...Storytelling is fundamental to the human experience. The greatest storytellers from Shakespeare to Dr. Seuss are credited with crafting profound works that capture the human essence. Yet these wordsmiths readily agree that words are incapable of fully expressing the entire spectrum of the human condition. However, I believe that music picks up where words leave off. Even before I learned to speak English, I learned the language of music. So, while other kids studied the twenty-six letters that made up the alphabet, mine comprised of seven letters repeated across ivory and ebony keys. Beginning piano lessons in early childhood allowed me to concentrate on the various combinations and applications of these seven notes. Equipped with restless vigor, a beaming grin, and a pair of Skechers Light-up Sneakers, I would excitedly illuminate the hallway leading to my piano teacher’s room every week. This insatiable zeal would extend into the lesson as my teacher frantically struggled to keep me sitting still. However, when I did play, energy would exuberantly radiated from my fingers into the keys as I would unapologetically bang out a crude rendition of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” complete with unintentional accidentals and miscellaneous passing notes. Although I was certainly lacking technical proficiency, my teacher always told me that nothing would replace...
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...The Effect of Music on Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition This Document Originally Appeared in NATIONAL NETWORK FOR EARLY LANGUAGE LEARNING Volume 6, Number 3 Spring 1993 Suzanne L. Medina, Ph.D. School of Education Graduate Education Department California State University, Dominguez Hills 1000 East Victoria Street Carson, CA 90747 Fax: (310) 514-0396 E-mail: smedina@forefrontpublishers.com It is currently a common practice to use songs in the classroom to support second language acquisition. The literature abounds with positive statements concerning music as a vehicle for first and second language acquisition. At the same time, empirical support for music as a vehicle for second language acquisition is lacking and there is concern that music may be simply a supplemental activity with little instructional value. In this study, the effect of music on the acquisition of English vocabulary in a group of second grade limited-English proficient children is reported. Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition In recent years, second language researchers have concerned themselves with the acquisition of vocabulary and have distinguished between vocabulary that is acquired incidentally and vocabulary that is acquired intentionally. During the preschool years, children rely exclusively on the oral language they listen to in order to acquire their first language. This acquisition of language takes place before children can read and without explicit instruction of any...
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...Comparing Music and Literacy Approaches for Late Talker Language Acquisition Chelsea Clock Bell, MA, CFY-SLP Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, Grand Rapids, MI *Research Completed at University of Northern Iowa Purpose To investigate the effects of a music-based speech and language therapy approach on late talking toddlers and compare with a literacy-based speech and language therapy approach. Research Questions Do sung lyrics in speech and language intervention promote growth of expressive vocabulary in toddlers who are late talking? Does literacy-based speech and language intervention promote growth of expressive vocabulary in toddlers who are late talking? Does a speech and language therapy approach integrating sung lyrics promote a greater increase in growth of expressive vocabulary in toddlers who are late talking compared to a literacy-based speech and language therapy approach? Literature Review Identification of late talkers is difficult due to: large variability in the rate of development, the fact that many late talkers outgrow their delay (Rescorla et al., 1997; Thal et al., 1997), & lack of efficient standardized methods (Fenson et al., 1993; Rescorla, 1989; Robertson & Ellis Weismer, 1999; Tyler & Tolbert, 2002). Previous research attempts to pinpoint predictor variables (Rescorla et al., 1997; Robertson & Ellis Weismer, 1999; Williams & Elbert, 2003), however inconsistent results. Limited literature regarding music intervention for late talkers; however, it...
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...African Music The art that derives from our sense of hearing is music. The basic elements of music are sound and silence. Music has many purposes within all societies. Most music performed by Africans is part of a social activity and is viewed as a sharing experience for everyone. African music is generally classified into two main style areas, which are Arab North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. There are many unique regional music styles, including a immense influence from the Islamic faith which extends across the savanna Within African music, there are many types of percussion instruments, including the drums, clap-sticks, bells, rattles, slit gongs, struck gourds and clay pots, stamping tubes, and xylophones. There are two basic types of xylophone. The frame xylophones, in which the keys are attached to a frame. The lamellaphone, which is also known as the thumb piano, is found throughout the continent of Africa. The mbira, kalimba, and likembe, are a series of metal or bamboo strips mounted on a board or box. African drums come in many shapes and sizes. Wood, pans, and pottery are used to construct drum bodies. The membranes are usually made from animal skins. There are many types of African drums which range from drum-chimes, friction drums, and the African wind instruments include flutes, whistles, oboes, and trumpets. Panpipe ensembles are seen in Central Africa, and globular flutes made...
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...Benefit of Music Introduction Music can make someone feel sad, happy, angry, and other types emotions. Not only can music effect someone’s mood, but it can also be very beneficial to early brain development, autobiographical memory of Alzheimer patients, and language development. To provide you with more facts about music and its beneficial impact on the human brain, I found five sources that provided more facts and studies that prove the benefits of using music in everyday life and for educational purpose. I found research on the impact of music on brain development by using the scholarly writing found in Mohave Community College’s database. The purpose for this paper is to educate my readers on the positive effects music can have on...
