Happiness through Smarter Spending on Music Class

The full moon shone brightly through the upstairs bedroom window and illuminated the faces of my two sleeping children. Their soft, cherub faces with parted lips and closed eyes looked so peaceful and innocent. I snuggled between them, feeling the warmth of their little bodies, smelling their sweetness, and hearing their soft breaths. I should probably go into my own bed now, I thought, but I stayed a few minutes longer, cherishing the feelings of motherly love that filled me to the brim. Moments like these are priceless.

There's no need to purchase anything to experience many of the joys in life. Yet we all need money to survive and for so many things on a daily basis. What does the scientific research say about money and happiness? How can Let's Play Music classes help you and your family increase your happiness?

Inspired by the book, "Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending" by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, I will touch on the answers to these questions.

 "Happy Money" outlines 5 basic principles that relate to how we spend money and our happiness level:

• Buy Experiences
• Make it a treat
• Buy time
• Pay Now, Consume Later
• Invest in Others

The wonderful Let's Play Music program allows you to utilize all these principles to increase your happiness. Here are some great quotes from the book along with some of my thoughts on how they relate to music class.

1. Buy Experiences:

"Think of purchases you've made with the goal of increasing your own happiness. Consider one purchase that was a material thing, a tangible object that you could keep, like a piece of jewelry of furniture, some clothing, or a gadget. Now think about a purchase you made that gave you a life experience -- perhaps a trip, a concert, or a special meal, If you're like most people, remembering the experience brings to mind friends and family, sights and smells. Which of these purchases made you happier? Faced with this question, some 57% of Americans reported that the experiential purchase made them happier than the material purchase, while only 34% reported the opposite."

Parents who spend money on Let's Play Music classes for their child are not only enriching their child's life with music, but also ensuring many unique and positive experiences. Children love coming to class because it's so fun.

Parents enjoy coming to class because it allows them to also experience the magic of Let's Play Music and create special bonding moments with their child. Parents pick up on ways to carry the experiences from class into their everyday lives.

"Research shows that experiences provide more happiness than material goods in part because experiences are more likely to make us feel connected to others. Experiential purchases not only provide us with entertaining anecdotes, but also add texture to our broader life stories."

2. Make It a Treat: 

 

"The more we're exposed to something, the more its impact diminishes."

So maybe it's a good thing we don't have music class every day! Several parents have told me about their child waking up every day and asking, "Is today music class?" I love their enthusiasm!

"In a study of working adults in Belgium, wealthier individuals reported a lower proclivity to savor life's little pleasures. They were less likely to say that they would pause to appreciate a beautiful waterfall on a hike or stay present in the moment during a romantic weekend getaway. This phenomenon helps explain why the relationship between income and happiness is weaker than many people expect. At the same time that money increases our happiness by giving us access to all kinds of wonderful things, knowing we have access to wonderful things undermines our happiness by reducing our tendency to appreciate life's small joys."

What a disturbing paradox! Here I thought having more money would make me happier. It turns out that's not true. We just need to appreciate all that we already have. Oprah Winfrey said, "The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have."

Research shows that just thinking about money can make you enjoy the pleasures of life less. So once your tuition is paid, forget about the money, and enjoy the special moments and fun times.

"Knowing that something won't last forever can make us appreciate it more. Recognizing that an end is near holds a key to happiness, helping us turn readily available comforts back into treats."

Sometimes it seems to take forever for our children to mature, but truly childhood is a fleeting experience. Children's minds only stay so malleable for a short while. Taking advantage of the music learning window makes such a difference in their lives. At the end of the three years of Let's Play Music (and possibly two years of Sound Beginnings before that), it will seem like the time has flown by!

3. Buy Time:

"What matters most for human well-being: social relationships. People experience the most positive moods of the day while spending time with family and friends. A recent study with a nationally representative sample of Americans revealed that playing with children produced more positive feelings than almost any other common daily activity."

How lucky I am to be able to spend time each week playing with and teaching children! I love that parents get to attend class with their children (twice-a-month during the 1st year, and once-a-month during the 2nd and 3rd years). I always make sure to include parents in the games and activities. I want them to experience as many positive feelings as their children!

