In his 1976 hit, “I Write the Songs ,” Barry Manilow sang about putting “the words and the melodies together.” In the simplest terms (although the process can sometimes be quite complex), that’s what songwriting is all about: the blending of lyrics and music.

A question people sometimes ask us is this: what do I create first– the music or lyrics? This is just like the age-old brain teaser of what comes first, the chicken or the egg? We are not about to debate the issue of the chicken versus the egg, but when it comes to songwriting, there is no definite “right-or-wrong” answer. If an idea or a theme strikes you, you will likely write the lyrics first and then create the music that matches the song’s mood. On the other hand, if a melody swirls in your mind, you might want to expand it and then add words to it. Either way, it works!

Words and music

History tells us that various musicians have their own, individual approaches to the process of song creation. For instance, opera composers like Puccini and Rimsky-Korsakov wrote music first, and then had the librettists create words. However, the famed team of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein usually wrote the lyrics before the music. While many musicians may disagree with this statement, English theatre and film director Peter Brook said in an interview, that “never in history has a guy written the tunes, and someone has come along and put the words to them. I once asked Richard Rodgers whether he had any tunes in his bottom drawer waiting for a lyric. He told me that it was only when he heard the lyricist’s precise words, such as Hammerstein’s ‘O, what a beautiful morning,’ that the melodies emerged.” Others may argue with this “lyrics first” approach. For instance, The Beatles’ hit “Yesterday ” began as a melody in Paul McCartney’s dreams. Later, he added lyrics to it. But Elton John reversed the process – at least in this particular case . As you can see, he created an impromptu melody to match an existing text!

In a word…

Whether or not you are interested in writing your own songs or playing the ones already created by others, our teachers can help. When they come to your Manhattan, Brooklyn or Riverdale home or office, they will offer their guidance and inspiration, no matter what instrument you play. And if you take voice lessons, you’ll be able to belt out any song – music AND lyrics!

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It’s vacation time and your kids just want to be carefree. At this point, school and homework are probably not even on their radar. Does this attitude extend to their music lessons as well? In other words, do your children stop playing their instruments during the summer?

At the mere mention of practice, your child will probably run the other way. We get that. But the fact is that kids who don’t play during their summer vacation may lose some of the skills and techniques they had mastered during the school year. We have seen this time and again: children who resume their music lessons after a summer of inactivity often need several weeks to “catch up” – relearn what they already knew but have forgotten. Picking up an instrument for the first time after a long hiatus can be so frustrating and de-motivating that students may not event want to continue playing. That’s why it is important that they (and adults too, for that matter) constantly build on their current level of ability. There is actually a well-documented phenomenon called “Summer Learning Loss,” or “Summer Slide,” which refers to the decline in students’ academic skills due to inactivity (that is why students are encouraged to read during vacation). The same applies to music literacy as well.

Keep on playing!

What can you, as a parent, do to encourage your child to keep taking music lessons and practicing during the summer? It’s all in the scheduling. Don’t overburden the child with “musical chores” by planning lessons and practice sessions to the exclusion of playtime and all the other activities. Just because he has lots of free time on his hands doesn’t mean his music training should fill every hour of his day! On the other hand, tell the child that vacation from school doesn’t mean vacation from her instrument. She should commit to a certain number of music lessons during the summer and some practice time as well. Explain to her why it’s important to play even when school is out: so that she can keep progressing. You might say something along these lines: “You’ve been so good about taking lessons and practicing. You wouldn’t want to lose all the skills you already learned, would you? At the end of the day, your child learns to foster a sense of responsibility and discipline. These skills will surely prove useful throughout her life – and not just in music!

Business as usual

Just as your child doesn’t take a break from music, neither do our teachers. To paraphrase the USPS motto, “Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep Hey Joe Guitar teachers from their appointed rounds (though a zombie invasion might!) A teacher will come to your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale home or office to give music lessons all summer long. This way, your child will lose no skills, and even gain some new ones!

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Let’s talk about plants. (Yes, you heard it right – we did say PLANTS!) Tomorrow is the first day of spring, so it is a good time to turn our thoughts to the vegetation that will soon be budding around us.

For most of us living in NYC, our indoor ficuses, philodendrons, African violets, and other potted plants are often the only greenery we have.

We know that plants need water and, in some cases, sunshine to thrive. You may have also heard that talking to your plants in a soft and soothing voice helps them grow. This is based more on anecdotal rather than scientific evidence, but who are we to dispute it? By the same token, there seems to be a body of information suggesting that plants respond positively to certain kinds of music. See, there IS a good reason for us to talk about plants!

