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Art Education

Art Education

Music for Your Mind and Body

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on May 22, 2017 1

Music for Your Mind by Alex Paramo

Music for Your MindMusic, Literature, Art: we all know how wonderful the arts make our lives, the lives of our families, friends and community members.

Check out these amazing benefits music has on our health (found in an article by Jill Suttle at the Huffington Post,):

  • Music reduces stress/anxiety
  • Music decreases pain
  • Music improves immune functioning
  • Music Aids Memory
  • Music helps us exercise

Music also helps in brain as documented in this PBS article:

  • Increased IQ
  • Brain Works Harder
  • Spatial-Temporal Skills
  • Higher Test Scores

Cutting the Future

Music programs in our schools are being cut at a steady and scary pace. Unfortunately this trend does not show any sign of waning. I am confounded by the lack of foresight from our public administrators, leaders and decision-makers. If education of our children is the stated goal, why aren’t studies showing the incredible benefits of music education taken into greater consideration when decision about program cuts are being made? Could it be that our paradigms of education are outdated and obsolete?

Music Instruction is for Everyone

Investing in the FutureDuring these challenging times, parents often turn to outside arts education programs to augment their child’s education. Many of these programs are very expensive and out of the reach of working class folks The New Mexico Academy of Rock & Blues (NMARB) was founded on the principle that music (instruction) is for everyone. Under the direction of visionaries Keith and Ana Sanchez, they have assembled an all-star cast including singer-songwriter Keith Sanchez, percussionist Ragon Espinoza, Guitarist/Bassist Glenn Buddha Benavidez, Elizabeth Marie Berry, Vocals/Guitar/Ukulele, Brian Shonerd, Piano and a plethora of guest instructors. Fin;d more information about the NMARB here.

Investing in the Future

The NMARB provides lessons in not only instrument performance but also in songwriting, and poetry. Of course in our current economic reality programs of this nature are expensive to operate.

To ameliorate costs, the NMARB will be holding its annual fundraiser Saturday May 27 at Rio Bravo Brewery in Albuquerque New Mexico. On the bill include the Big Spank, Red Light Cameras, Keith Sanchez & the Moon Thieves and Le Chat Lunatique.

The event will also include live art and vendors! Please check out the event page and consider donating/investing in the future.

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Alex Paramo Community Publishing

Alex Paramo

Alex Paramo is a native New Yorker of Colombian descent. He is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. He currently resides in Albuquerque, NM. Read More about him here.

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as Multimedia Books while promoting literacy in our CP Logo Finalcommunities. We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market and the Monte Vista Fire Station. Need help with your web presence and social media marketing? Click here to find out how we can help you!

Community Publishing: From the Community For the Community

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Free Art Friday: Celebrating New Growth

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on March 25, 2016 Respond

Celebrating New Growth by Stephanie Galloway

Spring is here and more people are venturing outdoors to enjoy the beauty in Free Art Friday Albuquerquetheir surroundings! They are looking at the blooming trees and the flowers coming up from the ground.  A perfect time and place to add some of your art work into the mix.  

While there eyes are enjoying the majestic visions part of that vision will also be the art you put out for Free Art Friday! What a great place for art to be, among the flowers and trees that make people happy ☺ So please share your art today!

Please check out some more of my Free Art Friday articles here. Thank you for supporting local arts!
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Unmatched Fire

Stephanie Galloway

Stephanie Galloway is from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has been writing poetry since she was a child and still loves to explore the magic in words and their power to touch others deeply. She taught art to children as the Children Zone Leader of the Rail Yards Market and is the founder of Free Art Friday Albuquerque.

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as Multimedia Books while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market and the Monte Vista Fire Station. Need help with your web presence and social media marketing? Click here to find out how we can help you! 
Community Publishing: From the Community For the Community

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Collection of Human Noise: Music is Boundless

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on December 17, 2015 Respond

Music is Boundless by Ana Romero Sanchez

Music is Boundless

It seems it should be a simple task to answer why music is so important, but it’s rare that we actually stop to think about how it really fills our lives. Since ancient times the sounds around which we’ve gathered in the name of community, spirituality, ritual, and celebration, is music. It is the evocation of emotion, power, and drama in many areas of life; triumphant or melancholic, music brings the world and human emotion to life in ways that no other human creation can.

