DECATUR, ILLINOIS – Thanks to your donations, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation purchased brand new instruments for the choir and general music program at Dennis Elementary School! This includes a Rhapsody II 88-key digital piano, a new cajon, accompaniment CD’s and workbooks! “My general music and choir students are motivated, eager learners,” Ms. Boline states.  “They enjoy working on projects and sharing what they learn with their school and the community. They love music class even though it takes place in their classrooms since we don’t have a music room.” Students are anxious and excited for a school year filled with music projects and programs to share with their peers from other departments. Without a dedicated music room, students are used to improvising spaces and using the gear they already have. “[This year,] our choir is going to work with our band and orchestra to perform combined numbers in our concerts to help our music program to be more cohesive,” she says. “These materials [would] make a huge difference in my students’ learning. Exposure to other cultures through music is vital to teach well-rounded students.” Currently, Ms. Boline does not have a keyboard in her elementary classrooms to teach on, let alone a set to allow students to work on. “Having a keyboard to help teach my lessons will help tremendously,” Ms. Boline explains. “Having other instruments available to fully engage my classroom of active learners is very important. I want the ability to help foster a love of music in my students so they will want to be lifelong learners and musicians. These materials will help me to achieve all of these things for my super deserving students.” Thanks to the generosity of Joe Bonamassa fans and music lovers like you, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation funded Ms. Boline’s project and were able to provide her with everything on her list: a full 88-key console digital piano, a cajon, performance/accompaniment CD’s. The items will be delivered within a week – just in time for the holiday season! Ms. Boline expresses her gratitude: Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Inc., Thank you so much for funding our project! There aren’t words strong enough to express our gratitude! Music is SO important and you are helping us facilitate a deeper understanding and appreciation for music. We will benefit from your gift for years to come. Thank you so very much. With gratitude, Ms. Boline Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation is a 501c3 organization that makes a donation to a school in need of music instruments, supplies, sheet music, and more every week! Your donations help us keep music in schools, while preserving blues heritage. Without your support, we would not be able to reach as many students around the country. We are grateful for your generosity! As a result, KTBA has reached over 66,000 students across America by sponsoring over 400 various music projects ranging from purchasing new instruments, field trips, guest clinicians, purchasing supplies, and updating music libraries. If you would like to help us to continue to make an impact on music education in America, click here to make a donation! All donations are fully tax-deductible. Thank you for supporting music education for the next generation!

KTBA Donates Percussion Instruments to Middle School Music Program School Name – Echo School Teacher Name: Ms. Elizabeth Halloran, Social Worker SOUTH HOLLAND, IL – Thanks to your donations, KTBA donated brand new percussion instruments to students at Echo School. This includes a deluxe steel drum kit, concert toms, bongos, and a snare drum w/ stand. The following words are from Ms. Elizabeth Halloran, recently appointed social worker for Echo Schools. “I work as a school social worker with students ages 8 to 22 years old in a self-contained school in the south suburbs of Chicago. Every aspect of the students’ learning is modified to fit their individual needs and gain academic and life successes. I love coming into work every day and not feeling like I’m working at all. The students get off the bus smiling, greet me when I come into the classroom, and are willing to work through challenges they face on a daily basis. Teaching students about social emotional learning comes naturally in the environment I work in and a majority of these students are receptive to the lessons, getting in touch with their feelings, and what tools to use to cope effectively. One specific way is through music. We have been able to start a music group for student singers and percussionists to learn new songs, how to work effectively with groups, and following directions.” Currently, the school’s ensemble groups are prospering. The students participate in creating artwork to represent the class and they take personal ownership of their accomplishments. Although the singers are able to work together on a regular basis, the percussionists have been left out. “Bringing more diverse percussion selections will enhance the learning experience of music to our participating students, Halloran adds. “Many of our students who are currently using the limited instruments we have are non-verbal and can use sound and rhythm as their main form of communication. For example, the Wah Wah tube is a ground instrument where students can feel the vibrations as they play. Additionally, students learn structure, working in groups, and overall gaining a tool for self-regulation of emotions.” Thanks to the generosity of Joe Bonamassa fans and music lovers like you, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation was able to donate the necessary instruments for Ms. Halloran’s music program. We look forward to their thriving new projects and their collaborative performances! Elizabeth expresses her gratitude: Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, Inc., Thank you so much for funding the Rhythm Nation Project! I am so excited to inform our students that they will be able to use new instruments in our upcoming practices and performances. This donation will assist in expanding our students’ musical experience and knowledge of percussion playing. Music is a universal language and one that can only be felt from the inside out. I am so happy to continue our program and give our students this positive experience that they so dearly deserve. With gratitude, Ms. Halloran Every week, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation makes a donation to a school in need of music instruments, supplies, sheet music, and more! Your donation helps us to keep music in schools, while preserving blues heritage. If you would like to help us fund next week’s project, click here to make a donation! All donations are fully tax-deductible! Thank you for keeping music education in schools! Shawn Hagood for Keeping the Blues Alive

