Music in Our Schools Month!

March 31, 2022April 6, 2022 / Elementary Music Advocacy / Leave a comment

Community-Building at its BEST!

March is “Music in Our Schools Month” nationally, but wow–we have a lot to celebrate here in Hillsborough County! There are so many reasons why music education in our schools is vital, including the cognitive, social-emotional, and cultural development opportunities that music-making provides. This month, however, we want to spotlight how the hard work of our music teachers and student musicians not only helps us build joyful community within our school walls, but also beyond those walls.

It has been a fantastic month already, beginning with our annual Fine Arts Festival: three choruses, a handbell ensemble, mallet percussion ensemble, a string orchestra, and a drumming ensemble, all made up of talented students from different schools across the county. Dedicated teacher-directors unified and brought out beautiful–and danceable!–energy from the performers. A standing-room-only crowd of supportive families, colleagues, and county dignitaries was delighted by performances that bridged a wide variety of musical styles and cultures. Check out a few photos of the Fine Arts Festival below. We are already looking forward to next year!

And take a look at these rock stars at the Florida State Fair!

As we wrap up the month of March, we have additional opportunities to showcase and enjoy our rock bands during our Little Kids Rock Spirit Week! In partnership with several Beef O’Brady’s restaurants around the county, Little Kids Rock bands will be performing several nights this week to raise funds for instrument upkeep and repair. Check out the calendar, and come on out for a great meal, awesome music, and a chance to support these student musicians.

Finally, we just want to thank our students’ parents, guardians, families, and friends for any and all ways you advocate for us, and the joy that is “music in our schools!” Your advocacy and support is certainly needed every month, not just in March, and we are so grateful for your voices.

Pages created by (HCEMEC) Hillsborough County Elementary Music Educators Council Advocacy, HCPS K-5 Music. We support positive views of Music Education and encourage active participation in local, state & national legislative issues related to arts education.

We provide training and continuing education to HCPS K-5 music educators to ensure that we give opportunities for success in music for all of our elementary students.

See you next time!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screen-shot-2020-11-13-at-9.03.23-pm-1.png — Rebecca.Scott@hcps.net Jessica.Kendal@hcps.net

Dancing the Blues Away

January 19, 2022January 19, 2022 / Elementary Music Advocacy / Leave a comment

Staying Healthy and Happy Through Dance!

Last month we tuned you in to the benefits of singing and how singing can help foster a healthy outlet for expressing feelings and emotions. It can boost your mood and bring joy to an otherwise turbulent time in the midst of Covid. This month we want to highlight another important aspect of the elementary music classroom that can be enjoyed by all- Movement and Dance!

As a music teacher, I always find it interesting when I go to teach a movement or dance lesson that there are always a few kids who ask “Why are we doing dancing? This is music class.” I continue to explain the connection between dance and music and how in many cultures music and dance go hand in hand. They almost always coexist. Cultures all over the world incorporate dancing as an integral part of their music performance. Some music like Salsa and Tango has specific dance steps traditionally associated with them. There are also country line dances, Cha Cha Slide, and the Wobble. Today we have added modes of dance such as Dance Dance Revolution or So You Think You Can Dance on Nintendo, and even dances to learn on Tik Tok. Whether you are taking traditional classes in Ballet or Tap, spicing it up with some Latin moves, hip-hop, or break dance vibes, or simply spending hours perfecting your next Tik Tok, the good news is that you and your kids are gaining some these wonderful benefits!

Benefits of Dance

Obviously, we know that dance as a physical activity burns calories and can improve balance and flexibility. But for children there are so many more added reasons to get dancing. Take a look at these resources that explain the benefits of dance! Remember, elementary students are experiencing dance with their music teachers at school!

Dance doesn’t have to be so structured. There are so many opportunities for kids to be creative with dance. Some of the best dancing is just letting the music flow and seeing where it takes you!

According to the International Journal of Neuroscience, dance also significantly increases serotonin and dopamine levels; these are the feel-good hormones responsible for reducing depression and anxiety and improving mood!