Coming to music class and practicing the piano can mean less time in front of the television. "The average American spends the equivalent of two months per year watching television. In many countries, people spend almost as much time watching TV as they do working. If our choices reveal what we like best, TV must be pretty much the most super-terrific thing ever. And yet, study and study shows that people experience less pleasure while watching TV than while engaging in more active forms of leisure, including walking the dog. More than any other activity, television appears responsible for the failure of the U-index (a measure of happiness) to budge over the past four decades. Although people today spend less time doing unpleasant activities such as household chores, television has sucked up much of this newly available time while providing little emotional payoff. In a sample of over one hundred thousand people from thirty-two European counties, individuals who watched more than thirty minutes of television per day were less satisfied with their lives than people who watched TV for under half an hour. Watching the occasional TV show may be genuinely enjoyable, but devoting two months of the year to the tube is too much."

Let's trade TV time for music time! Coming to class, practicing, listening to the CDs, doing the games as a family are all ways to pack some happiness bang for your time and your buck.

"Time and money promote different mind-sets. We view our choices about how to spend time as being deeply connected to our sense of self. In contrast, choices about money often lead us to think in a relatively cold, rational manner. Focusing on time frees people to prioritize happiness and social relationships. For example, potential donors contribute more time and more money to charity when they're first asked about their willingness to donate time. By focusing less on money and more on time, it's easier to use both resources in happier ways."

Think about how spending money on Let's Play Music affects your time. Yes, it's something to add to your schedule, but what would you be doing with that time instead? Probably not something that will bring as much happiness or affect your life as profoundly as the wonders of a music education!

4. Pay Now, Consume Later:

Imagine you are going on a date with your spouse. You hire a babysitter, who gets paid by the hour. As the hours add up you are thinking about how much you will need to pay the babysitter and not really focusing on what you're doing. Then you need to take a taxi ride. Instead of enjoying the sights during the ride, you are thinking the whole time about how long this is taking and how much it will cost.

"Now imagine that you had prepaid for both the taxi and the babysitter the previous week. At the moment you paid, you will still experience the pain of paying. You have to suck it up at some point. But how might prepayment change your evening? When you pay for something, you experience the pain of paying. But how can prepaying for something change your experience?" If you already paid for it then you are free to enjoy the experience and not worry about the money.

"Paying now and consuming later can help us take the long view, turning us into better stewards of our own well-being." When I ask people to start registering for the next semester five months before it starts, I am helping them experience more pleasure later. It's already taken care of, so when they get their registration supplies, it feels free. Some parents pay for the entire semester at once. Not having to worry about it the rest of the semester may increase how much they can enjoy class and the whole Let's Play Music experience. It may seem like a big chunk of money, but once it's done, the peace of mind can be so worth it!

5. Invest in Others:

I will admit that I have been guilty of complaining how much my kids cost me. But did you know that the more we invest in others, the happier we are? "If you've been focusing on trying to make more money, remember that giving some of it away can be just as rewarding as getting more of it."

"The benefits of investing in others don't stop at just making you feel happier. Giving your money away can make you physically healthier, and even make you feel financially wealthier. In a study of more than a thousand older adults, individuals who provide money and other forms of support to both relatives and nonrelatives reported better overall health. This relationship held after taking into account income, mobility, and other variables."

Consider the money you spend on worthwhile activities for your children as money well-spent. Investing in your children benefits you as well as them. It's a win-win!

I hope you can see how buying the experience of music class, making class a treat, having fun with your children during class, paying for class in advance, and investing in your children can truly bring more joy and happiness into you and your family's lives! 

Bye Bye Magic Carpet!

My first year Red Balloons classes are so fun! Look what we did in class this week.

There's "smoke", a magic carpet, a princess, a scary genie, a magical lamp, and another princess.

Here's our scary genie, magic carpet, two princesses, and dancing boy also holding the magical lamp.


What are these dress-ups for? you might ask.

For our "Magical Lamp" Puppet Show! That's our name for it, but the piece is actually called "Aragonnaise" from Carmen by Georges Bizet.

To celebrate our last time performing this fun puppet show, the children got to dress up as the characters and act it out! They loved it, and at the same time they are gaining appreciation for classical form and sharpening their listening skills!

 Tues 4 PM Class

 Tues 5 PM Class

At the end of the song, we hear the magic carpet flying away. "Bye, bye, Magic Carpet!"

The children are excited for a brand new puppet show next week: "Waltz of the Flowers". Yay!

Can you teach talent?

Most people think of talent as an inborn quality that is identifiable at an early age and can be used to predict who is likely to excel. While it is true that some children acquire skills more rapidly than others, there is research in favor of the view that instruction and practice are the keys to developing talent, musically or otherwise.

Here are some examples from "This is Your Brain on Music" by Daniel J. Levitin:

In several studies, the very best conservatory students were found to have practiced the most, sometimes twice as much as those who weren't judged as good.

