ONE of the most wonderful aspects of music, celebrated Australian conductor and music education teacher Richard Gill said, is the way it can be imagined.
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For instance, you can think of tunes in your own head and enjoy music from that perspective.
Mr Gill said there is plenty of evidence that shows music has a powerful effect on the brain because it stimulates it so intensely.
“When people sing music and read words while using pitch and rhythm, the brain is at its most active in terms of rewiring and laying down new pathways,” he said.
“Music has the wonderful capacity to benefit every level of one’s life.”
Playing music to children benefits them because they have to listen so intently.
The more children listen to music, Mr Gill said, their capacity to listen in general increases and while they do not need to learn an instrument, they do need to sing.
He said children can learn to sing from birth and when they are between the ages of two and four they are natural song makers with the capacity to store thousands of tunes.
When youths get to university they develop their tastes and restrict the different types of music they listen to.
“Music has the wonderful capacity to benefit every level of one’s life.”
- Richard Gill
However, Mr Gill said children are more open to a wider range of musical experiences and if you give them access to different styles, from classical to pop, children will develop depths in their tastes.
“I don’t have anything against pop music, but why not open children up to something else and allow them to explore?” he said.
“Once they get to know a new style of music, they can explore some more.”
While Mr Gill said there were very good aspects of music education in NSW, it was not up to the level he would like to see.
“For instance, not every child has access to someone who is musically qualified,” he said.
“There is evidence from all over the world that schools with very heavy arts programs have students that excel in other areas of education because they learn to think creatively.”
He would like to see more arts and music programs in schools “for the sake of the country, not because it’s going to make me rich”.
Richard Gill will hold two events at Four Winds in Barragga Bay on Wednesday, November 18.
He will run a creative music workshop from 9.30am-3pm that costs $50 and is for music teachers, leaders and enthusiasts in and beyond the classroom.
From 4.30pm he will give an address on how music improves lives with entry by donation.
For more information visit www.fourwinds.com.au.