“Leafing” through music

Some time ago, a researcher named Dorothy Retallack conducted an experiment at the Colorado Women’s College in which she subjected different groups of plants to various types of music, sounds, and artists. She included classical composers (Claude Debussy), jazz performers (Louis Armstrong), and Indian music (Ravi Shankar).

All the plants exposed to these sounds grew large, strong, and healthy, and many of them actually leaned towards the radio in the same way they’d bend towards sunlight.

However, when Retallack put on heavy metal and hard / acid rock music, the plants didn’t like those sounds at all – they drooped, withered, and generally reacted negatively to loud, harsh, and dissonant sounds.

A skeptic may argue that a plant has no central nervous system so it is not capable of hearing. However, a few years ago South Korean scientists reported that plants do have genes that enable them to “hear” and grow faster when music is played.

Make of this what you will, but we choose to believe that plants – like all living things – respond to beautiful music.

Finding strength in music

This brings us to a pertinent question – what music is best for your household plants?

According to the above-mentioned South Korean researchers, the soothing sounds of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata made their “study subjects” grow faster.

And, as suggested by Retallack, Debussy’s music has a positive effect as well, so we are thinking that you can’t go wrong with his “Clair de Lune” .

As for another plant favorite, Shankar, the relaxing sounds of his sitar might also help your indoor garden bloom where it is planted!

As a matter of fact, any instruments that emit soft and soothing sounds – violin, piano, guitar, flute, and many others – will be growth boosters.

A “growing” experience

We are not telling you that our music teachers are botany experts – they are not. (In fact, some of them may not even have a green thumb!)

But we will say this: if you are looking for an excellent teacher to give you or your child music lessons in the privacy of your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale home or office, we have a…. whole crop of them!

They will not help your plants get taller, but, with their exceptional patience, dedication and kindness, they will help you grow your musical ability!

Photo by unknown, available under Creative Commons License

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Are you one of those people who can’t organize or structure their thoughts and concentrate on just one idea / task at a time? You are certainly not alone because so many of us are multitasking and juggling various obligations at the same time.

If you (or your child) ever said “I just can’t focus,” then we have some very good news for you: researchers have discovered an effective way to whip your thoughts and attention span into tip-top shape: music!

A study carried out jointly at Harvard and Japan’s Kyoto University reports that soothing sounds of a Mozart minuet improve the ability of children and older people to focus on a task, while ignoring irrelevant information that might be “crowding” their brains.

Who knew music had such a powerful effect on our concentration? Well, WE certainly did!

The science behind it all

The above-mentioned study is not the only one that has demonstrated how music can help the brain focus more effectively. Other research has also shown that melodious sounds help the brain release dopamine, a chemical neurotransmitter which impacts many mental and cognitive functions, including motivation, attention, learning, and concentration.

What does this mean to you and your child? Experts tell us that for adults, music boosts on-the-job productivity, while in kids it improves academic performance – all because of a better ability to concentrate and process the information at hand. For all age groups, this translates into increased creativity across all fields and domains.

Music education can also make you more successful in all aspects of your life. All that, we believe, starts with the ability to focus because it helps us hone in on what is important and relevant to us at any given time.

Rein in your wandering thoughts

What kind of music is most effective in improving our concentration? Rhythms and transitions in Mozart and Beethoven’s compositions are believed to help the brain focus better.

But that’s not all: researchers at the University of London’s Institute of Education found that children are more likely to appreciate a wider range of music later in life, if they had been exposed to history’s most famous composers – like the ones mentioned above – early on.

But, let’s go back to the type of music that boosts concentration.

Some experts believe that rhythmic patterns specific to Baroque music, such as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #3 are especially focus-friendly.

Is it all about classical music, you may wonder? The above-mentioned studies …focused on that genre, but you can boost your concentration with other melodies as well – it’s all about what “speaks” to you.

For example, the so-called “ambient ” music, the kind that creates a certain mood, has also been shown to have concentration-boosting properties because it’s so soft and soothing.

The bottom line…

From our own extensive experience and anecdotal evidence derived from students at our NYC music school, we can tell you that music really does improve concentration.

Of course, it all depends on several important factors, such as the quality of instruction – our music teachers are among the best in New York – as well as the correct technique adapted to the age and level of each student.

We also believe that students are able to focus better if the lesson takes place in a quiet and comfortable environment, which is why our teachers make “house calls” in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Riverdale section of the Bronx. So please contact us and we’ll…focus on you right away!

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