In another study, students were secretly divided into two groups (not revealed to the students so as not to bias them) based on teachers' evaluations of their ability, or the perception of talent. Several years later, the students who achieved the highest performance ratings were those who had practiced the most, irrespective of which "talent" group they had been assigned to previously. This suggests that practice is the cause of achievement, not merely something correlated with it. It further suggests that talent is a label that we're using in a circular fashion: When we say that someone is talented, we think we mean that they have some innate predisposition to excel, but in the end, we only apply the term retrospectively, after they have made significant achievements.

Doesn't that make you think differently about talent? The musical talent we see in people is really just a result of their dedication to learning.

So what is going on in the brain of someone learning a skill that causes them to get better?

Learning requires the assimilation and consolidation of information in neural tissue. The more experiences we have with something, the stronger the memory/learning trace for that experience becomes. Although people differ in how long it takes them to consolidate information neurally, it remains true that increased practice leads to a greater number of neural traces, which can combine to create a stronger memory representation. The strength of a memory is related to how many times the original stimulus has been experienced.

Memory strength is also a function of how much we care about the experience. Neurochemical tags associated with memories mark them for importance, and we tend to code as important things that carry with them a lot of emotion, either positive or negative.

This explains why I am no good at chess; I don't care about it and I never practice!

So if you want to do well at something, you have to really care about it. Because Let's Play Music classes are so fun and engaging, learning comes naturally. It's really a great combination! I love seeing my students really "get" new concepts, and I can tell when they have practiced during the week.

So can you teach talent! YOU BET!

Free Sample Class on August 13, 5:00 PM

Did you know you can come with your child to SEE and PARTICIPATE in a Let's Play Music class for FREE?

You can, and I promise it will be fun!

So satisfy your curiosity, do something different, and show your child what a great time can be had in RED BALLOON music class at Miss Kristi's studio.

At the sample class you can get all your questions answered, find out more about this amazing curriculum, and just enjoy being with your child.


Save the date:

TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2013
5:00 - 5:45 PM
HAWES/GUADALUPE IN MESA, AZ

RSVP to:

MISS KRISTI 480-313-0428
or CLICK HERE

I accept students ages 4 - 6  in my First Year Let's Play Music classes. Younger children can join a Sound Beginnings music class in the area for great preparation to Let's Play Music and preschool. Find a teacher here. Older children are usually ready for private piano lessons. Please contact me if you would like a referral to a teacher in the area.

(Depending on the number of participants, I may also hold a 4:00 PM Sample Class that same day, so please let me know if that time works better.)

Hope to see you soon!

May There Always be Me

Kim Seyboldt is a Let's Play Music teacher in Colorado. She is also the winner of the Let's Play Music "Through the Eyes of a Child" Essay Contest, which was awarded last month!

I know you are dying to read her touching and well-written Grand Prize essay, so with her permission, I have included it here. Have your tissue box handy and dig in:

May There Always be Me by Kim Seyboldt

Twenty minutes before my parent meeting in August of 2012, I had a pregnant mother, and friend of mine, call me and tell me that there were complications with her unborn daughter and it was going to be too much for their family to participate in LPM and take care of a sick infant. There were a few tears and understanding words shared between us at which point I told her I would be happy to have her 5 yr old son, Carson, participate if something changed.

Sadly, things did change and a week later I attended the funeral of that precious 3 day old daughter.

My friend called me about a week after the funeral and asked if I still had a spot for Carson, which I did. She said she felt as though she needed to keep things as normal as possible for the other children, 5 and 3 years old, after the passing of the baby. Carson is one VERY, VERY active boy who needs an understanding and loving teacher. She thought music class would be a great outlet and learning environment for him.

I asked his mom how he was doing with the death of his little sister and she told me he had never said anything about it. He would act out sometimes but never talked about his sister. They were attending grief counseling where the counselor told them that this was completely normal and he may NEVER talk about it. Young children process differently than adults, but to make sure they always kept the lines of communication open and let him know he could talk about it if he wanted. But not to expect it.

I had him start class on lesson 3 so he would have his mom there with him on his first visit to LPM. I quickly realized that he was going to be a very challenging student. Sitting still and not talking were not his strong points! I sometimes wondered if it was really worth the money being spent. I would often struggle with him walking around, sitting in corners and trying to tell stories, very animated stories, in the middle of my teaching. I would say to him, "I really want to hear that story. Can you remember it and tell me after class?" I would say that to him ... A LOT.