Here are some fun dance videos you can try together–or you can always just turn on your favorite jam and show off your sweet moves. Either way, just get out and dance!

Structured dances to popular songs

Free style dance and freeze!

We provide training and continuing education to HCPS K-5 music educators to ensure that we give opportunities for success in music for all of our elementary students.

See you next time!

A Marvelous Gift: Singing!

December 1, 2021December 6, 2021 / Elementary Music Advocacy / Leave a comment

The Benefits and Joys of Raising Our Voices

Getting Back Our Joy

We have a question: as this 2021 holiday season begins to take flight, how are you feeling?

If you’re anything like so many of us, you’re probably feeling some hopeful expectation, but also a decent amount of stress. As we start to return to “normal” after more isolated holidays last year, the typical holiday busy-ness may feel even more overwhelming. There are places to be, people to see, and the hope that gifts can be acquired on time.

Spoiler alert! As the title of this post suggests, we have a suggestion for one of the easiest, least-expensive, and most joyful gifts you can give yourself and others this holiday season: singing!

We know. And we get it. The pandemic cut away a lot of our established singing, especially in groups, and it may seem more like a memory than reality to have the energy for singing, even by yourself! But while singing is often a response to our emotions, the amazing news is that singing can also help shape what we feel (and our health!). Dr. Graham Welch, a prominent music education researcher, put together a synopsis of the benefits of singing–check out a quick overview in the following list.

Benefits of Singing

Physical: singing is aerobic; it also strengthens neurological connections in the brain
Psychological: singing can increase self-understanding, emotional release, and growth in communication abilities
Social: singing with others often increases social inclusion, and positive feelings associated with community-building
Musical: singing helps us realize our musical potential, and helps us build mental “libraries” of songs to enjoy and connect us with others
Educational: singing can build language skills, as many of the skills needed to read and interpret music and lyrics overlap with language-learning

As choruses and other chances for group singing are slowly making their way back into our schools, the joy that accompanies those experiences is also returning. Over and over, we hear from fellow music teachers how full-hearted they and their students feel in singing together again–singing is fun!

So, as we press into the month of December and towards the end of the year, we encourage you to let yourself sing, and find ways to help your families sing together. Whether it’s your own version of carpool karaoke, caroling, worship services, or using your cookie-dough-making spoon as a microphone, raise your voices!

Singing Our Way Forward

And when the new year gets close, go ahead and cue up the lyric video linked below—“Auld Lang Syne” (which means “times long past”), this time with a happy, dance-able beat. Press play, and raise your hot cocoa to sing:

“We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for the sake of auld lang syne.”

May your holidays be bright, joyful, and song-filled.

See you next year!

We provide training and continuing education to HCPS K-5 music educators to ensure that we give opportunities for success in music for all of our elementary students.

See you next time!

Holiday Musical Traditions

November 5, 2021 / Elementary Music Advocacy / 1 Comment

Over the last couple of holiday seasons many of us have been forced to stray away from our typical family gatherings and traditions due to Covid. Family and traditions have a way of bringing us together to create a feeling of joy and belonging, especially during the holidays. Many of us may have missed this and may have even spent last holiday season alone or without our typical activities and traditions. This year we hope to be able to rekindle those traditions, and especially bring back the music and performances that go along with them.

Music can bring back fond memories and connect generations through traditional songs. What traditions do you have with your family? Take time to talk with family members about their most fond Thanksgiving traditions. What does Thanksgiving look and sound like at YOUR house?

Our own family traditions are so important because it bonds us with our family and friends. We often have unique ways of celebrating. Just like us many families all over the world have unique music embedded into their holiday traditions as well. Take time to enjoy some holiday songs from other parts of the world and learn about the traditions of others!

No matter what you end up doing for the holidays this year, we encourage you to include music into your celebrations! Here are some ideas on how to incorporate more music into your family holiday traditions:

go caroling in your neighborhood
sing along to holiday favorites together while on a road trip or putting up decorations
attending your school or church’s holiday concert
ask your parents or grandparents to play their favorites from their childhood
play name that tune (holiday edition!)
let family members play guitar, piano, or another instrument to have a group sing along!

