Scott Macaluso, Author at Keeping the Blues Alive

Scott Macaluso

KTBA Funds Multicultural Music Classroom

This week, Keeping The Blues Alive donated a set of multicultural CD’s, workbooks and percussion instruments to Ms. Barnes’ kindergarten class in Jackson, Mississippi. We jumped at the opportunity to give back to the Delta region that played such a pivotal role in the development of the Blues movement and gave birth to a style all its own. The history of the Blues is one rich with diversity and multiculturalism, so we wanted to help Ms. Barnes pass on the importance of understanding and appreciating diversity to her young students. Ms. Barnes writes: “It is imperative that my early learners understand and embrace diversity. The world is so much larger than their homes, schools, or communities. We live in a world rich with culture. Your donation will provide opportunities for my students to practice acceptance and tolerance through music and movement. Your partnership will expand my students view of the world This project seeks to enrich the lives of kindergarten students. It is important that the topic of diversity is addressed in the classroom. My students will learn to accept and appreciate other culture backgrounds and differing abilities. My students will best learn the concept of multiculturalism through music and movement activities. I have ordered audio CDs and musical instruments that represent music from countries around the world. The students will enjoy listening to, singing, and dancing to the music from Ireland, Jamaica, Spain, Japan and so many more exciting places. It will be delightful to learn that people who are so different really are so much alike. It is imperative that my early learners understand and embrace diversity. The world is so much larger than their homes, schools, or communities.” We couldn’t agree more and we’re happy to support classrooms like hers. To help us on our mission to fund music programs like this one and others around the country, please donate today! Click here to make a donation!

July 22, 2013

KTBA Supports Music in Special Needs Classroom

This week, Keeping The Blues Alive donated a set of percussion instruments to Mrs. Weaver’s pre-k class in Frederick, MD. KTBA understands the important role music education in the early development of children. From the National Association for Music Education: “Music is a natural and important part of young children’s growth and development. Early interaction with music positively affects the quality of all children’s lives. Successful experiences in music help all children bond emotionally and intellectually with others through creative expression in song, rhythmic movement, and listening experiences. Music in early childhood creates a foundation upon which future music learning is built. These experiences should be integrated within the daily routine and play of children. In this way, enduring attitudes regarding the joy of music making and sharing are developed.Music education for young children involves a developmentally appropriate program of singing, moving, listening, creating, playing instruments, and responding to visual and verbal representations of sound. The content of such a program should represent music of various cultures in time and place. Time should be made available during the day for activities in which music is the primary focus of attention for its own value. It may also serve as a means for teachers to facilitate the accomplishment of nonmusical goals.” Mrs. Weaver writes:My students are pre-K level, attending a special school for children with developmental and physical disabilities. They are a great group of students, and complete their work with smiles on their faces each day. They love music, and are motivated with movement breaks including musical involvement and games. These items will change my students’ lives by providing the tools that they need to maintain their mind and bodies through movement, and music. They will be able to play with music, and move their bodies to tunes produced by movement with the toys. The students will learn basic skills through music. This was an easy decision for us to make, but we need contributions from music supporters to continue to fund the next generation of musicians. Help us on our mission to fund music programs and scholarships across the country by making a donation today. Click here to donate: https://keepingthebluesalive.org/donate

July 16, 2013

KTBA Purchases New Trumpet

TUCSON, AZ – This week’s donation story is from Tucson, Arizona where Academy Of Math & Science Cs’s will receive a brand new Bb trumpet for their music program. We received a notice from a concerned Mr. Guenthner who has been trying for the last year to get band instruments into the school. He was extremely dedicated to his project, and even loaned the students some of his own instruments to get started. However, the cost of repairs was burning a hole in his pocket, and with a limited budget for the young music program, he decided to ask for help. “My own finances have been strapped to the point where it is difficult for me to keep maintenance of my own instruments. I would love to start by getting an instrument that I can let a student rent for free, without having to lose sleep of my own personal instrument. This beginner instrument will be a foundation on how much effort and time they should put into their studies.” Although the school is successful in other areas of academia such as math and science, the students needed an outlet to get away from the daily grind, and learn a fun yet stimulating activity such as band, to foster their creativity and apply those methods to other subject areas in school, as well as life lessons overall. “I came to this school last year and was upset with the lack of resources given to the students. It feels as if I had more opportunities to excel than them. In a growing culture of technology and ideas, this needs to be reversed as students should be given ample resources to excel in academics as well as arts. With their own instrument, even one… That lucky student will first know that someone cares enough about them to help achieve their goal.” We agreed wholeheartedly with Mr. Guenthner and since our last donation ended up canceling their order (teacher moved to another school), we applied the released funds, and paid the difference for Mr. Guenthner to receive the new trumpet and the proper warranty replacement plan. If you missed your opportunity to donate to this week’s project, please take a moment to ask yourself, “will my $10 make a difference?” Because we will tell you that EVERY donation can either fund a project, or contribute to a partially funded project. We make sure that funds go directly to schools in need and your donation is tax deducible!