 Plato said “ music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”

Musical Inspiration

Music is BoundlessPowerful as it is, music is not esoteric but part of existence for the joy and inspiration of all. Large segments of our society are beginning to lose sight of the importance of music in every day life and instead relegating it to pop culture. Children, on the other hand, understand music instinctively. Whether it be a toddler moving his head in perfect rhythm, a young child beating on a makeshift drum, or a group of young people singing without fear of being heard, they possess a natural rhythm, a dance choreographed by the heart alone, that adults have difficulty recreating, but by which they are absolutely delighted.

A child’s channels of comprehension are untainted and wide open, and as they grow we slowly lead them to close these channels and instead utilize only those that allow for logic and pragmatism. The arts are not a priority and  are whittled away by legislation year after year. Music and creativity, in terms of imagination, awaken not only our creative selves, but also our mathematical and scientific selves.

Music is BoundlessEinstein said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

As music and arts programs become less accessible to kids, a greater need for grass roots programs exists. Our education system does not value the power music has to help children learn and become confident students, and private instruction and camps are out of reach for many families. We want music to be attainable to all children in the community, and it’s for this reason that we’ve created the New Mexico Academy of Rock and Blues (NMARB).

At NMARB, our mission is to create a program for creativity that is affordable to all families. This is why we put together fundraisers; it’s our community effort to create a space that doesn’t exclude anyone merely based on finances.

Instructional Diversity

Our instructors are not only Albuquerque Public Schools educators but also some of the Southwest’s most talented musicians, like Reviva’s Glenn “Buddha” Benavidez and Singer/Songwriter Keith Sanchez. We also bring in New Mexico’s renowned poets, such as Albuquerque Poet Laureate Jessica Helen Lopez, Swimming With Elephants Publisher and educator Katrina Guarascio, and nationally published poet Zachary Kluckman.

We know that music is not just about the sounds created, but the creative expression they shape. Be it though lyrical execution, composition, or instrumental mastery, we want kids to express their true selves as they build their musical ability, their self-esteem, their ability to work as a team, and their confidence.
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This article was originally published on January 8, 2015 in the Music Corner page found on the NMARB website. Community Publishing will be re-publishing this collection of articles by Keith and Ana Sanchez.
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Sanchez FamilyAna Romero Sanchez and Keith Sanchez are the founders of the New Mexico Academy of Rock & Blues, which is dedicated to granting equal access to the arts for children from all walks of life. Please contribute whatever you can by visiting: http://nmarb.org/

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.

#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org
We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.

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Community Spotlight: Free Art Friday

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on November 20, 2015 Respond

By Alex Paramo

Community SpotlightI first met Stephanie Galloway, Artist, Musician, Poet and Educator as a volunteer in the Children’s Zone of the Rail Yards Market during the days when Community Publishing was programming the kids activities there. It struck me how giving Stephanie was (is) and how eager she was to give and or/impart to children the gift of art. Over the past year I discovered many more things about Stephanie including the fact that she is the Albuquerque Administrator of the global movement called Free Art Friday (FAF)!

It Is What It Is

Free Art Friday

Stephanie Galloway

According to Stephanie the “English artist by the name “My Dog Sighs,” coined the phrase Free Art Friday, (2006) which has spread around the world. People got inspired by what he was doing and started chapters internationally.”

Furthermore Stephanie states, “Albuquerque has an amazing artist’s scene with a lot to offer, and I wanted to share their talents with the world.”

Breaking the Rules on the Ground

Free Art Friday In a nutshell, Artwork is placed on the streets of Albuquerque for any member of the public to enjoy and take home! Post only pictures of free art please. According to Stephanie, “the mission of FAF Albuquerque is not only to promote the artists of Albuquerque but to be able to share and put out some of the best pieces from our friends around the globe.” Feel free to post pictures of your art on the FAF Facebook Page. There are no rules, thats the joy! In order to keep a record of exclusively free art you need to make sure the work is easily removable and does little or no damage to it’s environment.” Get out there on Friday’s and find some art! In a nutshell Free Art Friday’s is:

Drop Art . Leave Art . Strangers Find It . Everyone Smiles

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Stephanie Galloway has been featured as Community Publishing‘s Guest Poet, find her work by clicking here.
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Alex Paramo Community Publishing

Alex Paramo

Alex Paramo is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as Multimedia Books while promoting literacy in our communities. Community Publishing is a proud partner at the Rail Yards Market.
#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org

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Seth in New Zealand: Music in Class

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on April 28, 2015 1

By Seth Hoffman

Over the past month I’ve had the good fortune to be a part of so much music. It’s been my experience that music can do a world of good. I’ll begin by telling about what I’ve been doing in the schools here in Wellington.

