U.S. Schools and Organizations to Unite in Song for Music Monday

On May 2, 2011, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) will again partner with the Canadian-based Coalition of Music Education in its seventh annual Music Monday. The North America-wide event celebrates the many proven benefits of making music for people of all ages and in the U.S. serves as the kick-off to NAMM's fifth annual National Wanna Play Music Week.

The Music Monday initiative, led by the Coalition for Music Education, 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 in our schools and communities.

The 2011 Music Monday song performed in the U.S. will be "I Wanna Play" by platinum-selling recording artist Aaron Tippin, from the recently released benefit album "I Wanna Play!: An Album to Put Instruments into the Hands of Every Child in America."  Participants across the U.S. will sing "I Wanna Play" at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 11 a.m. Mountain time, 12 p.m. Central time, 1 p.m. Eastern time, and 2 p.m. Atlantic time, symbolically uniting them through one piece of music.

Research shows that music education is vital for children to reach their full academic and social potential, and playing music benefits children and teens in a variety of ways, including:

• Building acceptance and tolerance for people of different ages and cultural backgrounds
• Building confidence, self-discipline, and inspiring creativity
• Increasing listening skills, motor ability, hand-eye coordination, and heightened intellectual capabilities
• Increasing productivity and helping kids and teens connect socially with their peers

To register your school, organization, business or yourself as a participant in Music Monday, and to receive program materials, including sheet music and a digital copy of the "I Wanna Play, song" please e-mail musicmonday@namm.org. Using Facebook and other social media networks, NAMM encourages all participants to share their unique Music Monday experiences online for their networks to see (www.facebook.com/wannaplaybynamm).

About Music Monday

Music Monday was launched in 2005 by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada with the support of National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). Since 2008, NAMM and the Coalition have partnered to create a truly North American event to celebrate the importance of music in our lives and in our schools. Schools, along with community and professional organizations, unite in hundreds of communities from coast to coast to coast to show their love of music in an inspiring series of celebrations.  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 http://www.musicmonday.ca  

About NAMM's Wanna Play?

NAMM's national Wanna Play? public awareness campaign is dedicated to increasing awareness of the proven benefits of playing musical instruments for people of all ages. Since the campaign's launch in November 2006, the key messages about the fun and many proven benefits of playing music have reached millions of people through national public relations efforts. In addition, Wanna Play? has the support of more than 100 celebrities, including Jack Black, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., Band from TV, Orianthi, and Gary Sinise. For more information and to get involved, interested parties can visit www.wannaplaymusic.com.

About NAMM

The National Association of Music Merchants, commonly called NAMM in reference to the organization's popular NAMM trade shows, is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $17 billion global musical instruments and products industry. NAMM's activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of more than 9,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM, please visit http://www.namm.org or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).