As music teachers we want to instill the love of music into our students and show them that you don’t need to be a professional musician to enjoy it! Music plays such as important part in our cultures and everyday lives, and is part of the human experience all over the world. As we gear up for the holidays, now is the perfect time to rekindle those musical traditions that may have taken a back seat over the last couple of years due to Covid.

Wishing you and your family a very musical holiday season!

We provide training and continuing education to HCPS K-5 music educators to ensure that we give opportunities for success in music for all of our elementary students.

See you next time!

The Power of Connection: Music Education and Social-Emotional Learning

October 4, 2021October 4, 2021 / Elementary Music Advocacy / Leave a comment

A Necessary Response

What a challenging–and overwhelming–18 months it has been for the world! As we all continue to process the impacts of COVID-19 on our own lives, it is impossible to miss how deeply this pandemic has impacted how we relate to one another. Time away from typical relationship-building activities has pushed an already-important concept straight to the forefront of education: Social-Emotional Learning, often referenced as “SEL.”

Here are some of the components of SEL, as described by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL):

develop healthy identities
manage emotions
achieve personal and collective goals
feel and show empathy for others
establish and maintain supportive relationships
make responsible and caring decisions
advance educational equity and excellence

Music Learning and SEL

Your students’ music educators want to share and celebrate all of the ways music education very naturally facilitates SEL, and encourage you that we are working diligently to leverage these strengths for the benefit of your children. Using the CASEL Wheel above, here are just a few examples of how music classrooms provide SEL in both embedded and direct ways:

Framework Piece	Music Classroom
Social Awareness	Collaborative & cooperative group performances Music-based games Learning about the impact of music on culture Reflect students’ cultures in musical choices
Relationship Skills	Opportunities for affirming others’ efforts and contributions to group music-making, in community Performances in partnerships, small groups, and large groups
Responsible Decision-Making	Creative decision-making for musical tasks like composition and improvisation Working to achieve balance in musical ensembles
Self-Management	Opportunities to develop perseverance through musical practice–many times, musical tasks are not performed perfectly the first time
Self-Awareness	Learning tasks that involve responding to music, identifying emotional responses, and developing reasoning for personal preferences and expression

Music and SEL at Home

Music classrooms have, for many years already, been fertile soil for growing community, teamwork, and meaningful relationships. As we press forward and continue to develop new resources that meet our current students’ needs, we cheer you on–parents and guardians are so powerfully important to a child’s social-emotional development! There are so many ways for you to easily utilize music at home to build connection with your student: listening together to music you love (and talking about it!), family dance parties, and even specifically choosing music to use together for relaxation. As we close out this post, we leave you with a video from Quaver, a music curriculum our students are really loving. This “Relax Your Mind” song is just a few minutes long, and was asked for on repeat this past week. Enjoy!

And All. That. Jazz.

April 12, 2021April 17, 2021 / Elementary Music Advocacy / Leave a comment

April is Jazz Appreciation Month or “JAM” for short! Jazz is such an important musical genre to our nations culture and history, so it only seems appropriate that we would devote an entire month to celebrating this unique and eclectic style! From New Orleans style, Big Band/Swing, and the ever so cool smooth jazz, there is something for everyone. Jazz can be relaxing, but it can also give you a reason to tap your toes and snap along!

Here in Hillsborough County we spend time with with our students in class learning about Blues and Jazz music. As music educators we are able to use this art form to teach many skills such as improvisation and syncopation, two of the main characteristics of Jazz. This month we invite you and your family to get in the groove with some Jazz favorites and maybe even create some for yourself!

Let’s Learn a Little About Jazz!

Below are two introduction to Jazz videos. The first is great for older learners and the second video may be best for younger learners and preschoolers!

Check out the links below to play some Jazz themed games and create your own music!

Folkways Jazz Game

Brain Pop Jazz History

Jazz Rhythms

Chrome Music Lab

We provide training and continuing education to HCPS K-5 music educators to ensure that we give opportunities for success in music for all of our elementary students.