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...What effects does rap have on teen’s language and behavior? Rap is a popular type of music in today’s society. Rap is influenced and inspired by other types of music. Its influences are closely related to each other. Rap music has derived from various types of music. In a world in which people are constantly confronted with violent acts such as rape, assault, murder, school shootings, and other violence. Rap has many different effects on teen’s language and behavior. Some negative some positive. When most people think of rap music today they immediately think of the gangster mentality, drug dealing, fighting, smoking, and killing. Rap paints a picture to a child of what is going on in the streets. It has a much bigger influence on teens because children who live in poverty strictened areas already have an idea of what that life is really like. Lots of times it comes down to children wanting to be considered "cool". If you are a teenager, being cool probably is a top priority to you. Lots of times you will find that teens are relating with one particular emotion that is expressed in the music. Some teens feel that way because their parents don’t take the time out to listen to them or the problems they have. When parents connect with their teen, it makes them feel complete and they will normally begin to open up more to their parents. Many teens feel like rap and hip-hop relates to their life or lifestyle. As a teen some music I listen to does relate to part of the way people live...
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...Lyric Censorship: Language is Power Words create powerful emotions in all of us. They are used to express our feelings, thoughts and ideas, as well as communicate with one another. There are countless examples in history where we see language equating power. Within those examples we see people in the position of power, using this power of language to degrade their enemies and those they consider beneath them, and shape language in their favor. Music ties into language completely. The words of song lyrics convey powerful messages. As language is power, those in control seek to repress the power of this language in music, attempting to keep the power in their favor. But this attempt at censorship only gives those words even more influence and any attempt to infringe our right to free speech should be fought for to prevent its loss. The censorship of lyrics has occurred globally and can be dated back as far as music and poetry can be traced. Let’s take Asia as an example. Under the ruling of the Taliban in Afghanistan, music became a crime (Korpe, 2004). Instruments were burned, and people were severely punished for singing or creating any kind of music that was not deemed acceptable by the government. In Kabal, President Rabbani went as far as to create an Office for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which was used to regulate the lyric of song in the favor of the government, and punish those who spoke ill towards those in power. In Pakistan...
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...Effect of Classical Music on the Reading Comprehension of Iranian Students Nasser Rashidi Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran Email: Nrashidi@rose.shirazu.ac.ir Farman Faham Shiraz University, Iran Abstract—The influence of music on language learning and performance has been the subject of study for many years. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of classical music (Mozart Sonata) on the reading comprehension performance of two groups of Iranian students in an English institute in Iran. To this end, the study compared two groups of Iranian English students (N=60) over a period of three months: one was taught reading comprehension with a music background and the other with no music background whatsoever. The results of the study showed a significant difference between the performance of the group exposed to music and the performance of the other group not exposed to music. The group taught reading comprehension with a music background outperformed the other taught it with no music background. Index Terms—reading comprehension, music, background music, classical music, Mozart sonata I. INTRODUCTION The use of music as a tool by language teachers to teach foreign languages has been the center of attention to researchers for many years. That is why in the literature we can see different, but mostly positive comments concerning the effectiveness of music in language learning and performance. It has been stated that music can contribute to acquiring...
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...The Magic of Music From cheap, plastic recorders to a full fledged band, music is typically within a student’s life from elementary school to high school. However, in recent years, there has been a steady decrease in the amount of funding schools are allotting for their music programs. This is partly due to the fact that schools in general are suffering from budget cuts, but the trend seems to be to cut the music programs first. Music education plays a significant role in a student’s life. The music programs in schools should not be cut because music can help improve cognitive development, help students earn higher test scores in all their subjects, and keep students interested in staying in school. Music has been scientifically proven to boost cognitive development along with other mental benefits in...
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...1- What do ethnomusicologists mean when they say, “Music is universal, but it is not a universal language”? Music is universal but it is not a language even though both are made of symbols. Language is made of symbols with assigned meaning whereas music is made of symbols that are neutral are open to the listeners perception to assign their meaning. Also, it is debatable if music can transcend language barriers. 2- What are the potential problems in classifying music as “classical,” “folk”, or “popular”? Generally music is related to class instead of being nuetral. No better or no worse. 3- How might an ethnomusicologist approach the study of Western classical music differently from a musicologist? Ethnomusicologists not only study the music but how that music effects its audiences in a certain culture. Whereas, a musicologist studies music as a whole. An ethnomusicologist would study western classical musics effect on the western world. A musicologist would just study the music as it is. 4- What is “fieldwork”? What is its importance to the study of world music? Fieldwork is the recording of music using various methods including a cyclinder, disk, wire, and a magnetic acetate tape. The importance of this is that we can record the music we hear for further analysis. 5- In what ways does world music study require an interdisciplinary approach? The world music study requires an interdisciplinary approach because music needs to be looked at and studied through different...