Sometimes I visit a class or school only one time. I ask about their connection with music. “What’s your favorite song to hear?” “Does anyone in your family play an instrument?” “Do you like to sing?” “Who is your favorite musical artist or group?”

Music Conversations

We may go off on a brief tangent on any of these topics, and then I start playing a song. Often times I begin with “The Color Song.” The first part of this song I sing to them. Then, I sing the song again, and everybody helps create new verses.Finally, we all sing the new song altogether. I tell you, and it’s good fun, and it can really bring the room together.

Music in Class

Sometimes I play “The Color Song” on the Strumstick. I then give a brief background about myself, and the role music has played in my own life. I share how I used to be very much an introvert. I was quite shy, and I did’t connect easily with people or new situations. Music has helped me come outside of my head.

I share about how music takes down walls. Normally when we walk down the street, we typically don’t interact with strangers.

It might even feel a little bit strange or threatening if a stranger strikes up a conversation with you out of the blue. When we add a musical instrument into the equation, that wall often comes magically down.

Instrumental Role Playing

I do a role playing activity where I have one student pretend to walk past another another down the street. First, this is done with no instrument. Then they repeat the same activity where one or both will have an instrument.

Music has been part of almost every culture since the beginning of time. It’s not surprising that it “resonantes” with so many people. We talk about the different parts to a song. We listen to a song and identify the:

beat – rhythm – chord progression – melody – feel – mood – lyrics – chorus – verse – dynamics.

Next, I demonstrate building a song using the loop pedal. I start with a beat to set the rhythm. Then, I add a basic chord progression. Next, I add a simple melody. I might add some different sounds and layers to give the song texture and set the mood. Finally, with the help of the group, we add some words.

Here’s a video of me doing some song building in a bar in Wellington. I do basically the same thing in classes, though the song topic and lyrics may vary.

Collaboration

I am so impressed at the way that students are able to work together, collaborate, listen to each other, and present their creations. Some students who don’t typically get to shine became the stars of the class. Students who might not normally work together discovered that they could make incredible sounds together. Everybody got to be included, and everyone could participate in a way they felt comfortable and successful.
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Seth in New Zealand

Seth Hoffman

Community Publishing will be publishing a Multimedia Book written and Illustrated by Seth Hoffman titled, Janie and the Hummingbird. Seth is a musician, artist and educator based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Follow his adventures here every Tuesday. 

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.
We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.
#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org

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Travel Blog: Seth in New Zealand

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on February 3, 2015 1

Seth in New Zealand by Seth Hoffman

Hello friends, it’s me Seth Hoffman (teacher/musician/songwriter) here. I’ve started this blog so folks can follow some of my adventures and discoveries while I am on my Fulbright program here in Wellington, New Zealand. I post much on Facebook, but I wanted to have an option so my well-respected non-Facebook users can also come along for the journey.

Here’s where I am right at the moment. I’m at a little work station at the lovely Wellington Public Library located at 65 Victoria Street in downtown central Wellington.

Bringing Passion into the Classroom

You’re probable wondering, “What in the heck are you doing in Wellington, New Zealand?” Well, the title of my Fulbright Project is called “Bringing Joy and Passion Back Into the Classroom.” You may likely be aware (or maybe you aren’t aware) that budgets for music and the arts in schools are being cut left and right. The focus is almost entirely on raising Standarized Test scores in reading, writing, and math.

Seth in New ZealandI’m very much in favor for of students improving their reading, writing, and math skills. These are no doubt very important life and career skills. However, I believe there are other ways to go about reaching these goals. Throughout my 11 year teaching career, I have observed students thriving and becoming highly engaged through music and drama. This engagement transfers to self esteem and participation, and in the end helps the very skills these high stakes tests are assessing.

Though my focus is music, I want to advocate and encourage teachers to bring their specific passion and interests into the classroom. A highly engaged teacher will likely have highly engaged students. Whether it’s music, drama, dance, cooking, scuba diving, or gardening, there are ways to integrate any of these topics into the curriculum.

Growing Budgets for the Arts

I will be working with and observing various teachers who specialize in integrating music and other art forms in their teaching. My hope is that budgets will grow for the arts in schools everywhere, and teachers will be encouraged and supported to bring their areas of passion into the classroom.

I look forward to sharing my discoveries with you.
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Seth in New Zealand

Seth Hoffman

Community Publishing will be publishing a Multimedia Book written and Illustrated by Seth Hoffman titled, Janie and the Hummingbird. Seth is a musician, artist and educator based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Follow his adventures here every Tuesday. 

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.
We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.
#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org

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