and darker melody. He spoke about how music impacts our viewpoint upon images.

Article about recent studies regarding the location of musical processing in the brain

The Library of Congress has a plethora of information and media related to music education. Within the archives of the Library of Congress are recordings of folk songs, articles about music in America, and podcasts. One of these podcast collections is about Music and the Brain where research related to music and how it affects the brain is reviewed and discussed. This is an excellent resource for music advocacy. It is also a great resource for better understanding music learning.

Compiled by the Library of Congress, Music and the Brain is a Podcast that has lectures, conversations and symposia about the connection between neuroscience and music. Kay Redfield Jamison is the project chair compiles scholars, composers, performers, theorists, physicians, psychologists and other experts to discuss topics such as: the future of music; music and grief; the mind of the artist and others. There are 20 podcasts and they are all free!

This short video explains how the brain reacts to practice and repetition of activities. It reviews the neural pathways and the process that the brain goes through when something is being learned. An interesting fact mentioned in this video is that a study proved that the performance level of mentally envisioning practicing an activity and actually performing the activity produces similar results.

This is an ear training game using a "matching card" format. It looks simple and almost boring, however, once a person starts playing the game it becomes very interesting, This is well suited for middle school as it does not appear to "babyish".

Note pair is an online music game designed to help children read music notes easily and quickly. This game helps children learn to read music notes step by step, at their own pace. A child listens to a note, and tries to match it to a similar note. This ear training computer game lets you learn music notes and their pitches. Students and pupils who play a musical instrument as a child have a better verbal memory than those with no music training. Aural listening skills enhance brain development and students who listen more to music are calm, critical thinkers, and confident. Introducing such a game as a lesson starter even for classes that are not learning music fosters concentration and interest of the learners. Their brain becomes alert and ready to take in any information.

a TED talk on how music benefits the brain. This is a well known video but a worthwhile one to have easy access to!

Article on the need for music education

Informational website on specific topics. Some topics include Music Business, the music brain, why music makes you smarter, etc. This would be great for a general music class. There are numerous articles and videos shared on the website.

Here is a great video from CNN that highlights the benefits of being a part of a music program.  Many have done studies whether or not music affects a student's brain.  This is a great video to show students and parents along with administration to strengthen the program you already have.  Too many schools are doing away with the arts and it cannot happen!

GoNoodle is an interactive website that offers activity songs for different classrooms. The videos can be used as brain breaks, but it also has songs that could be use in cross-curricular settings (English, history, etc).

This article discusses the positive and negative impact music can have on a person's emotional state. The article mentions and describes three of the seven categories that individuals use to regulate their mood. It also discusses how music can impact the brain and its functioning abilities.

Article about adverse childhood experiences in Iowa. Describes how many students deal with these traumas and how we as educators can learn about how their brains are affected so when we are teaching them we are aware of the state they are in. You can't teach a student until they feel safe in your classroom.

Journal dealing with brain research and the effects of music

In this article, a study shows the connectivity between reading music and the way our brains process certain information. It explains how musicians hear the music they read and non-musicians rely on visual cues.

An excellent video on how brain function is improved when playing an instrument. A great video for music advocacy.

This is one of my absolute favorite videos about music cognition.

This is one of my absolute favorite videos about music cognition.

This is a discussion by New York Times columnist, David Brooks, and Kathy Fletcher, and the director of Turnaround Arts Initiative about the important work that Turnaround Arts does through the strategic use of the arts. The discussion talks about how music facilitates brain development, why certain things in music leave people fascinated, and what magic music brings to emotion. The discussion also unfolds how the arts, and music education in particular opens the student's mind to memorisation. David Brooks says "Students understand better when topics are introduced through music". I agree with that because most students become more alert when a topic is introduced through song and it fosters the interest of students. Therefore we need arts to succeed in education. A lot of artists came from struggling backgrounds so when they talk to children that would like to succeed in the music world but are frightened that they'll never make it, they tell them "I know what you are going through but you can make it". This encourages those children to push on and excel in the arts. Kathy Fletcher says music boosts critical thinking and confidence which is ideal for students and they end up excelling in all other fields. The arts connect us all through music in a way that music created is shared all around the world. Partnerships are created to perform music and people come together to listen to music. This makes us one.

The Blue Devils website is an amazing resource for connecting with the drum corps experience. Videos of performances and behind the scene takes are amazing.