Then came our first time in class talking about a lullaby and listening to/singing 'May There Always be Me.' We rocked as we listened to this song. Carson rocked. He didn't talk. He listened. When I stopped the music he raised his hand. First time ever. I called on him and very excitedly told him, "Thank you for raising your hand!" He said, "That's a song we should sing to my sister." He continued on, "She isn't here anymore. She is in heaven but I think she can still hear us. She died. They put her in a box and sent her to heaven." I was so taken aback. I did not ever expect to hear him talk about the passing of his baby sister. Obviously, this time I let him tell as much of his story as he wanted. "She was sick in my mommy's tummy. The doctor had to take her out. But she was dead. In a box. They put her in a box. It was little. I think me and mommy should sing this song to her at bedtime. It would make her happy. She would like it. I will sing to her." I tried to compose myself and finish class.

I talked with his mom after class and told her what occurred during our lullaby. She was in tears and thanked me over and over for sharing with her and allowing him to share and talk. Up to that point, he still had not said a word about it to anyone. Not once. She was grateful there was an opportunity to get a glimpse into his mind as to what he was feeling and thinking about having a sibling die. The grief counselor prepared her to never expect Carson to speak of it.

Carson had some weeks following that lesson where he would be in tears or would act out. But we worked together. He started answering questions. Correctly. Sometimes yelling out of turn ... but he KNEW HIS STUFF! I can ask him any question today and he will have the right answer. All those weeks of sitting in the corner, wandering around or doing donkey kicks - he was listening. That smart little boy was teasing me and making me think he wasn't paying attention. He was paying attention and music has opened up his world in way I will never be able to understand. A family was strengthened and gained a greater perspective of their 5 year old's life than even a grief counselor could believe. This family was able to better assist their child in healing after the loss of a sister because of what was shared during my LPM class.

I have been teaching LPM for 7 years now. I have seen LPM affect kids and families in so many positive ways throughout the years. However, those 10 minutes during that class listening to Carson's story after singing a lullaby changed me and my outlook on how and why I teach Let's Play Music forever. It reaffirmed to me that music has powers beyond notes and chords. It has strengthened my conviction that every child needs music in their life. And not just for the reasons and benefits we normally think of as music educators. I continue to be impressed with all of my LPM classes, but I especially look forward to seeing what Carson is able to accomplish when he graduates two years from now.

Recital Videos!

My students did a fantastic job showcasing their stuff at our recital earlier this month! They sang, did Solfeg hand signs and other fun actions, played tone bells, and even played keyboards!

Here are videos of the recital for your viewing pleasure. (Thanks to the wonders of editing, they are only about 9 minutes long.) A special thanks to Lana Shumway for doing the videotaping!

Here are the 1st Year "Blue Bug" students:

And now the 2nd Year "Yellow Arrows" students plus the grand finale with all students:


Why not check out Miss Kendra's "Silver Buttons" Sound Beginnings (2-4-yr-old) students, too! Aren't they cute?


Great job, students! Thanks for a great year! I look forward to next year when you get to learn even more!

"Brain Rules" and Let's Play Music

 How brain science relates to learning music

I’ve been a bit of a brain science junkie lately – listening to brain science podcasts, reading brain science books. It’s all so fascinating and often directly applicable to my life. I recently read “Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School” by John Medina. There is all this great brain research going on that we don’t hear about, or if we do hear about, it can get skewed by the media. As the author says in the book, “Unless you have the Journal of Neuroscience sitting on your coffee table, you’re out of the loop. This book is meant to get you into the loop.”

I think there are simple ways to apply his “brain rules” to children learning music. To find out more about “Brain Rules” visit brainrules.net! To find out more about Let’s Play Music visit letsplaymusicsite.com.

Rule #1 Exercise: Exercise boosts brain power (especially aerobic exercise). Studies show that exercise positively affects executive function, spatial tasks, reaction times and quantitative skills.

My take: Children should be physically active to learn better. Before coming to music class, how about encouraging your child to ride a bike around the block or kick around a soccer ball or something else to get the heart pumping? This will prime the brain to be ready to learn. Also, If you’ve ever been in a Let’s Play Music class, then you know we use physical movement a lot: “Johnny’s Haircut” anyone?

Rule #2 Survival: The human brain evolved, too. Our ability to understand each other is a chief survival tool. Relationships help us survive in the jungle and are critical to surviving at work and school today.

My take: Building good relationships with my students is worth the effort. I really come to love these children who I get to teach and have fun with each week. I want each of them to feel understood and be motivated to cooperate.

Rule #3 Wiring: Every brain is wired differently. Any experience you have creates new wiring in your brain. And no two people have the exact same experiences. Regions of the brain develop at different rates in different people.