June 19, 2013

KTBA Donates Recorders

KTBA Donates Classroom Set of Recorders to Elementary School Music Program CEDAR VALLEY, UT – Thanks to your donations, the 3rd graders at Cedar Valley Elementary School will have a little more “pep” in their step at the start of the Fall 2013 – Spring 2014 Academic School Year when they find out that their music class will have a new set of recorders for the year! As you readers are quite aware of already, Keeping The Blues Alive foundation LOVES supporting music programs across the country. When we found out that Mrs. Wride’s third grade classroom was in need of a classroom set to round out their academic program, we knew we could step in. As a recently hired employee of the school district, we knew that Mrs. Wride’s fresh approach to early learning and her youthful energy would be an asset to our donation! The school, located near Salt Lake City, Utah is A BYU partnership school that has witnessed steady growth and academic achievement over the past few years due to its star-faculty and administrative consistency. We were also pleased to see their instillment of community participation through parent groups and community involvement. The classroom set of recorders is a fun and manageable way to encourage students to learn musical concepts and themes. It’s an individually motivated activity but also allows room for group work, as the workbooks encourage small group play and ensembles, and yet allows the stronger students to advance to more chapters while letting weaker students take their time on the earlierlessons. The school has been notified of their new instruments, and we will follow up with them to see how the students enjoy their new instruments. As always, thank you for your many donations! By donating to our cause, you allow us to continue funding music projects once a week! If you were unable to help us this time, but would like to donate this week, please click here!

June 12, 2013

KTBA Infuses Jazz into Middle School Band

This week, Keeping The Blues Alive wants to tell you about a school in Taylor, MI called Quest Charter Academy! The school is located just southwest of its neighboring major city – Detroit, and boasts a young 5th-8th grade student body comprised of students from many different neighboring communities. On a good day, their parents can drop them off; On a bad day, when they can’t afford the tank of gas to get there, the students are excused. The students are brave, they are courageous, and are exposed to many life-altering circumstances that we all know children should not have to endure. However, when these kids come to Ms. King’s music class, they are seemingly transported into another dimension where their opinions matter, their worries are lifted, and they are free to express themselves. The students really care about learning to perform music; Ms. King enrolled them in the district Solo and Ensemble Adjudication Program, where her students received Division 1 and 2 ratings! When faced with the task of trying to find suitable music to teach these children, Ms. King turned to jazz music. Why Jazz? In a nutshell, jazz music is performed using a set system of standard progressions and cadences, BUT easily yields to improvisation which is why so many different instrumentalists have been able to excel in this particular artform. Pianists, Drummers, Bassists and pretty much every other instrument except harmonica (know any jazz harmonica players? Tell us!), know that at one point in their musical career, a teacher taught them the basics of jazz, 7th chords,The Circle of Fourths/Firths, or any combination of them. In order to get these kids started, Ms. King needed some equipment so the students would not need to be financially responsible for providing their own gear for such specific tone qualities. The equipment consisted of a GSRM20 Mikro Short-Scale Bass Guitar (to accommodate for their small stature at this age level), an instrument cable and the standard Ultrabass BXL900 90W 1×12″ Bass Combo (the fundamentals). Upon reviewing the information submitted by Ms. King about the project cost, Keeping The Blues Alive AND Ms. King allocated money to fund her project, and the students will be receiving the music equipment very soon! [dropcap type=”circle” color=”#COLOR_CODE” background=”#COLOR_CODE”]”I[/dropcap] would whole heartedly like to thank you for taking the time to view my [Magnificently Musical Middle School Students] project and also personally make a contribution towards it. Your support and generous funding has allowed my students to receive their first school bass guitar and amplifier for our school jazz band. I know they will be thrilled to hear how it impacts our sound and enhances the ensemble. More importantly this organization and your support helps reinforce the idea that hard work and perseverance achieves success and a positive outcome. I look forward to watching their faces light up when they see and hear the bass guitar during our rehearsals. I hope you look forward to your upcoming thank you letters. Once again thank you so much for taking the time to support music education and making a difference in students lives.” – With gratitude, Ms. King We would like to thank our donors for supporting this project – Scott, Judy, and our donors the past week! To donate to the next music project, CLICK HERE TO DONATE! THANK YOU for keeping music and arts in our schools!

