Music Warms The Heart
Whenever I run into former students (in real life or on Facebook :o) ), they always seem to want to talk about (or sing!) the music that they remember from class. Tomorrow I take my seniors to see Justo Lamas in concert (www.justolamas.com) and I am reminded again of how powerful music and lyrics are in the classroom.
It is more than just the rhythm and rhyme. It is more than just the gestures we use as we sing along. I think that humans (perhaps all living things) have a natural affinity for music. Our cells sing when we hear it. The more we hear it, the happier our cells are. Even songs that we may not love at first, grow on us after a while....and we find ourselves humming them or singing them when we least expect it.
There is a memory path for music that lights up certain areas of our brain like no other element. Those who have studied brain research sometimes criticize the connection between language acquisition and music, since the left side of the brain seems to control language and the right side our musical abilities. But I don't think so. I think that music allows language to cross-over in a way that connects words and emotions.
So whether you sing for endings, sing for definitions, sing for structures, sing for culture, sing for acquisition or sing for the heck of it....keep singing. Or listening...whichever you prefer!!
with love,
Laurie
It is more than just the rhythm and rhyme. It is more than just the gestures we use as we sing along. I think that humans (perhaps all living things) have a natural affinity for music. Our cells sing when we hear it. The more we hear it, the happier our cells are. Even songs that we may not love at first, grow on us after a while....and we find ourselves humming them or singing them when we least expect it.
There is a memory path for music that lights up certain areas of our brain like no other element. Those who have studied brain research sometimes criticize the connection between language acquisition and music, since the left side of the brain seems to control language and the right side our musical abilities. But I don't think so. I think that music allows language to cross-over in a way that connects words and emotions.
So whether you sing for endings, sing for definitions, sing for structures, sing for culture, sing for acquisition or sing for the heck of it....keep singing. Or listening...whichever you prefer!!
with love,
Laurie
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