My take: We can’t expect each child to learn music in the same way and at the same pace. We can make sure to celebrate their efforts and help children feel good about working towards a goal. It’s okay if every student doesn’t master a song or concept at the same time, as long as they are all making progress and trying.

Rules #4 Attention: We don’t pay attention to boring things. The 10-minute attention span: after an amount of time disappointing to teachers everywhere, audience attention drop precipitously. You must do something emotionally relevant at each 10-minute mark to regain attention.

My take: This is where the Let’s Play Music curriculum really excels. It takes into account the attention span of children by making activities interesting and physically moving around frequently, including having two learning spaces that we move back and forth between. We move quickly between activities, sing lots of fun songs, use actions to reinforce what we’re learning, use manipulatives, and engage each child in ways suited to their level. It’s fun for the teachers, students and even parents!

Rule #5 Short-term Memory: Repeat to remember. The human brain can only hold about seven pieces of information for less than 30 seconds! If you want to extend the 30 seconds to a few minutes or even an hour or two, you will need to consistently re-expose yourself to the information. Memories are so volatile that you have to repeat to remember. Improve your memory by elaborately encoding it during its initial moments.

My take: Let’s Play Music’s approach is brilliant in elaborately encoding information through full-body involvement, stories, music and games. Help your child remember even better by repeating the newest concepts at home.

Rule #6 Long-term Memory: Remember to repeat. It takes years to consolidate a memory. Not minutes, hours, or days but years. What you learn in first grade is not completely formed until your sophomore year in high school. How do you remember better? Repeated exposure to information / in specifically timed intervals / provides the most powerful way to fix memory into the brain. That interval seems to be 90-120 minutes after the initial learning occurred.

My take: Keep taking some kind of music lessons, so your child’s brain doesn’t think it’s okay to forget! When trying to remember the note names on the keyboard or staff or learning other concepts, practice them, then repeat after 90-120 minutes to increase retention of information.

Rule #7 Sleep: Sleep well, think well. Healthy sleep can indeed boost learning significantly. When we’re asleep, the brain is not resting at all. It is almost unbelievably active! It’s possible that the reason we need to sleep is so that we can learn. Also, napping is normal.

My take: Make sure your child is getting enough sleep. If a piece of music seems too challenging, practice as best you can, then sleep on it. While you’re sleeping, the brain is reinforcing the connections it made during the day. It will be easier the next day. Promise!

Rule #8 Stress: Stressed brains don’t learn the same way. Your brain is built to deal with stress that lasts about 30 seconds. The brain is not designed for long term stress when you feel like you have no control. Stress damages virtually every kind of cognition that exists. It damages memory and executive function. It can hurt your motor skills. The emotional stability of the home is the single greatest predictor of academic success. If you want your kid to get into Harvard, go home and love your spouse.

My take: As a teacher, I do not have control over the most significant factor in learning: the emotional stability of the home the child lives in. As parents, we have a greater influence than we may think in how our children learn. Let’s help our homes be happy places, free from conflict!

Rule #9 Sensory Integration: Stimulate more of the senses. Those in multisensory environments always do better than those in unisensory environments. They have more recall with better resolution that lasts longer, evident even 20 years later.

My take: Let’s Play Music utilizes so many of the senses in learning, it’s awesome! But how do I incorporate smell? I’ll have to think about that one.

Rule #10 Vision: Vision trumps all other senses. We are incredible at remembering pictures. Hear a piece of information, and three days later you'll remember 10% of it. Add a picture and you'll remember 65%.

My take: Let’s Play Music has so many great visuals, which is one of the reasons the students are able to learn advanced musical concepts at a young age. Parents can use visuals at home, too. Check out the ones in the Student Manual.

Rule #11 Gender: Male and female brains are different. Areas of the brain are bigger or smaller depending on gender. Whether this translates into behavior, we really don’t know.

My take: We may have different brains, but both males and females can learn to sing and play musical instruments. Music is for everyone!

Rule #12 Exploration: We are powerful and natural explorers. The desire to explore never leaves us despite the classrooms and cubicles we are stuffed into. Babies are the model of how we learn—not by passive reaction to the environment but by active testing through observation, hypothesis, experiment, and conclusion. Babies methodically do experiments on objects, for example, to see what they will do.

My take: Let’s Play Music utilizes children’s natural tendency toward exploration, including their preference for moving objects, strong facility for imitation, and ability to categorize. I also try to guide children in figuring out concepts themselves, instead of just telling them the answer.

As you can see, these brain rules apply directly to learning music and to our lives overall. Understanding how our brains work means we can work with our brains, instead of against them. You gotta love brain science!