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Melody The Monthly
NOVI LOCATION: 43370 West 10 Mile Rd Novi, MI 48375 TROY LOCATION: 4000 Livernois Rd Troy, MI 48098 PLYMOUTH-CANTON: 9357 General Drive Suite 101 Plymouth, MI 48170
DESIGNING A TOOL TO REACH MY STUDENTS’ HIGHEST POTENTIAL Everything That Went Into the New ‘Level Up’ App
I can’t believe Expressions Music Academy’s new ‘Level Up’ achievement program and app have been in full swing for a month already. It may appear like a simple, seamless integration into you and your student’s practice routines — or at least, I hope it does! — but the lead-up to its release was a long, laborious process. That said, it was worth every minute I spent on it, and I’m beyond thrilled to have it out in the world.
my imagination was brimming with potential features I wanted to implement, a laundry list of dream ideas that kept getting longer and longer. Luckily, the developers worked perfectly with me to realize nearly every one of those plans. We didn’t have to cut corners. But, of course, actually realizing my vision took time. It took eight months of constant back-and-forth between the developers and me. They’d show me the skeleton of a particular feature, I’d take a look, mull it over, test it for hours and hours, and come back with detailed feedback. It involved hundreds of hours of me being alone in a room, fiddling with the application and the plan for its development. As the process continued, the application became more fleshed out until it finally became what it is today. It’s honestly one of the achievements I’m most proud of. I encourage all of my readers, students, and teachers to download the Level Up app, totally free, from the iOS App Store or the Google Play Store and see what it can do. It’s designed from the ground up to make music lessons easier for everyone, giving clear progress markers for parents while synchronizing the efforts and motivational strategies of teachers and students. Schedule practice times, assign songs, listen to examples, compete on the leaderboards, track student progress — the list of awesome features just goes on and on. By the time it released, the Level Up app felt like a deeply personal project. It may have taken eight months to actually develop it, but in many ways, I’ve been designing the system since the day I started teaching music over 15 years ago. Everything I’ve learned, everything I’ve striven for, and the entire breadth of my passion for musical education is embedded in the very fabric of this powerful tool. To know that students and teachers are actually using it means more than I can say.
When I first set out to develop an app that would spur music students to realize their fullest potential, I had no idea what I was getting into. I asked myself,
“What if I could encourage students to practice even 50 percent more than they already were and what would that look like? What happens in that ideal world?” I knew that it would touch every aspect of the learning process, dramatically improving the skills and lives of students, while changing both teachers and parents for the better. If I could create a
tool like that, I knew it would be fundamentally transformative.
I went into the initial meetings with the developers equipped only with a rough sketch of my vision, based on Expressions’ previous Black Belt program. But beyond my first inklings,
- Jessica Schatz
Novi Location: 248-773-8364 | Troy Location: 248-845-4611 | Plymouth-Canton Location: 248-480-9108 | 1
STUDENT SUCCESS STORIES
If you’ve got a young kid, you’ve certainly come up against the struggles of “schedule overload”: so many activities piling up on the calendar that it seems impossible to get to all of them. But regardless of how busy your little tyke is, making time for music lessons is a sound investment in their development, whether or not it becomes a lifelong pursuit. Perhaps the most tangible benefit of studying an instrument is the way that it naturally improves your child’s academic skills. It’s been said that music is math. As your child works through scales, learns to read rhythms, and memorizes songs, they’re creating deep neural ties that will allow them to gain an instinctual understanding of patterns, fractions, and mathematical thinking. Not only that, but they’ll strengthen their short- and long-term memory and improve cognitive function. Studies show these deep-seated benefits have the greatest impact on students who begin taking lessons before age 7, but they can still help children who get a later start. Playing a musical instrument bolsters physical capabilities as well. Hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and synchronization of different movements are all improved by musical study. It’s amazing to see how these skills translate to other abilities, from typing to playing sports. Additionally, the hours your child spends practicing will help them develop a keen sense of discipline and patience. Many instruments have a steep learning curve, but they reward dedicated students with a skill they’ll never lose. Setting and reaching these sometimes distant THE MANY BENEFITS OF Music Lessons
Hello, my name is Grace Price. I am 14 and a freshman at Novi High School. I have been taking guitar lessons at Expressions Music Academy since fourth grade, and learning music has been a wonderful experience so far. Expressions has always been a part of my music career.
My first guitar was a learner guitar my mom got me to see if I would stick with playing. When I started lessons, I went to weekend jam sessions to meet other kids. Alex taught most of the groups, and I had a lot of fun at them. Alex has always been a positive influence on my music journey. After we decided I was serious about playing guitar, I got my second guitar two years ago. It was a shock to see such a huge difference in quality between the two guitars. I have had three instructors in total: Mike, Nick, and my current instructor, Matt Besey. I have done many recitals, and I’ve been to two AGM competitions and received awards at both. AGM was definitely one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life, but both times, I had a great time performing. It is important to stay calm before a recital or competition, because if you are stressed, you could forget your music or make a mistake. I made the error of practicing with music for about three months, and then I showed up at the competition, and they informed me I could not use music. Make sure to practice without music. Now that I’m older, music is definitely a huge stress reliever in my life. If I’m tense from school, I always can count on my guitar to calm my nerves. I know finding time to practice an instrument can be hard to fit in anyone’s busy schedule, but try to plot out a specific time every day just to sit down and play. I tend to practice at night before I go to bed. My favorite part about lessons at Expressions is learning new music and then seeing my improvement as I work on the song for a week or two. Some other hobbies I have, besides guitar, are playing basketball and tennis. I have been playing tennis for eight years and basketball for four. My goals for high school are to keep playing guitar but to also continue my success in academics. I hope to eventually make varsity tennis and basketball, as I love both sports and have played them for a long time. Finally, I don’t have any set college plans as I am still figuring out where I would potentially like to go. In closing, over the years it has been such a great experience learning guitar at Expressions. One of the best things, in my opinion, is being able to play an instrument, and I am fortunate to have that opportunity.
goals will improve attention, focus, and drive in your child like no other pursuit can. This self-motivation will serve them well as they grow into adults, confident in their ability to see a project through to its end.
