NAMM Declares Second-Annual Music Monday to Inspire Appreciation of Music Making in U.S. Schools, Communities and Individuals

NAMM, the trade association of the international music products industry, is encouraging everyone to discover their inner musician by picking up an instrument and playing at least once on May 4 in celebration of Music Monday.

Whether you're young or older, research conducted by NAMM shows that playing music has significant developmental, social and wellness benefits. Children who play music do better in school; people over age 45 who make music can use the activity to reduce stress; and seniors who play often use it as a social outlet.

Music Monday is a five-year tradition of the Canadian-based Coalition for Music Education that encourages musicians, music organizations, school bands and music lovers everywhere to play the same song at the same time to demonstrate the galvanizing power of making music. The event demonstrates an appreciation of music in our lives and in our schools, and inspired more than 700,000 students across North America to join in song last year.

This is the second year that NAMM has joined in the Music Monday effort, which kicks off the association's annual National Wanna Play Music Week. The weeklong music-making extravaganza was created to foster the creativity of everyone who has ever wanted to play music and the talents of people who already do.

According to the organization, 82 percent of the people who have never played an instrument wish they did. So NAMM is encouraging everyone from U.S. schools, businesses and organizations, to individuals who have always wanted to play an instrument to make music on Music Monday and heighten the public's awareness about how playing music enriches our lives.

NAMM also believes strongly that music education empowers children with important tools such as creativity, achievement and social engagement. Many schools across the country have cut music programs because of lack of funding and cannot offer students the proven benefits associated with hands-on musical training.

As a not-for-profit association, NAMM has supported research to examine the effects of music on children and adolescents. The studies have shown that playing music positively affects the development of cognitive skills in children and teens. The activity also builds confidence, instills self-discipline, increases productivity and helps kids and teens connect socially with their peers.

Studies specifically show that playing music:

-- Develops skills needed by an innovative 21st century workforce:
critical thinking, imagination, creative problem solving, effective
communication and teamwork
-- Keeps students engaged in school and less likely to drop out
-- Improves the atmosphere for learning and is correlated with better
grades and test scores in other academic areas
-- Helps communities share ideas and values among cultures and
generations
-- Provides a sense of both individuality and belonging for teens
-- Helps adolescents release or control emotions and cope with life's
more difficult situations.

The 2009 Music Monday song will be "Sing Sing" by Serena Ryder, whose album "If Your Memory Serves You Well" recently went Gold. The song will be sung and played by all schools and participants across North America at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 11 a.m. Mountain time, 12 p.m. Central time, and 1 p.m. Eastern time, uniting them symbolically through one piece of music. Many arrangements are available in a support kit specifically created for elementary teachers to work with very young children.

Whether you play the designated song for Music Monday or just play an instrument or sing in general on that day, NAMM will be cheering on all people who try their hand at being a musician in any form for a day.

To register your school, organization, business or just yourself as a participant in "Music Monday" and to receive your Music Monday materials and a copy of the song "Sing Sing," or to share how you will participate in Music Monday, please e-mail musicmonday@namm.org. The event is also listed on Facebook and NAMM encourages all participants to post their unique experiences there for everyone to see.

About Music Monday

Music Monday is hosted annually on the first Monday of May by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. The special event demonstrates an appreciation for music in our lives and in our schools. Many schools, along with community and professional organizations, perform one piece of music at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, 11 a.m. Mountain Time, 12 p.m. Central Time, 1 p.m. Eastern Time, 2 p.m. Atlantic Time and 2:30 p.m. in Newfoundland. The performance is intended to transcend all genres and unite people through the melody and the act of performing the piece at the same time. The idea is that if one were to open the front door of his or her home and stand on the street on the first Monday in May, one would hear music and the skies would be filled with melody. For more information, visit www.musicmonday.ca.