Tuning in to the Magic of Music in Our Lives
Welcome to our March exploration for our Lift Your Mood, Lift Your Life project. This month, we immersed ourselves in the transformative world of music, discovering its profound impact on our emotions, thoughts, and overall well-being.
Music holds incredible benefits for mental health, and our students agreed that Music is amazing for our minds! It can:
Make us feel happier and less stressed 😄🌈
Help us express ourselves and our feelings, where sometimes words fall short 🎶💬
Boost our confidence and focus 🚀🎯
Bring back memories of special times and places 🎵🌟
Change our emotional state 🎶😢😃
Make tedious tasks more enjoyable 🎵🎉
Our adventures this month allowed our students to experience firsthand how music can improve their mental well-being.
Our Adventures in Music:
🎶 Music Therapy with Alanna Barr
We started our adventures in music with Music Therapist, Alanna Bar. Alanna taught us that when we play music together, we create a sense of unity and collaboration. It's like everyone has a special role to play, and when we bring our sounds together, something magical happens. We learn to listen to each other, follow a beat, and work as a team to make beautiful music. It's a fun and exciting way to connect with others and make something amazing together!
🕺 Movement Class with Toryn Adams
Next up was our Movement Class with Toryn Adams. Toryn showed us that when we move our bodies in fun and creative ways, it can help us in so many ways! We can express ourselves, show our emotions, and unleash our imaginations to come up with cool ideas. And guess what? Moving around to music can even make us feel less stressed, more focused, and more confident in ourselves.
🥁 Drumming Workshop with Darrell Bueckert
One of our favourite adventures this month was our Drumming Workshop with Darrell Buekert. Darrell is an amazing musician who plays all sorts of percussion instruments. He has performed with famous orchestras, played for musicals and ballets, and even recorded his own CDs. Darrell is a true music superstar! Darrell showed us how drumming helps improve coordination, boosts creativity, and gives a great outlet to express emotions. The teachers were so impressed with how all of the students persevered and didn’t give up - even when the drumming activities were challenging! Plus, it really made us feel energized and confident while grooving to the beat!
🎹 Orff Workshop with Angela Gillis
Angela Gillis led our next workshop on Orff music. If you’re wondering what Orff music is, it’s a fun way for kids to explore music by using instruments like xylophones, drums, and other percussion to create awesome rhythms and melodies. Our Orff workshop was especially popular with our younger students as it was very hands-on, interactive and really let our creativity shine through!
🎺 High school band practice at Bishop James Mahoney
We had a blast visiting Bishop James Mahoney high school to watch the senior band practice! We were amazed by the talent and skill of the student musicians. It was inspiring to see how they worked together as a team, creating beautiful melodies that really impressed us! It made us even more excited to pursue our own musical passions.
🎧 Recording Arts Institute of Saskatoon
Our field trip to the Recording Arts Institute of Saskatoon left our students feeling incredibly inspired and motivated. Our behind-the-scenes tour of the recording studio was an incredible experience. Experiencing the world of music production, surrounded by state-of-the-art equipment and talented professionals, really ignited our passion for music and opened our eyes to the endless possibilities of the recording world. More than one of our students said they can imagine themselves becoming a pro in this field some day!!!
Why is Music Important???
Have you ever thought about the importance of music when it comes to movie and tv soundtracks?
Check out this video… It’s the iconic final scene from Star Wars: A New Hope but without any of John Williams’ score. You’ll hear awkward coughs, throat clears, and a wookie scream 😆.
We asked the students to answer the question: “Why is music important?”
Here’s what one student wrote:
What we learned about Music this month:
During our month focused on music, we uncovered the incredible link between music and mental health. Get this: listening to music can actually make us feel happier, dissolve stress, and boost our emotional well-being. Music helps us express all those feelings we can't put into words, and helps us stay strong during tough times Oh, and guess what? It can even turn boring tasks into fun experiences! 🎶🎤🎧
We can’t wait to tell you all about our next adventures in our ‘Lift Your Mood, Lift Your Life’ project.
Until then, let's turn up the volume and let the music do its magic! 🎵
Check out our other adventures:
🫶 Thank you to The Saskatoon Community Foundation and Cameco for making the Lift Your Mood Lift Your Life project possible!