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...The importance of music in learning is often underestimated. I remember growing up in a household were music was played at all times, but once homework time came around, all music was stopped. My parents strongly believed that in order to learn best, there had to be absolute silence. I always thought otherwise, and I was right. Music is phenomenal in motivating creativity in children, helps improve cognitive and language skills, and most importantly helps boost their confidence and self-esteem. Music brings the creative side of people out. Think about it, songs, raps, even art are inspired by music. It opens up your imagination, and it makes you do beautiful things. I believe this to be true. I am really into art, and I like to paint. My best paintings have been those were I turn on my music, and just let the music lead. My paintings often express the mood I was in while listening to a certain song. Music also helps improve language and cognitive skills. A perfect example of this was the Gabby Gifford’s case, she found language through music therapy after a horrible injury. She started singing the words that she could not speak, because it was so much easier for her. It mentioned in the video that language in the brain is only located in the left part of the hemisphere, whereas music is located in both. This makes it so much easier for language to not be fully affected. Movement that music provides also helps children in helping recognize shapes, numbers or letters, and always...
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...Music is a form of media that is utilized in everyday life. There is a huge variety of genres of music. Each genre of music can be used to influence a certain mood. In many areas a person can walk into, there is a high possibility that music will be playing. Due to music’s relevance to everyday life, there has been a multitude of research based on whether music is a distraction to people. A distraction in most research would be shown as lower results in tests for groups who listened to background music compared to those who did not listen to background music while being tested. Background music is music that participants listen to while he or she is given a task to complete. The purpose of this paper is to see what the benefits and drawbacks...
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...in Popular Music:1 Prof. Francis Amora Music of the Philippines: Traditional music:Main article: Filipino folk music Philippine gong music can be divided into two types: the flat gong commonly known as gangsa and played by the groups in the Cordillera region of the bossed gongs played among the Islam and animist groups in the Southern Philippines. Kulintang refers to a racked gong chime instrument played in the southern islands of the Philippines, along with its varied accompanying ensembles. Different groups have different ways of playing the kulintang. Two major groups seem to stand-out in kulintang music. These are the Maguindanaon and the Maranaw. The kulintang instrument itself could be traced to either the introduction of gongs to Southeast Asia from China from before the 10th century CE, or more likely, to the introduction of bossed gong chimes from Java in the 15th century. Nevertheless the kulintang ensemble is the most advanced form of music from before the late 16th century and the legacy of hispanization in the Philippine archipelago. The tradition of kulintang ensemble music itself is a regional one, predating the establishing of borders between the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. It transcends religion, with animist and Christian ethnic groups in Borneo, Flores and Sulawesi playing kulintangan; and Muslim groups playing the same genre of music in Mindanao, Palawan and the Sulu archipelago. It is distantly related to the Gamelan music orchestras of...
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...confine itself to music and expands itself to influence beautiful art pieces––such as paintings, poems, novels and essays––that intellectuals represent themselves in. Is that truly what jazz is? Not really, as it is a culture that has more than one identity, as well as, more than one definition. Describe jazz Jazz culture consists of different types of art, but they have many elements in common. Jazz music is truly innovative; the whole existence of jazz defies traditional music structure and attempts to create art out of improvised pieces. Narrate your experience of jazz I do not have much experience with Jazz. The first time I was introduced to jazz music was in middle school, when a friend of mine kept bugging me to listen to a “cool music” he had found. At first, I was surprised by the musical composition. It was a chaotic and disorganized piece of music that felt somewhat soothing. In the music, there were different instruments that, at first sounded like they were attacking each other, but soon felt like they were...
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...The Evolution of Language ENG/380 The Evolution of Language English is the most widely used language in the world. The British Council (2014) estimates that 750 million people speak English as a second language. English terms such as dude and rock and roll have morphed multiple times in their history. Language is a living entity that evolves to adapt to the various cultural components of the times. It is not linguistically optimal, but the international spread of the English language is feasible due to politics, culture, and the economics of English-speaking countries. The word dude has adopted many meanings and uses in the last two centuries and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers a large range of definitions. In the 1800s, dude was used to ridicule a stylishly dressed man who behaved as if he thought highly of himself. It was later used to describe a man from the civilized eastern region of America who believed he could fit in within the rough western territory. Dude ranches were devised as tourist attractions to lure city slickers to the often romanticized West. The word was often used in mocking to describe people who were out of place in their environment. In the 20th century the meaning shifted from one of parody to a more causal meaning used to imply casual relationships between heterosexual males. It implied camaraderie and brotherhood without any intimacy. This form of meaning began with African Americans and later permeated other communities. In the...
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