The DLP Music Initiative

For those of you new to QR codes - this is similar to bar code technology.  By using a 'scanning app' such as Kaywa or Mobile Tag on your handheld or cell phone, the image will send you to a selected URL.

The QR code on the left will send you to a letter from the President of The Dallas School of Music about a new initiative that can make music education available to students whose programs are currently dwindling or being cut altogether. 

We are excited about this initiative and look forward to your support in spreading the word!

If you are a more traditional techie - CLICK HERE to read the letter!  And please feel free to send this image or link along to your school superintendent or arts administrator. 

Together we can make a difference!

Where Are They Now?

Alison in front of the Temple of Heaven, Beijing 2010

It's hard to believe it, but DSM will be celebrating 20 years in 2012.  Over that time we have worked with literally thousands of students from all over the DFW metroplex.  Many have become friends and some even consider us part of their extended families. In recent years we began seeing sons and daughters of former students which means - we're getting really old! It has been an incredible journey.

As we embark on a new 'global' phase of the school with MusickEd.com and Discover, Learn, and Play, we thought we'd take a look back and catch up with a few students to see what they were up to and ask what they remember about their time at DSM.  

Alison Goh studied both piano and cello at DSM. It was great to hear from her and see how she has grown - thanks for sharing Alison!

Is there anything in particular that you remember about DSM? Any specific event, or occurrence? 

I remember feeling like DSM was more than just a place that I went for music lessons, it also had a good community of teachers that were willing to listen about anything (from issues at school, to sibling fights and even regrettable 90s popstar crushes!).  How Mr. Finkel and Mr. Feltner ever put up with that, I might never know.  Deepest apologies from my present self.  

Tell us what you're doing now and what your plans are for the next year or so.

I currently live in Washington DC working as a Communications Associate at EZGSA, a government consulting firm. After I graduated from college, I taught English to college students in China for a year and upon return to the US, went to Rhode Island to work to elect Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI).   Up until three weeks ago I've been living out of a suitcase for a total of 16 months so I plan on staying in DC for a little while.  I enjoyed working on the campaign trail a lot and am excited for 2012!

Is music part of your everyday life?

I listen to a lot of music and spend a lot of time discovering new bands, seeing live music, and talking about new artists/tracks/jams/albums.  My appreciation and love of music has definitely evolved into finding new music and developing my musical tastes (and spending too much money on concert tickets). 

Sadly, my parents have custody of my cello right now, since I moved apartments and countries too often in the past 3 years, so I haven't gotten to play lately.

Thanks Alison and happy travels!  Be sure to stop in and say hello if you get back to Dallas - we'd love to see you.

Click here for more pictures.

1 Day in 3 Minutes and 40 Seconds

We hope you enjoy this video.  It's a montage of pictures taken in chronological order on Tuesday, February 22, 2011.  It shows an average day on campus at The Dallas School of Music and MusickEd.com. It begins with the drive in around 11AM and ends with a dark lobby at 9PM.  The original music was written by our resident composer Mike Finkel and is part of the forthcoming Jazz Series.

Pictures:

1, 2 and 3 The commute in lasts about 10 minutes.  This was a particularly nice day.


4 and 5  Our welcome sign and a portion of the lobby.

6,7,8 and 9 - we crank up computers and monitor site traffic (UK in the house!), tweet a little, create QR codes, and record music on the PC.

10 and 11 - Mr. Finkel at the keyboard and visiting Mr. Feltner for some yucks.

12 The 'phone guy' comes to check our system. Hasn't been right since the ice storm.

13, 14 and 15 Mr. Feltner and the big cheese (Dr. Bob Lawrence) in a meeting of the minds. More faculty arrive; Dr. Norm Wick and Dr. Chiaki Hanafusa. That's a bunch of sheepskins!

16 - 76 Students arrive during the after school rush and our lobby fills up with families. By 5PM adult students begin trickling in and lessons carry on into the evening. Some of these shots include students from Korea who have been studying with us this semester - sadly, this is their final week. They'll be missed.

Travel well = 잘 여행  = jal yeohaeng!

77-92 At 9PM we make the rounds and close things down. All goes quiet in the concert hall and recording studio. Don Curtis (in the red matted frame) watches over things each night like an angel. All is tidy and the lights are shut down.  We're ready to start all over again tomorrow!

Click here to view the video.

The Future of Music Education? BRIGHT!

"Walking to the Sky" by Jonathan Borofsky 
Nasher Sculpture Garden
Dallas, TX

-Never before in history have we had such a wealth of information available at our fingertips.

Amongst all the doom and gloom there are reasons to be optimistic about the future of music education...if you know where to look.  Here's why we think so.

Technology and Information Delivery

What an exciting time we live in!  I choose the news I want to read before even getting out of bed in the morning.  My HTC phone has the web and my bookmarked sports pages are a simple click away.  And it's usually just moments after the alarm clock goes off.

Never before in history have we had such a wealth of information available at our fingertips.  Some estimates say that Google has indexed over a trillion web pages and receives several hundred million queries each day through its various services. This is how people are accessing their information and with the increase in popularity of hand-held devices, they are getting it when and where they want.  The internet is ideal for relaying information and both teaching and learning music is perfectly suited for this medium.