2 | www.expressionsmusicacademy.com
Have a Blast at the Kalahari Waterpark — On Us! ANNOUNCING EXPRESSIONS MUSIC ACADEMY’S BIG REFERRAL CONTEST!
Expressions Music Academy is thrilled to announce our big referral contest! For every student you refer to any of our three locations, you and your family will be entered to win an all-inclusive trip to the thrilling Kalahari Waterpark Resort in Sandusky, Ohio! Know someone itching to learn a new instrument? Between the months of September and January 2018, refer them to Expressions, and have them tell us you sent them our way.
For every referral we receive, you’ll get another entry to win a Kalahari package valued at $1,000, including two nights at the resort for two adults and up to four children, and a $100 gift card for use at any of the resort restaurants! The package can be used at any time and doesn’t expire for a year. When you refer a friend, it shows us that you loved learning from us, and there’s no higher compliment we can receive. This contest is one way of showing our appreciation for each and every one of our wonderful students.
The winner will be selected on Thursday, February 1, 2018.
Laugh Break
HALLOWEEN HARVEST HASH CHEX MIX
Ingredients
For the Sauce: •
For the Mix: •
•
1 heaping cup candy corn (with pumpkins) 1 (8-ounce) bag Reese’s Pieces
¾ cup butter, melted ¾ cup brown sugar, packed 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 (12-ounce) box Rice Chex
•
•
• • •
1 (7-ounce) bag Bugles
•
4 cups pretzels
1 heaping cup candy corn
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 275 F. 2. Melt the butter in microwave in a medium bowl or measuring cup. 3. Add the brown sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until well-combined and dissolved. 4. In a very large bowl, add the Chex cereal, pretzels, and
Bugles. 5. Pour the sauce over the cereal mixture and toss gently until evenly coated. 6. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. 7. Divide the mixture on the
8. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. 9. Remove from oven and
allow to cool. Then, add to a large bowl, along with
candy corn and Reese’s Pieces. Toss to combine. 10. Store in airtight container.
two baking sheets and spread in even layers.
Novi Location: 248-773-8364 | Troy Location: 248-845-4611 | Plymouth-Canton Location: 248-480-9108 | 3
A $25 CREDIT TO THE REFERRING STUDENT AND THEIR ENROLLING FRIEND! Referral Bonus
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
43370 West 10 Mile Rd Novi, MI 48375
Inside
pg. 1
Developing the New ‘Level Up’ App
The Many Benefits of Music Lessons
pg. 2
Student Success Stories
Have a Blast at the Kalahari Waterpark —On Us!
pg. 3
Halloween Harvest Hash Chex Mix
pg. 4
The Origins of Fear
WHICH FEARS ARE INSTINCTUAL, AND WHICH ARE LEARNED?
Where does fear come from? As the jack-o’-lanterns show their grinning, glowing faces and skeletons, cobwebs, and gravestones adorn yards around the neighborhood, it’s a question hanging in many of our minds. When you recoil from the giant mechanical spider suspended above your neighbor’s garage, is that fear instinctual, or is it learned? Many people, spurred on by evolutionary psychology, believe that the fear of creepy crawlies, particularly spiders and snakes, is innate. Certainly, spiders and snakes are among the most common phobias in the world. But research shows that, though humans and apes may be predisposed to easily develop a fear of these poisonous animals, the fears are just that — learned. In a 2016 study, babies were presented with videos of snakes and other animals like elephants, paired with either a fearful or happy auditory track, measuring the babies’ physiological responses
when the videos were interrupted by a startling flash of light. Though babies were more interested in the snakes, they weren’t more startled, indicating a lack of fear. According to the Association for Psychological Science, there are only two fears we inherit at birth: the fear of falling and the fear of loud sounds. A 1960 study, conducted by psychologists Gibson and Walk for Cornell University, sought to investigate depth perception in human and animal species. They suspended a sheet of transparent plexiglass about four feet off the ground and covered one half of it with a checkerboard-pattern cloth, creating a simulated cliff. Infants, both human and animal, were then encouraged by their caregivers, usually their mothers, to crawl off the “cliff” onto the clear half of the platform. Animals and humans alike avoided stepping over what they perceived as a sharp drop, and pre-crawling-age
infants showed heightened cardiac distress on the “suspended” side. Coupled with this innate fear of plummeting to the ground is something called
the Moro reflex, one of several involuntary reflexes healthy newborn infants have at birth. Often called the “startle reflex,” it occurs when a baby is startled by a loud sound or movement, especially a falling motion. The reflex usually triggers the newborn to lift and spread their arms as if grasping for support, followed by crying. Though the Moro reflex usually disappears at around 5 to 6 months of age, our instinctive aversion to sudden loud noises stays with us throughout our lives.
4 | www.expressionsmusicacademy.com
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