Music lessons for kids this summer

Summer is here and parents are looking for ways to keep their kids entertained, engaged and learning.When our children were younger, we comforted them with lullabies and entertained them with nursery rhymes and songs. We shouldn’t stop there. Ideally, we should encourage them to learn how to play a musical instrument may be enroll children in music lessons over the summer.

Music helps develop our children’s creativity, plus a number of other skills that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. Even if they never play for a symphony orchestra, the process of mastering an instrument will develop their mental, emotional and cognitive abilities.

1. Music improves your child’s concentration.
It takes a great deal of focus and patience to master an instrument. Aside from learning how to read notes, your child will also have to pay attention to his posture and factors like rhythm, timing, or even the pressure of his fingers on the instrument.

2. Music improves your child’s coordination.
Playing the piano or the violin may not be as physically rigorous as cricket,football or kabaddi, but these activities do develop hand-eye coordination—not to mention the fine motor skills required in learning how to write.

3. Music provides a good form of stress relief.
Children do get stressed! Adults may think that school is nothing compared to the pressure they go through at the office, but they’re much younger, and still have difficulty understanding and getting a handle on their emotions and fears.

Music can be their way of relaxing. Studies show that playing an instrument can lower heart rates and blood pressure. Plus, the daily practice can be a comforting routine.

4. Music develops your child’s self-confidence.
As your child masters an instrument, he discovers and develops his talents, and gains tremendous self-satisfaction in seeing his progress. He may also enjoy having a skill that other people don’t have—and of course sharing it with other people, and enjoying their praise and admiration. It also helps if your child has the support and encouragement of the adults around him, from his parents to a kind teacher or mentor.

5. Music can make our child smarter.
Studies show that learning music can help improve reading comprehension, mathematics, and cognitive skills like verbal and perceptual abilities as well as spatial reasoning. One landmark research, done by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, show that exposure to musical instruction can lead to higher academic scores.

Researchers believe it’s because reading musical notes and playing instruments involve thinking ahead, visualizing, pattern recognition and using spatial-temporal skills—which children don’t get when they’re just watching TV or using the computer. The spatial-temporal skills are also one reason why music has been linked to mathematical intelligence and abstract reasoning.

Learning to play music well builds creativity, confidence, persistence problem-solving, and other skills that can help children in schoolwork and in life. Regardless of the instrument, every kid should get the opportunity to experience the joy and sense of accomplishment that comes from learning to play.

So let's get the kids signed up for music lessons!what do you say ??

Good Bacteria in your Fermented foods like 'IDLIS'.

                  Time for breakfast or an evening snack? Help yourself to a plate of hot steaming Idlis, dosas or uttappams and dahi. These are not only nutritious but are safe, highly acceptable and packed with health benefits that are both protect ive and therapeutic against a wide range of disorders. They are all fermented foods i.e. they are subjected to the action of micro-organisms for a few hours causing desirable alterations in food quality. The process also preserves and predigests the food.

The bacteria that cause these changes are called “Probiotic bacteria”. They are not destroyed by the acid in the stomach or by the enzymes in the intestinal tract.

What are Probiotics?
Normally bacteria are considered harmful, but probiotic are good ones responsible for a variety of health benefits. Probiotics and probiotic foods have been used both as therapeutic and preventive supplements for many ailments including GI disturbances and cancers.

Nutritional benefits:

Fermenting the foods produces certain nutrients like an increase in the Bcomplex (folic acid and vitamin B12) and vitamin K. Probiotics also produce short-chain fatty acids, an important energy source for the colon. Some amino acids, growth factors, antioxidants and antimicrobial factors are also produced. Fermentation also destroys certain anti-nutrients like phytates and oxalates that interfere with the absorption of minerals like iron and calcium.

India probably has the most diverse variety of fermented foods — Idli, Dosa, Dhokla, Khaman, Batura, Kulcha and the traditional dahi.  So EAT SMART & ENJOY....


Credit: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/12/09/stories/2007120950170600.htm

Traditional Easter Foods.

Although colored hard-boiled eggs are probably the first Easter food to come to mind, other foods factor into the traditional Easter meals around the world.

Hot Cross Buns are an Easter favorite in many areas. The tradition allegedly is derived from ancient Anglo-Saxons who baked small wheat cakes in honor of the springtime goddess, Eostre. After converting to Christianity, the church substituted the cakes with sweetbreads blessed by the church.

Pretzels were first shaped to indicate the torso of a person with arms folded, praying.

The roast lamb dinner that many eat on Easter Sunday goes back earlier than Easter to the first Passover of the Jewish people. The sacrificial lamb was roasted and eaten, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs  in hopes that the angel of God would pass over their homes and bring no harm. As Hebrews converted to Christianity, they naturally brought along their traditions with them. The Christians often refer to Jesus as The Lamb of God. Thus, the traditions merged.