See you next time!

lorri.naylor@sdhc.k12.fl.us rebecca.scott@sdhc.k12.fl.us

MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH

March 11, 2021April 13, 2021 / Elementary Music Advocacy / Leave a comment

USE YOUR POWER TO SUPPORT your child’s MUSIC EDUCATION!

March is MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH where the entire country focuses on Music Education – And here you can find “scores” of reasons why music does

a body,

mind and HEART a lot of good.

The Finale, featuring all groups performing together under the direction of Deah McReynolads

We would love to have you become a MUSIC EDUCATION ADVOCATE at the state level. Interested? Click the link below for the Florida Music Educators Parent Advocacy form page. You will be contacted for important music education actions or alerts.

Want to keep it close to home? Email Advocacy below or contact your child’s music teacher and we’ll tell you how. Share this post with important people and remember “Music is our language, don’t stop talking!”

Pages created by Hillsborough County Elementary Music Educators Council Advocacy, HCPS K-5 Music. We support positive views of Music Education and encourage active participation in local, state & national legislative issues related to arts education.

We provide training and continuing education to HCPS K-5 music educators to ensure that we give opportunities for success in music for all of our elementary students.

See you next time!

Look at what’s new at the HCEMEC music blog!
Tweet

lorrinaylor@sdhc.k12.fl.us rebecca.scott@sdhc.k12.fl.us

Disclaimer: This blog is for information sharing purposes only and intended solely to provide families and interested parties with material supporting the furthering of music and the importance of music education. Those supporting materials are the concepts of their authors or creators and we hold no rights or responsibility to those materials except for our stated intent. HCEMEC does not support or gain from any advertisement in any external link on any pages or posts.

The Music We Love…A Connection to Black History.

February 21, 2021February 24, 2021 / Elementary Music Advocacy / Leave a comment

Early African American music and musicians are key influencers in the music we know and love today!

Country, Rap, Hip Hop, Pop, Rock and Roll, and Reggaetón. Which one strikes your fancy? Or, maybe you have an eclectic ear and enjoy all styles of music? Whatever the case may be, it is almost certain that our music of today wouldn’t have the same sound if it weren’t for the contributions of African American musicians. From the slave hollers and Spirituals of the 18th and 19th centuries to the Blues and smooth sounds of Jazz in the early 1900’s, the African American musical influence has crossed over into almost every genre imaginable.

With such a diverse community of students and families here in Hillsborough County our music programs are always looking for ways to represent various cultures in our music lessons. For us it is a year round endeavor to provide culturally relevant and meaningful music making opportunities for our students. We hope the links below will allow you and your family to make new connections with the music you love as well as foster a new appreciation for how it has evolved over time.

In honor of Black History Month click below on each style of music to learn how African American influence has shaped the music you know and love.

We provide training and continuing education to HCPS K-5 music educators to ensure that we give opportunities for success in music for all of our elementary students.

See you next time!

Disclaimer: This blog is for information sharing purposes only and intended solely to provide families and interested parties with material supporting the furthering of music and the importance of music education. Those supporting materials are the concepts of their authors and creators and we hold no rights or responsibility to those materials except for our stated intent. HCEMEC does not support or gain from any advertisement in any external link on any pages or posts.

Featured

The Power of Music… Songs of Power, Songs of Comfort

January 19, 2021January 20, 2021 / Elementary Music Advocacy / Leave a comment

This is the time of year when we typically honor Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. with parades, gatherings, speeches, festivals and music. Even though we are in 2021, the challenges of 2020 still linger and have had an impact on yet another American conserve, these celebrations of hope and peace and freedom. Dr. King’s quote speaks to the need for not only the inherent power gained from music, but the comfort that same music can bring. Let us share some of that here…

The civil rights movement brought with it amazing songs such as “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, “How I Got Over”, “A Change is Gonna Come” and “This Little Light of Mine”. Let’s not forget the songs of anger and truth that came later, such as “Glory” from the movie Selma and the rap of Pubic Enemy. No matter the style, these songs hold an immense place and significance in our culture. Children especially need to know about how music plays a role in history and our culture. This aspect of music is a standard that all music teachers are expected to teach and certainly all of HCPS k-5 music teachers do -just ask a student! Although not a substitute for live experiences, recordings of these songs are meaningful.

