A Well-Tempered Mind

Using Music to Help Children Listen and Learn

(

)

Author:

Perret, Peter
Fox, Janet

Foreword by:

Angelou, Maya

ISBN:

978-1-932594-03-4

Publication Date:

Oct 2004

Publisher:

Dana Press, The

Book Format:

Hardback

List Price:

USD $22.95USD $22.95

Book Description:

Peter Perret, conductor of the Winston-Salem Symphony, chronicles in A Well-Tempered Mind how a brief NPR feature about music and the brain inspired him to create an innovative music education program for first- through third-graders at two elementary schools in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The musicians from his woodwind quintet taught the children to listen to music, detect the roles of the instruments, discern how music is constructed, and even compose their own music.

The effects of the quintets intervention reached beyond the music classes and carried into other academic subjects as well, resulting in a significant improvement in the childrens scores on annual state tests. A Well-Tempered Mind describes how the children and musicians worked together, and explores the brain research that seeks to understand how music engages the brains cognitive capabilities ranging from memory and language and emotional processing.

Perrets Bolton project inspires a host of tantalizing questions such as: Does music physically change the brain? Can music help kids with short attention spans, dyslexia, and other learning difficulties? Does music influence the cognitive abilities needed for reading and math? Perrets engaging and candid narrative, previously featured in Symphony Magazine, tells of a fascinating journey of discovery into the complexities and intricate workings of the human brain. Further, it opens the door to new and exciting opportunities for education, in its demonstration of how music can be a universal language that expands young minds in unforeseen ways.

A Well-Tempered Mind demonstrates that by working together, we can make a difference in our children's lives and replace cultural bankruptcy with a full pocket of good music. Lord knows we need it."--Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center

This book should persuade parents and administrators to give education in music its deserved high priority in the schools under their care.--Walter J. Freeman, M.D., professor in the Graduate School Division of Neuroscience, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California at Berkeley

Book Details

Pages:	270
Detailed Subjects:	Music / Philosophy & Social Aspects Music / History & Criticism Education / Learning Styles
Physical Dimensions (W X L X H):	0.632 x 0.932 x 0.09 Inches
Book Weight:	1.241 Pounds

Author Biography

Perret, Peter (Author)

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928 in Saint Louis, Missouri. At the age of 16, she became not only the first black streetcar conductor in San Francisco but the first woman conductor. In the mid-1950s, she toured Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess. In 1957, she recorded her first album, Calypso Lady. In 1958, she became a part of the Harlem Writers Guild in New York and played a queen in The Blacks, an off-Broadway production by French dramatist Jean Genet.

In 1960, she moved to Cairo, where she edited The Arab Observer, an English-language weekly newspaper. The following year, she went to Ghana where she was features editor of The African Review and taught music and drama at the University of Ghana. In 1964, she moved back to the U.S. to become a civil rights activist by helping Malcolm X build his new coalition, the Organization of African American Unity, and became the northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Even though she never went to college, she taught American studies for years at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. In 1993, she became only the second poet in United States history to write and recite an original poem at a Presidential Inauguration when she read On the Pulse of Morning at President Bill Clinton's Inauguration Ceremony. She wrote numerous books during her lifetime including: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die, All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now, and Mom and Me and Mom. In 2011, President Barack Obama gave her the Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor, for her collected works of poetry, fiction and nonfiction.

She appeared in the movie Roots and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 1977 for her role in the movie. She also played a part in the movie, How to Make an American Quilt and wrote and produced Afro-Americans in the Arts,

Featured Books

View more Featured Books

Rate this title:

Select your rating below then click 'submit'.

I do not wish to rate this title.