June 4, 2013

KTBA Donation Aids a Bilingual Chicago-based Preschool Classroom

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – In 1971, the Chicago Board of Education, along with an approved federal proposal, birthed a non profit initiative to advance bilingual education and parent participation. Ruben Salazar Bilingual Center, named after the hispanic visionary and political leader, addressed the academic needs of the non-English speaking preschool student, and soon become a premier learning center for early child development in the city of Chicago. As the school enrollment grew, the school selected its first principal in 1990 and since then, has become not only a learning center for preschool students, but has grown into a certified Dual Language School for grades Pre-K to 8th grade! Mrs. Arellano, a 20 year veteran teacher at the bilingual center, has experienced a plethora of changes and adaptions to the modern learning environment, the ever-changing economic strain across the country, and especially changes in the shifting needs of the over-stimulated culture of today’s generation. When Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation become aware of her class project to purchase Kaplan Certified Early Learning instruments, we knew that this would be a perfect way to give Mrs. Arellano an opportunity to use music and dance as an universal tool to seamlessly integrate cultural variety, basic musical concepts, AND speech patterns in a fun and engaging manner. “I have twenty 3-5 year olds who come from different socio-economic, language, and cultural backgrounds. Some of my students’ first language is another language other than English,” Mrs. Arellano confirms. “It would be nice to have musical instruments that come from their own cultures.” After proper research and deliberation, we awarded Ruben Salazar Bilingual Center the grant to purchase two rhythm band sets of instruments, including an accompanying DVD. We are certain that by keeping these students engaged with their new supplementary learning instruments, they will enjoy coming to school, learning, and making music together! Early learning is becoming an increasingly vital priority as educators and child care providers around the world seek alternative ways to empower future generations with the life skills, abstract thinking, and educational merit that is necessary to be successful in today’s shifty and extremely fickle job market. Additionally, we believe that the younger a child can grasp and apply these important skills, the better the chance that they will grow up to think for themselves, to bring new ideas to solve life’s greatest challenges, and to know how to work together – as a team. Music is by far one of the most tangible ways we can give this experience to our children. We hope that Mrs. Arellano and her students experience this growth together by using their new instruments, and we will check back with Mrs. Arellano at the end of the Fall 2013 Semester.