Here is a wonderful tribute to the powerful iconic song written by Reverend Charles Albert Tindley in 1901, “We Shall Overcome”. Listen to it performed in three different versions. We hope you will share “We Shall Overcome” with all members of your family and by doing so, experience both it’s power and it’s comfort. Knowledge gained through music is powerful and “music speaks louder than words”.

Thanks to Beth’s Notes.com for this concept. https://www.bethsnotesplus.com/

We provide training and continuing education to HCPS K-5 music educators to ensure that we give opportunities for success in music for all of our elementary students.

See you next time!

Disclaimer: This blog is for information sharing purposes only and intended solely to provide families and interested parties with material supporting the furthering of music and the importance of music education. Those supporting materials are the concepts of their authors and creators and we hold no rights or responsibility to those materials except for our stated intent. HCEMEC does not support or gain from any advertisement in any external link on any pages or posts.

Featured

The Power of Music….Where to find it this Holiday Season (see the updates!)

December 11, 2020December 18, 2020 / Elementary Music Advocacy / Leave a comment

There is something missing this holiday season. Yes, there are a lot of things missing, gatherings, shopping in the old ways, freedom in travel- the list is endless. But what we feel deeply is the absence of Hillsborough County’s elementary schools holiday concerts. You know what I’m talking about- the extra practices, the emails, the flyers and signs, the excitement the whole school feels as the day approaches. It is a time for the entire school to shine. We have amazing student musicians in our elementary schools and together, they and their teachers create wonderful memories, instill confidence and pride throughout the school that lasts for decades. This year our stages and multipurpose rooms are mostly silent.

But take heart, there are some very creative Hillsborough County music departments who have found ways to keep the music going! And if your school cannot share music just yet, we will suggest some great locations in the area where you can still hear music safely in person or virtually.

We spoke with a few schools who are doing grade level concerts and posting portions of them on the school’s website. Schools are using the morning show or their schools’ twitter or facebook feed to share what their students have been doing around the holidays. Nelson Elementary and Turner Bartels K-8 will post on their school’s YouTube Channel. Brooker Elementary will share their music via the morning show, Brooker website and PTA facebook – see the link below. West Tampa Elementary is using SWAY to share music with their parents and school. Muller Elementary Magnet School has posted their holiday music on SchoolTube to share with parents and the school community. Roland Park k-8 is using the morning show studio to put together a performance to be shared in January. James Elementary will edit their winter concert over the break and share later as well. So, the bottom line is, check with your school’s music teacher, website or social media to see what they have planned!

Turner-Bartels K-8 Click below to see great music!

https://video.link/w/SbDAb

All around the town you’ll hear music! Check out these varied and exciting musical and or fun events like the ones listed below *Check websites for correct times and best information.

Hillsborough County Elementary Music Advocacy

Music is our language; don't stop talking!

Author: Elementary Music Advocacy

Music in Our Schools Month!

Community-Building at its BEST!

Dancing the Blues Away

Staying Healthy and Happy Through Dance!

Benefits of Dance

Here are some fun dance videos you can try together–or you can always just turn on your favorite jam and show off your sweet moves. Either way, just get out and dance!

A Marvelous Gift: Singing!

Getting Back Our Joy

Benefits of Singing

Singing Our Way Forward

Holiday Musical Traditions

The Power of Connection: Music Education and Social-Emotional Learning

A Necessary Response

Music Learning and SEL

Music and SEL at Home

And All. That. Jazz.

Let’s Learn a Little About Jazz!

Check out the links below to play some Jazz themed games and create your own music!

MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH

USE YOUR POWER TO SUPPORT your child’s MUSIC EDUCATION!

The Music We Love…A Connection to Black History.

The Power of Music… Songs of Power, Songs of Comfort

The Power of Music….Where to find it this Holiday Season (see the updates!)