The Magic of Music
Music can be magic: it can make us healthier and happier, reduce stress, and connect people across cultures. At home, music can not only calm and soothe children, it can also improve memory, increase academic skills, and encourage creativity. Plus, there’s evidence that regularly playing music together can increase empathy. Here’s how to use music to bring more joy, compassion, and hope into your family’s life and the lives of others.
– Jenny Friedman, Executive Director
ACTION
Try these simple ways to use music to help others, advocate for change, and get inspired to build a better world.
Music as service: Use your family’s love of music to share kindness.
Collect unused musical instruments from your community to donate to a school music program in need. These organizations might be able to offer direction.
Got kids who have been zooming into piano lessons and flute practice? Now organize a little Zoom concert with a local senior home. A great way to practice for an appreciative audience.
Listen to DGT’s collection of Big-Hearted songs – then create your own list of uplifting music to share.
Surprise a loved one who might need some cheer with an impromptu family concert, either in person or over FaceTime or Zoom.
Use the lyrics of your favorite song in creating a card to share messages of joy or gratitude with someone.
Music as advocacy: Music can have deep emotional power, which is why it is often used as a tool for inspiring social change. You can use it for this, too.
Raise awareness about the importance of music education.
As a family, write a song that advocates for a cause you care about. Then share it with the world!
Create a playlist of social change songs and share it. Find examples here, here, and here.
Music as inspiration:
For younger kids, check out Noodle Loaf's Echo Songs. Some are just silly, while others touch on important topics: Exclaim! (feelings), Families Belong Together (family love), A Family Can (diversity), and We Go Together (friendship). Songs for Singin' by the Okee Dokee Brothers will lift your spirits and make you want to be your best self.
Yam Haus music video, sung to the melody of Auld Lang Syne
Bruno Mars - Count On Me (Official Video)
"Kindness is a Muscle" Official Music Video ft. Aidan Prince, William Alexander | Universal Kids
Glen Campbell Try A Little Kindness Live 2002
For slightly older Twin Cities fans, here’s a Yam Haus music video, sung to the melody of Auld Lang Syne. It can spark conversation about this past year of challenges while inspiring hope for the future.
Consider these songs for teaching kindness to kids: Kindness is a Muscle, K is for Kindness, Count on Me, and Try a Little Kindness.
Don’t miss this Kukuza Fest Playlist: Salute to Black Women & Girls.
TALK
Have conversations with your children about the power of music.
Why do you think music can make us so happy – or sometimes so sad? Can you think of a time when music has inspired strong feelings in you?
Do you like all kinds of music? What are your favorites? Why do you think you’re drawn to a particular kind of music?
Why do you think music is so important to people?
What kind of role can music play in making the world a better place?
How can we use music to lift someone’s spirits? Make a difference in our community?
READ
When I Get Older: The Story behind "Wavin' Flag” by K'naan. The Canadian-Somali hip hop artist, who wrote the song Wavin’ Flag, which became the theme song of the 2010 World Cup, tells his story of immigrating to Canada at age 13 to flee the Somali civil war.
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle. The inspirational story of how one little girl changed the world through her passion for drumming. Beautiful, vibrant illustrations.
Harlem's Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills by Renée Watson. A biography of Florence Mills, a powerful figure in the Harlem Renaissance who used her voice to advocate for justice.
Sing a Song: How “Lift Every Voice and Sing” Inspired Generations by Kelly Starling Lyons. The uplifting story of the brothers who wrote the “Black national anthem” and how it became a force for change.
INSPIRATION
Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.
—Plato, Greek philosopher