May 30, 2013

KTBA Funds Rock Camp in Gridley, CA

Gridley, CA – Guitarists riffing, drummers rocking, kids learning; This is what you will hear when you walk past this classroom at Gridley High School in California, thanks to an English teacher with a passion for music! In California, and in many other states around the country, music teachers are a rare commodity. Often times, a certified music teacher cannot just teach at one school, have their own classroom, and work full-time. They must teach one or two classes at one school, andthen commute to another school to make up for the other classes they do not get to teach at the first. Some people would call this “double-dipping” but for these teachers, it’s the only way to pay the bills. Unfortunately, this means that less students at either school are eligible to receive music instruction, as the teacher’s time is limited. However, for students at Gridley High School, the students get an alternative – and it’s called Rock Camp. Mr. McCabe, a high school English teacher has a full day when he goes to work. He teaches three (3) English I courses, and two upper-level English courses – English 4, and AP Literature. However, his passion for music and his touring experience moved him to take the initiative to start an after-school program called Rock Camp which allows students from the high school to enjoy music even though the school would not be able to keep up with the demand! “Since school music programs have been cut deeply, especially in California, I started Rock Camp as an after-school program. Rock Camp takes place right in my room, and involves students from my school. It is free for the kids, of course, and only involves me donating my time. Our music teacher is only here for one or two periods, then travels to another school. I’m just trying to pick up the slack from the state budget cuts,” Mr. McCabe explains. When we received this letter from our friends at Donors Choose, we knew we wanted to step in and help get Mr. McCabe the tools he needed to make a difference for his school and ultimately, his community, by getting involved. His request? 1/4” cables. that’s it. Oh and sorry, he needed a drum throne for his drummer. (Come on, no drummer deserves to rock faces by sitting in an office chair. It’s called a throne for a reason!). We donated almost $400 to help them supply the Rock Camp and they were able to purchase plenty of speaker cables, patch cables, and of course, a drum throne! Without your support, we would not be able to help these music programs. Thank you for donating and helping us be a gateway for people to keep music music in our schools! Every donation helps us achieve our goals, so you should never feel like an amount is too little! To give, and help us fund the next music project donate to Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation today!

May 21, 2013

Reading is Musical

This week’s donation story is about a school in Arden North Carolina whose music teacher, Mrs. Huntsinger, wanted to create a music curriculum in supplement of the reading program! We loved this story because it proves that it truly takes a village to raise a child – and in the case of music education in schools across America, it takes a strong unity amongst school faculty to have a successful music program. The students will have a much more balanced learning experience, and the subject areas will begin to compliment each other. Mrs. H explains, “We, as teachers, seek to use every opportunity to teach reading, writing, math and other core subjects. As a music teacher, I want to assist in this process and yet continue to teach music as well. These 12 books about the music of Brahms and Clara Schumann, books about different instruments, books about shapes in music, jazz music and other books about the job of just making music are key in that process.” This class project was critical to ensure a successful integration of special needs students in the regular classroom and to expand all of her students’ exposure to musical concepts and great composers throughout history. The classroom was full of eager youngsters who were creative and assertive. Some of the students had physical and mental disabilities. After reading about this school, we decided to contribute to her fundraiser. Because of our supporters, these class projects are hands-on ways that we can impact many schools across the country – not just the ones with extraordinary talent and resources! We believe that every child matters! Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation – thanks so much for your support of music education. Gaining a love for music in elementary school can give my students a love of music for their lifetime. Thank you so much for investing in them. My students will be so excited to learn more about drums and percussion, more about Clara Schumann and so many other books which allow me to integrate reading into my music classes. It is really exciting to have some new materials. I can hardly wait to share them! With gratitude, Mrs. H – Glen Arden Elementary School If you would like to help us fund the next music project, please consider making a donation today! If you would like to look up the book titles for YOUR classroom or child, check out the list below: Just a Little Music AKJ Books The Whales” Song Dyan Sheldon, Gary Blythe (Illustrator) AKJ Books Drums, Keyboards, and Other Instruments AKJ Books Drums and Percussion Instruments AKJ Books Jungle Drums AKJ Books Clara Schumann AKJ Books Brahms Ann Rachlin AKJ Books Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings AKJ Books A Chorus of Frogs: The Risky Life of an Ancient Amphibian AKJ Books Horace and Morris Join the Chorus (but What about Dolores?) AKJ Books Band Of Angels AKJ Books Junie B., One-Man Band AKJ Books Thank you for helping us keep music programs thriving in schools!

May 1, 2013

Strings and Things!