Rockford, illinois –  Did you have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument when you were in grade school?  When did your musical exposure begin?  Did your parents play old Elvis records?  Did they enjoy the Beatles?  How about Sly and the Family Stone? Stevie Ray Vaughan?  Were your parents more of the Alanis Morissette type? For me, my parents were all about gospel, r&b, and the blues.  In college, my dad owned his own VJ system (not a DJ – I said V-J, that means video jockey).  What is a video jockey?  Well, in a nutshell, my dad ran one of the few companies in the late 70’s and early 80’s that could play the music video to the songs that were being spun at clubs, parties and the like.  They used a video projection screen, and took advantage of a time when DJ’s were looking for the next big thing – some were just imitating, my dad was more on the “innovating” side 🙂  He knew all the latest hits back then – he wasn’t a musician per se, but his influence and exposure to literally every Top 40 song night after night, and year after year, still reached me when I was little.  I accredit my knowledge of Whitney Houston, Paula Abdul, Vanessa Williams, The Beegees, Michael Jackson, Clyde Stubblefield (Marvin Gaye, come on now), Bootsy Collins, The Parliament Funkadelic, Earth, Wind and Fire – all to my dad. My mom was a Sunday School teacher, studying to become a minister, and also worked as an RN.  Spirituality and health are both her callings.  But at home, our favorite holiday was/still is Christmas.  No –  not because of the presents, actually.  (Especially once I got my first keyboard – I didn’t really need another gift after that. I’m not making this up – I could have unwrapped the same keyboard or nothing at all, every year, once I got that Casio).  For me, Christmas time was awesome because my mom would go into this GIGANTIC CD binder and pull out all her Christmas music!  She was hooked on those Columbia CD offers, and she watched them like a hawk – checking the invoices, scoring TONS of albums over the years, and made every penny count!  Some music was religious – yes, like Kirk Franklin and the Family Christmas or one of those really talented r&b/smooth jazz saxophone players that played Christmas tunes.  Don’t judge me I can’t remember all their names!   Other albums were more contemporary, like The Luther Vandross’ Christmas album; The Drifters’ Christmas album – are you kidding me?  Those records made me feel so good! I was breaking down the parts in my head – who was playing drums, what was the pianist playing, and what was the REAL bass line?  Oh I was a music NERD. However, when I chose music, my parents weren’t sure how to take it.  Since they weren’t musicians themselves, they had no idea how to guide me through.  How do you just “look up” a private instructor?  What are they worth?  What will you do with your life by learning to play the piano?  How will you provide for a family?  (Pretty good questions if you were to ask any child these same questions today!) Everyone is searching for meaning and value through investing in music instruction, and as concerned parents, they should!  Luckily, hundreds of thousands of researchers, musicians, and professors have helped us gain some real data over time, to show us how valuable music education can be for your children! While searching the interwebular database, we noted a really cool fact to help parents understand this really important fact about music – that music is without a doubt, one of the most unique, fun, socially stimulating and wholesome experiences you can give to your kids. Using a database produced by the National Institutes of Health Magnetic Resonance (MRI) Study ofNormal Brain Development, the researchers at the University of Vermont College of Medicine analyzed the brain scans of 232 healthy children ages six to 18, specifically looking at brain development in children who play a musical instrument. (The original study didn’t indicate specific instruments, but that’s okay – it really doesn’t matter). “What we found was the more a child trained on an instrument,” said James Hudziak, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont and director of the Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families, “it accelerated cortical organization in attention skill, anxiety management and emotional control.” To read the rest of the article from The Washington Post click here. As I reflect on my own experience, this study is very accurate.  As you sit in your chair, surrounded by your peers, you are already in an environment promoting competition but supported with camaraderie.  As the conductor moves on from passage to passage, you must follow along in the music or you literally cannot participate at all!  This is the opposite of a normal classroom where the teacher can ramble on and on while you sleep at your desk, write/pass notes or practice the exact way you want to write the alphabet for the rest of your life.   No, if you get left behind, you literally cannot participate because the music moves on without you.  As you sit there, clarinet (or whatever instrument) in hand, with your eyes pacing left to right trying to figure out where they are in the music, your hands begin to sweat a little.  You begin to listen to the others in your section, and the band as a whole.  You ask yourself questions like “How loud is the band playing?  If they’re all playing loud, then I can look for a forte symbol in my music and maybe that’s where they are!” Or you could be thinking “When are the other musicians glancing up at the conductor, meaning they could be approaching the end of a section – especially if the majority of the band is doing it.” You

Barlett, IL  – Thanks to your donations this week, Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation made a great donation to an elementary classroom. “Only the best is good enough for a child.” – Zoltan Kodaly.  This quote is appropriately displayed in Mrs. Kutschke’s classroom, because in her class, the students come first. As a general music and chorus teacher, Mrs. Kutschke has her hands full. “One of my schools has a very large ESL population and half of the students receive free or reduced price breakfast and lunch. Because of the expanding Dual Language program, music class is now held in the teachers’ lounge. Even in the smaller space, the students are very eager to learn, sing, read and write music, do folk dancing, practice drumming, and play Orff instruments,” she explains. Keeping the students actively engaged is a task, but with her new IPEVO whiteboard system, she will be able to improve her lesson quality and engage with students on a more intimate level. “Having used an interactive whiteboard in a previous school, I have seen how these boards can engage students, making the learning more exciting and effective. Given that many of my students are still learning English, this visual tool will help them immensely. The iPevo Interactive Whiteboard system is portable, so my students at both schools can benefit from it.” Using the whiteboard, students will be able to see larger visual aids for composing music and partake in interactive classroom games and activities. Dear Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, I cannot thank you enough for your generous donation. I am grateful, joyful, and eager to begin planning for instruction with the iPevo system. With your donation, my classroom can become even more student-centered. My students will be very excited to use this gift every week in Music class.With the iPevo system, my students in both schools will be able to have more engaging lessons. ELL students will have the visuals they need, and all students will benefit from the interactivity we will have in our music literacy and exploration activities.I can’t wait to share the iPevo system with my students in the fall. I know that they will be eager to join me in thanking you, and to share with you pictures of us using our new tool in the classroom!With gratitude, Mrs. Kutschke To fund next week’s music project click here!

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.