In the United States, ham is a traditional Easter food. In the early days, meat was slaughtered in the fall. There was no refrigeration, and the fresh pork that wasn't consumed during the winter months before Lent was cured for spring. The curing process took a long time, and the first hams were ready around the time Easter rolled around. Thus, ham was a natural choice for the celebratory Easter dinner.

What about you? What are your favorite Easter foods and recipes? Do share with us…..

Credit: http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhistory/a/easterfoodhist.htm

Image credit: http://www.italyadvisor.co.uk/easter-recipes-holy-good-food/

5 Most Influential Women In Rock : Featuring Janis Joplin & Debbie Harry

Janis Joplin, the woman with the big voice and the big smile. The singer-songwriter originally hailed from Texas where she was supposedly an outcast, belonging to a group of other artistic people when she was a teenager. It wasn’t until hearing blues albums by Leadbelly and Bessie Smith that she’d realised what she wanted to do with her life. The artist’s interest in singing began at high school and carried on to performing in coffee houses located within Texas, before expanding her horizons to California and New York.

                                                                                        Despite attempting to get a college education, Joplin became heavily involved with drugs and alcohol. At this point in 1966, her friend Chet Helms had asked her to sing for a psychedelic rock band – which he managed in San Francisco – called Big Brother And The Holding Company. Luckily for Janis this meant huge success for herself and her single “Piece of My Heart”, which sold millions of copies. Janis Joplin had left Big Brother And The Holding Company at the end of 1968 and formed a new band – The Kozmic Blues Band – the following year. Joplin was hugely inspirational in the male-dominated rock era of the ’60s, influencing future musicians such as Stevie Nicks. She has also received a number of songs dedicated to her; for instance, “Chelsea Hotel #2” by Leonard Cohen and “Birdsong” by Jerry Garcia.
Her last album, Pearl, received an outstanding response, featuring her top single “Me and Bobby McGee” – a cover of the original by Kris Kristofferson who she was dating at the time.  Unfortunately the album was not released until after her tragic drug-related death, but she will never be forgotten. Janis will always have a piece of our heart.

Debbie Harry is mostly known for her role as lead singer in punk-rock band, Blondie. Her stage persona of street style and bleach-blonde hair meant that many people referred to her as Blondie, not realising she is in fact part of a group. She states that the inspiration behind naming the band was from passing truck drivers who would shout, “Hey Blondie!” to her. Blondie was a pioneer of the new wave genre in the ’70s and the band experimented with different styles from reggae to pop; each album developed into something more adventurous than the last.
The band was formed with Chris Stein in 1974, whom she has formed a musical and personal relationship with. Similarly to other rock artists in this period, they were not very popular in their native United States, but extremely successful in the UK and in Australia. However, they did receive recognition in the States after the release of the album Parallel Linesin 1978 and won a Canadian Juno Award for Best Selling International Single in 1980 with “Heart Of Glass”. Blondie continued to have a number of hits including “Dreaming”, “Atomic”, “The Tide Is High” and “Rapture”.

Debbie Harry has also released five critically acclaimed solo albums from 1981 onwards, as well as appearing on Broadway and in many feature films. The band had split in 1982, only to get back together in 1997. Their commitment to music shows a lifestyle, rather than a career. A few bumps in the road never brought them down for long. Blondie is said to have influenced many female-fronted bands such as No Doubt, Garbage, The Cardigans, but has also had an impact on male musicians such as Smashing Pumpkins, Blur and Gun Club. Madonna has stated that she’s been influenced by Debbie Harry’s career. To this very day, she continues to be a punk icon and inspiration for lots of new wave and alternative groups.

There are probably – no, wait, there definitely are many more inspiring female musicians in the world. But Joan Jett, Patti Smith, Suzi Quatro, Janis Joplin and Debbie Harry are the five that I believe changed history and have influenced a number of modern-day artists.

 source:morethanthemusic.co.uk

5 Most Influential Women In Rock : Featuring Patti Smith & Suzi Quatro

Patti Smith the unconventional and ambitious “Godmother of Punk”, is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist. After seven years of working solo in New York, falling in love, busking and dealing with poverty, she formed The Patti Smith Group in 1974 alongside guitarist Lenny Kaye who has been a permanent member to the present day.

Their full band consisted of the two, along with Ivan Kral, Richard Sohl and Jay Dee Daugherty. Their first album, challenged the New York music scene by combining both punk rock music with poetry and spoken word. Patti Smith has written songs from simple, three-chord rock to free-form experimentalism and her creativity shows she can truly be classified as a musical artist. Her most widely-successful song is “Because The Night”, written collaboratively with Bruce Springsteen.

Patti Smith is also a huge idol for women as she has never relied on sex appeal for her success, actually having quite a plain and even androgynous look. She dressed simply like any male rock musician, not feeling that any alternative occurred to her. And why should it? She referred to herself as an artist, not a woman, and this no doubt eradicated any expectations for female performers; she showed people there was no limit when it came to expressing yourself.

