From the Music Department
SAVE THE DATE! 2024 Music Camp
All Year 7 to 12 musicians in co-curricular ensembles, as well as those interested in joining an ensemble in 2024, are invited to attend our 2024 Music Camp from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th April, at the Y Camp, Yarramundi.
Departing Friday morning and returning Sunday early evening, we have a long weekend of music and fun planned at the Y Camp in Yarramundi. More details and expressions of interest will be available in Week 5.
The Importance of Music
– from Andrew Rumsey, Head of Education Partnerships at Kawai Australia.
Our brain is hard-wired for music in the same way that it is hard-wired for language and a large body of research now makes clear that few, if any, activities will reliably engage the brain more wholly than learning, making, and even listening to music.
“Musical activity involves nearly every region of the brain that we know about, and nearly every neural subsystem” Daniel Levitin, This is Your Brain on Music, p.299.
Why children should learn a musical instrument?
Attention and working memory
Musically trained children perform better at attention and memory recall, have greater activation in brain regions related to attention control and auditory encoding, executive functions known to be associated with improved reading, higher resilience, greater creativity, and a better quality of life. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2020
Linguistic development
It has been shown that regular music play for 5- to 6-year-old children has a positive effect on the development of children’s vocabulary skills and processing of phonemes. Nature 2018
Reading ability
Children who learned to play the piano exhibited enhanced verbal sequencing and vocabulary ability, compared to children who did not undergo any type of music tuition. Sage Journal Psychology of Music 2009
Writing and reading skills
A study conducted with over 13,000 high school students showed that those who participated in music training scored higher in English than those who did not. NAMM Foundation 2005
Performance in science, mathematics, and English
High school students who took music courses scored significantly higher in Maths, science, and English exams compared to their non-musical peers, according to this study. The findings suggest that multi-year engagement in music, especially instrumental music, may benefit high school academic achievement. APA PsycNet 2020
Self-esteem
This study published found that playing the piano weekly for three years increased the self-esteem of students compared to those that received no music instruction. 2004 Sage
Social skills
This study showed that children who received music lessons showed more prosocial behaviours (helping, sharing, and cooperating) than the control group. PLOS 2015
We now know that learning music leads to lasting changes in children’s brains, enhancing a wide range of important cognitive, social, and other skills. Parents can be more confident than ever that an investment in music lessons will deliver lifelong benefits for their child.
Music Theatre Excursion
Last week Stage 5 and 6 elective students attended the matinee performance of the smash hit musical ‘Wicked’ at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. ‘Wicked’ has returned to Australia this year to mark the show’s 20th anniversary on Broadway. All students enjoyed the highly entertaining performance as well as the opportunity to attend a professional production.
Presentation Day
All music ensembles are currently rehearsing repertoire for Presentation Day performances on Wednesday 6th December. Students are expected to attend all rehearsals in Term 4. Please inform the relevant staff member in advance if you are unable to attend.
Diary Dates
Saturday, 11th November: Remembrance Day Service, 10am, Wentworth Falls cenotaph
Friday, 24th November: Music for Dr Marshall Art & Design Awards, 5.30pm
Wednesday, 6th December: Senior School Presentation Day, 1:00pm
2024 Music Camp: 5-7 April, 2024, The Y Camp, Yarramundi
Mrs Debbie Smith
Head of Music