NAMM Foundation Articles & News

  • FOCUS ON ADVOCACY: Wanna Play Music Like Our American Presidents Did?

    Beyond the rigor and relevance of teaching to the national music education standards, the tangible evidence of all that is learned in our classrooms is an incredible tool for showing why music is an interdisciplinary essential in American education. Making connections to 21st Century Skills and Common Core Standards aligns teaching across the curriculum through a musical lens. Finding creative ways to make this evident is key, and involving students in making a Presidential Podcast focused on music is both innovative and fun.

  • FOCUS ON ADVOCACY: The Power and Influence of Music Parents

    Parents of music students play many important roles. Two parents -- Scott McCormick (CEO of the National Association of Music Parents) and Hiram Jackson (a frequent contributor to the SupportMusic Facebook page) -- offer ways to motivate greater parental involvement. You’ll also find links to helpful books by Dr. John Benham and David Vandewalker, and resources from SupportMusic and NAfME (formerly MENC).

  • FOCUS ON ISSUES & DECISIONMAKING: An Overview of “Tips for Success: A HELPFUL Guide for Instrumental Music Teachers”

    Tips for Success: A Guide for Instrumental Music Teachers (newly revised by the Music Achievement Council) collects invaluable secrets and advice from leading music educators. It helps make music teachers’ jobs easier because it covers many topics neglected in formal teacher education programs.

  • Music Lessons as Child May Keep Aging Minds Sharp

    Learning to play a musical instrument as a child may help keep the mind sharp for years after the last note is played.

  • Childhood Music Lessons Keep Aging Brain In Tune

    A new study finds that older adults with musical experience perform better on some cognitive tests than those who had never studied music. With only 70 participants, the study was small, but the results match those from other studies of challenging tasks, including findings that learning a second language protects against dementia.

  • 2010-2011 Program Grant Recipients

    NAMM Foundation supports innovative community-based music learning programs that allow more people the opportunity to experience the proven benefits of active music making.

  • FOCUS ON ADVOCACY: The Power of Persistence – Building Community Support for Music Education

    For the past 11 years, I have been the music supervisor for Loudoun County Public Schools in Northern Virginia. I also serve as the Stonewall District representative to the Frederick County, Virginia school board, a position I have held for four years.

  • FOCUS ON STUDENTS: Student Essay Contest Winners Pay Tribute to Influential Music Teachers

    We will do well to listen to what teens tell us about music as a common need and a constant presence in their lives. Music is their social glue – a bridge for building acceptance and tolerance for people of different ages and cultural circumstances. –- Patricia Shehan Campbell, Ph.D., NAMM Foundation “Sounds of Learning” research study, 2008

  • FOCUS ON ADVOCACY: Are You Using Social Media Yet to Support Music Education?

    Music educators and advocates everywhere are wisely taking advantage of the many opportunities to learn from and connect with each other through social media. Educational social media is not a new phenomenon, but rather something that has “newly” bloomed into an incredibly organized set of resources. Social media networks offer another way to deepen and share the impact of quality music programs on students everywhere.

  • FOCUS ON ISSUES & DECISIONMAKING: Statewide Partnership Model to Upgrade K-16 Music Education is Underway in WV

    Despite diminishing budgets, school districts nationwide are under extreme pressure to produce results on narrowly focused standardized tests. And yes, attempts to push the arts out of schools are occurring. But even under these difficult circumstances, school districts that choose to prioritize the arts for their students are able to offer, build and grow these programs.

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