NAMM Brings Music Monday to U.S. for Third Year to Inspire Appreciation of Music in Schools and Communities

NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants, announced today that it will join the Coalition for Music Education in Canada in its sixth annual Music Monday event May 3, 2010, to demonstrate the importance of music education programs throughout North America, and to celebrate the many proven benefits of playing music for people of all ages.

The two organizations are encouraging schools and after-school programs, organizations, groups and individuals across the U.S. and Canada to participate in Music Monday by either performing the designated Music Monday piece or a song of their choice at the exactly the same time on May 3.

The song will be sung and played by all schools and participants across the U.S. and Canada 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, and 2:30 in Newfoundland. NAMM is also encouraging people to pick up any instrument of their choice and play anytime on that day.

NAMM has supported the Coalition for Music Education in Canada’s Music Monday event since its inception in 2004. This is the third year that NAMM has hosted this galvanizing event in the United States and featured it as the kick off event for its “National Wanna Play Music Week.”

The number of North American schools participating in this annual event has grown to more than 2,000, representing nearly 700,000 students.

“This partnership highlights the many benefits that music making brings to our children and to our schools,” said NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. “We hope to see more countries join in to support music education around the world."

Help grow participation in this event and register your school or organization as a participant in Music Monday by e-mailing musicmonday@namm.org. Upon your registration, NAMM will provide you with a free support kit specifically created for schools, after-school programs, groups or organizations to implement a Music Monday event in your community. To learn about past U.S. Music Monday events, or to find a music store or music lessons in your area, visit www.wannaplaymusic.com.

This year’s Music Monday song will be announced shortly by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. Many arrangements of the designated song will be added to the Coalition for Music Education in Canada’s Web site at www.musicmonday.ca by the end of the year.

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 the 21st century workforce: critical thinking, creative problem solving, effective communication, and teamwork
• Keeps students engaged in school and less likely to drop out
• Improves the atmosphere for learning
• Helps communities share ideas and values among cultures and generations
• Provides a sense of belonging for teens
• Gives teens the freedom to be themselves, to be different, to be something they thought they could never be; to be comfortable and relaxed in school and elsewhere in their livesHelps adolescents release or control emotions and coping with difficult situations such as peer pressure, substance abuse, pressures of study and family, the dynamics of friendships and social life, and the pain of loss or abuse.

This year, NAMM is encouraging more U.S. schools and organizations to sing and play together and heighten the public’s awareness about how 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.

About Music Monday
Music Monday is hosted annually on the first Monday of May in North America by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada and the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). 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.