Smith has inspired a number of modern musicians, such as Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Garbage and Sonic Youth. KT Tunstall supposedly dedicated her song, “Suddenly I See” to Patti Smith and if the lyrics “Suddenly I see, This is what I wanna be” aren’t obvious enough to point out Smith’s influence, I don’t know what is.

Dressed from head to toe in a leather playsuit and wearing one of the heaviest bass guitar models is a common look for Suzi Quatro, one of the greatest glam-rock, bubblegum pop artists out there. Bubblegum pop may sound a little unfamiliar, but typically refers to a music genre which ran between 1967 and 1972, and was thought to have influenced punk music.
Quatro has been playing music since she was fifteen years old, playing bass guitar for the all-female garage band, Pleasure Seekers, which she formed with her sisters, Patti, Arlene and Nancy.

In 1971, Suzi Quatro had been discovered by British record producer, Mickie Most, and had moved to the UK where she began her solo career. Although she had not been particularly successful in her native United States, Quatro received huge recognition for her early singles, “Can the Can”, “48 Crash” and “Devil Gate Drive” throughout Europe and in Australia.

The release of “If You Can’t Give Me Love” made her popular in the United Kingdom in 1978 and the following “Stumblin’ In” finally reached the US charts. By the time she was thirty years old, Suzi Quatro had released her Greatest Hits album and had become a huge influence for female artists, specifically Joan Jett and The Runaways, as well as inspiring the Riot Grrrl scene of the 90s.

5 Most Influential Women In Rock

From the beginning, rock music has too often been an all-boys club that excludes women from its inner circles. But not always: The following list celebrates the most prominent, influential and significant women in rock. Here we will take a look at the profiles of these Phenomenal Women in Music who have contributed their talents to help shape the rock music history, at a time when men dominated the airwaves and the charts.

On this three part series we look at each of these female musicians' role and contribution to rock.

Joan Jett is without a doubt one of the greatest influences in rock music. As a fearless, young and controversial musician, Joan Jett was incredibly successful in the 70s with all-teenage-girl band, The Runaways, formed in Los Angeles and consisting of full-time members Lita Ford, Cherie Currie and Sandy West. In a male-dominated rock music scene, this was something new and not easy to do. However, the band recieved a great response from Europe and Japan, before splitting after a four year run.

Joan is now best known for her work as Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, bringing us something even more powerful and well, ultimately just extremely cool. Some of her biggest hits include BadReputation” (which has been featured in a number of television shows and films), “I Love Rock N Roll” (although this was a covered and updated version of the original song by The Arrows), “DoYou Wanna Touch Me” (original by Gary Glitter), “Crimson and Clover” (Tommy James) and “I Hate Myself For Loving You”.

Joan Jett also produced many bands throughout her career under the label Blackheart Records, such as The Vacancies and The Eyeliners. As well as being involved in the music scene, she has also had various roles in film and theatre, her own radio show and most recently been a producer in the movie, The Runaways (2010), starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, which focuses on the relationship between Joan and Cherie.

As far as her influence on others goes, Joan Jett was considered to be a huge inspiration for the Riot Grrrl movement in the 90s, its pioneer being Bikini Kill, a band whose single, “NewRadio/Rebel Girl” was produced by Jett. It’s obvious that she has had a huge impact on many girl rockers out there, showing the world that a girl can indeed make it in a male-dominated music scene.

source:morethanthemusic.co.uk

Silent No More, 'The Artist' Wins at the OSCARS

The silent cinema hit the world like a hurricane, destroying élite notions of culture overnight. As a feature-length art form, it lasted less than twenty years, from 1912 to 1929, yet more than ten thousand features were made in that period in the United States alone. From the beginning, the silent cinema was an art devoted to physical risk and to primitive passions, to rage, lust, ambition, and obsession (silence made emotions more extreme in many ways), and it produced obsession in its huge audience.

The Artist which focuses on Hollywood era between 1927 to 1931, won five Academy Awards at the
84th Annual Academy Awards 2012 including best picture, becoming the first silent film to triumph at Hollywood's highest honors since the original Oscar ceremony 83 years ago.

The black-and-white comic melodrama won oscars for Best actor ,Best director,Best picture,Best Orginal music score and for Best Costume Design.

French composer Ludovic Bource won the Academy Award for original score for his work in this
movie.In composing for Michel Hazanavicius' film , Bource referenced such genre touchstones as "Sunset Boulevard" and the music of the late film composer Franz Waxman. Yet Bource also immersed himself in the work of early Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein and classical masters such as Johannes Brahms.

This was the first nomination for Bource, as well as the composer’s first major international film. In the 100 minutes of "The Artist," Bource's music touches on a lifetime of sounds, from Bollywood melodicism to noir-like diversions. Bource earlier won the Golden Globe for his composition.

The Artist's success at the OSCARs only show that people are still in love with silent movies.And if you're one among them then 'The Artist' might interest you.