Octavemode

Recent research confirms much of what artists have thought for centuries in terms of the value of the arts to human behavior. Skills learned from music and other arts transfer well to other endeavors. Students in middle and high school programs score consistently 50 points higher on standardized tests then their counterparts outside of music programs. Over 90% of students in music programs go on to college and other forms of higher education. There are good reasons for this to consider.

Basic attention to daily practice build skills of staying power, discipline, diligence, determination. Practice also attends to skills of correction, construction and creation. Skills of reflection, responsibility and respect also develop as students practice, play in ensembles, and attend to lesson responsibilities.

It is easy to assume these skills develop from experience in other subject areas, and they do. What is unusual about music is that we use more areas of the brain than any other activity. Music requires us to synthesize more complexly than any other activity. The resulting synergy is significant, as the product concerns complexities, beauty, harmony, and successful social interaction. The mind when exercised in this way achieves a sense of what works, in real time and with a sense of beauty, joy, happiness, when done well.

Time management is important for anyone. However, music growth occurs over time, it is a time intensive activity. Both activity and vacation achieve most efficiency. Time away from an activity gives perspective, rest, vacation, even if over a 24 hour period. It is impossible to play all the music ever written each day, remaining up to date requires skills of dispatch, culling what is critical to success, To develop the skills of time management, deciding to practice efficiently each day, develops a student with these critical skills, too. In fact, the more consistent you are with practice, the better decision making process a student develops, making each activity in the person’s day more effective. These are skills of excellence.

As the school year progresses, consider these skills primary to your success and make decisions according to these goals, instead of shorter term goals that appear once or twice in your life and disappear.

In the pursuit of happiness, your success relies on your ability to achieve in a variety of situations. The skills of music making support this for each developing student. The latest news about the brain tells us of neuroplasticity, or the brain’s ability to change according to your behavior. Without activity, the brain prunes its cells leaving only those used and allowing those unused to whither. In other words, practice of skills keeps your brain cells active and your behavior determines what brain cells remain in use. During the developmental years, especially, but also for any one of any age, the best thinking in the vernacular is: use it or lose it. The synergistic advantages of long term use far out weigh the temporary advantages of accomplishing merely requirements.

So, take advantage of the opportunity music gives you. Find a reliable practice schedule. Practice at the same time every day, or set four or five times during the day when you have the option to practice. Consider the morning, during dinner preparation, before or after meals, before bed, as a break from homework or other activities. Variety of behavior helps all behavior, quality behavior enhances result. Consider the discipline of practice an opportunity to structure time management skills, to make your time spent efficient.

In the long run, as you improve your skills and become more efficient, you will find more time available for all kinds of activities, including leisure activities. And, as you improve you will find more fun in all things you do.