-Future music educators are going to question the norm and

we'll be a stronger profession for it.

The Feisty Spirit and Creativity of Future Teachers

Our future teachers are products of a connected community.  They expect their favorite restaurants, apparel lines, or yogurt shops to have websites and facebook pages. They want to know what the latest developments are and they want to feel in some way 'familiar' with their chosen brands. Likewise, these folks are not going to settle for 'business as usual'  in their vocations; whether it be music education or micro-economics, all disciplines are changing right under our feet. 

When I was at the University of Hartford's Hartt School of Music, I had a chance to see Bruce Springsteen, 6th row - Hartford Civic Center, (not admitting the year!).  Let me tell you, this is like hitting the lottery for a kid from south Jersey. However, the concert conflicted with a 'mandatory' saxophone quartet recital scheduled for the same evening.  

To me this was a no-brainer; play the concert like a good student, not letting down the other members of the quartet , or skip out and have a once in a lifetime chance to get this close to Bruce and the Big Man.  No problem, Bruce played for 4 and half hours including the solo to Badlands on the chair in front of us, and Clarence was spot-on during his solo on Jungleland.  I still have no idea how the saxophone trio fared that evening. 

The point is, I, like many college students, have no fear of breaking or at least questioning rules and norms that we deem to be suspect. Right or wrong, this spirit is inherent in all of us and it's most likely not going away. I have faith that future music educators are going to question the norm and we'll be a stronger profession for it.

-It's up to us to produce quality materials that meet the growing demand 

and expectations of learners everywhere.

Expectations of Learners

Where do you go to find a new place to eat in your area? Where do you find out how to make a meal with what's leftover in the fridge, or get help with a minor medical issue? The web? Me too, I love me some Google. 

Music learners (and by that I mean ALL music makers, not just 12 to 18 year-olds) are increasingly turning to the web for help. They're using YouTube and sites like Discover, Learn and Play  to get the information they want and accessing it on their terms. Traditional methods of teaching and learning are being questioned and we're finding that there is indeed more than one way to 'skin a cat'. It's up to us as a profession to embrace new methods and produce quality materials to meet the growing demand and expectations of learners everywhere.

-people of all ages and talent levels are discovering the fun 

and proven benefits of playing music.

The Market for our Product
Have you seen the stats regarding music industry revenue lately? These numbers reflect sales from record labels, music publishers, recording artists, performing artists, composers, concert venues and merchandise companies; includes revenues from sales of physical recordings, digital music services (online and mobile), music publishing and live music. Here they are:

2006 ($60.7 billion), 2007 ($61.5 billion), 2008 ($62.6 billion), 2009 ($65.0 billion), 2010 ($66.4 billion), 2011 ($67.6 billion)

That's a whole lot of interest in what we do boys and girls! This years NAMM show had the largest turn out in its103 year history and prompted this from Joe Lamond, president and CEO:  "I believe that we are now on a path of recovery and future growth as more people of all ages and talent levels discover the fun and proven benefits of playing music."

Yes, the future is bright. And we look forward to getting there!

Using Music as Therapy - A Growing Trend

The prescription (pictured) is real and was written for DSM/MusickEd student Toni Vogel. You might remember Toni from our May 2010 blog Music Plays a Role in MS Patients' Recovery.  She has become an ambassador of sorts for the power of music, for what it has done in her life, and how it has affected those around her. "The sphere of influence is huge" she says, "my immediate family members have noticed a change, but so have friends, members of my support group, and most importantly, my doctors."

This prescription represents a big step toward bringing awareness of music therapy options to doctors, patients, and organizations like the MS Society and their support groups. Toni hopes that she can pave the way for other MS patients interested in using music to better their condition, and we're  thinking she will be quite successful.

Music as therapy is a growing field that according to the American Music Therapy Association is "the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship..."

Friend of MusickEd Kimberly S. Moore (aka the Music Therapy Maven) tells me that music therapy "is typically divided into 4 'types' of music experiences: performing, composing, improvising, and listening with learning being a part of performing. In simpler terms: playing, writing, improvising, and listening."

-we all know that music holds special powers...

Music therapies can be designed to promote wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, express feelings, enhance memory, improve communication, and promote physical rehabilitation. Research in music therapy supports its effectiveness in a wide variety of health-care and educational settings. Check out this video from our friend Rachel Rambach a certified music therapist on how she uses music as therapy in her home studio.  Her original songs have helped autistic children more easily communicate, both in and out of the studio.

We've experienced first-hand the power of music via lessons on campus at DSM and again with Kore Series users online.  In the past 20 years we have seen music and music education; play a vital role in the recovery process from traumatic injuries, used in the maintenance of debilitating diseases such as MS, and even prescribed to help ease the effects of asthma.

Interestingly enough, many of our "healthy" students admit that time spent 'musicking' is the highlight of their week and a welcome reprieve from life's daily challenges. But we're preaching to the choir I'm sure - we all know that music holds special powers, that's why we're here!