Michael E. Smith is a customer who came to West Music Coralville to personally pick up a HealthRHYTHMS Collection as the start of a business he and his wife have created for recreational, spiritual, and wellness-related areas.

He, himself, is the survivor of a major brain injury, and as such, he has experienced first-hand the restorative power of music--and drumming in particular.

Take a look at this video to learn why children should engage with music daily!

By Sharon Burch

Incorporating assessment into our teaching routine is a constant challenge, but the benefits make it worth the effort. I began assessing to test my teaching strategies and discovered that I learned far more about myself, my students, and educated my students' parents!

A recent Harris Interactive Poll of 2,565 adults closely examined the relationship between American household education and income levels to music participation as children into adulthood.  A summary of the poll found the following:

Ever since the federal No Child Left Behind Education Act first took effect in 2002, music educators and researchers have focused their attention on gaining ground for additional arts funding through NCLB.  While the arts are considered a “core” subject within the federal program, funding has been at issue as math, science and reading have garnered more public attention.

In the study, conducted by Drs. Christo Pantev, Larry Roberts and Almut Engelien, researchers examined images of the auditory brain regions of 20 trained musicians and 13 non-musicians, all of whom were in their 20’s. The musicians had played instruments for 15 to 21 years and now practiced 10 to 40 hours a week. When piano notes were played to both groups, the response to the piano sounds was 25 percent higher in the musician group.