Springtime is in the air and Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation has been on a roll! It makes us so happy to be a part of something bigger than our own worth! Giving the gift of opportunity and access is worth so more than any amount of money that we can spend to fund a music project. Knowing that students’ lives were changed because strangers decided to reach into their pockets and share from their hard-earned paycheck, is such a rewarding feeling! We wanted to tell about two other schools that were beneficiaries of the foundation: Sherman Senior High School (Seth, WV) and Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School (Providence, RI) Off the beaten path of the old coal town of Seth, WV is a school ridden with financial strain. When we learned that Ms. Estep’s music class was falling behind in their music funding, we knew we could step in. Ms. Estep describes her classroom situation: My students range from grades 7-12. Though many of these students have an interest in learning guitar, many cannot due to their socioeconomic situation. More than half our students participate in the free/reduced lunch program. I have personally purchased many things for my music classroom, such as music, strings, and other supplies in order to give my students the opportunity to have a hands-on musical experience. However, with twenty+ students per class, there are simply not enough instruments for everyone. I would like to give my students the opportunity to learn to play guitar and have a life-long enjoyment of music.” Nationwide, only 20% (or less) of students participate in traditional performance groups. The other 80% can be reached by offering non-performance classes such as guitar. This music music project encompasses the type of curricular activity that can stimulate and motivate these students to be assertive, to learn about trial and error, and sew back into their community. Using donations from Keeping The Blues Alive along with a team of donors, Ms. Estep was able to purchase two (2) Fender Acoustic Guitars to use in the beginning guitar class! Thank you for your generous donations! I can’t even begin to find the right words to convey just how thankful we are to have your support. Through DonorsChoose, I will be able to give my students opportunities I never would have dreamed to be possible. By donating to this project you are helping me reach more students and fostering a life-long love of music. Your support of music education is incredibly important and very much appreciated. Thank you so much! With gratitude, Ms. Estep – Sherman Senior High School But, you know how Keeping The Blues Alive gets down… We couldn’t stop there. While we were on the issue of providing string instruments and supplies, we had to take it one step further! Not too far away was a school with a similar request, only they were asking for supplies to rejuvenate the system they had going already. A list like this one would consist of guitar tuners, mandolin strings, sheet music books (manuscript), and blank CDs for the music classroom. This was a small order to fill, but in the eyes of a music teacher, this means NO OUT OF POCKET SPENDING! We couldn’t let Ms. Leech at Alvarez High School front the bill for a classroom that she is supposed to MAKE money teaching. Ms. Leech explains her project: “I recently acquired a mandolin that I would like to incorporate into my guitar ensemble. The extra mandolin strings will be helpful in the event that a string breaks or eventually they need to be replaced. The tuner is going to be amazing to use to not only tune the mandolin but the plethora of classical guitars I have in my classroom. This tuner is really unique because it clips onto any acoustic string instrument and can tune that instrument even if there is extraneous noise in the room (and when isn’t there music playing in a music classroom!?) This tuner would allow me to tune guitars in a noisy room during class time or right before a concert. The guitar ensemble sheet music book will be favored among members of my after school guitar ensemble. The Adele piano play along book and the 1990s piano play along book and CDs are going to be favored among my regular music classes. The spindle of CDs is imperative because as a music teacher I use a lot of CDs!” Keeping The Blues Alive donors pitched in for her fundraiser and eventually acquired the funds basically overnight! Thank you for your generous donation! My students could not be more thrilled about the new materials! The guitar tuner has been awesome! It is the most precise guitar tuner I have ever used! The tuner clips directly onto the guitar and it makes tuning so much easier (especially in a loud music classroom!) My pianists are really excited to learn some new songs! The favorites being “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)” by Bryan Adams and various movie and television themes from the “Great Themes” Guitar Ensemble Book! The blank CD’s are an imperative resource and material in my class room. As a music teacher I am always burning mixed CD’s for quizzes and assessments, as well as acquiring new music from my students and their cultures. The mandolin strings will be great in case a string breaks. Thank you Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation for positively impacting the lives of my students this year and many school years to come! This project could not have become a reality without your generous donation! Thanks again!”

April 30, 2013

Scott Macaluso

KTBA Funds Multicultural Music Classroom

KTBA Supports Music in Special Needs Classroom

KTBA Purchases New Trumpet

KTBA Donates Recorders

KTBA Infuses Jazz into Middle School Band

KTBA Donation Aids a Bilingual Chicago-based Preschool Classroom

KTBA Funds Rock Camp in Gridley, CA

Reading is Musical

Strings and Things!

Recent Posts

KTBA Donates Ukulele Tuners and Supplies to Elementary School

KTBA Donates Reeds and Method Books to Jr. High Classroom

KTBA Donates Recorder Karate Program to Liberty Traditional Charter School

KTBA Donates Percussion Mallets to Elementary School

KTBA and Spotify Sponsor Djembe Project