While music is magic therapy for us all, it “can make the difference between withdrawal and awareness, isolation and interaction” for those with special needs according to Barbara Crow, past President of the National Association for Music Therapy. Lyrical melodies, rhythms, and harmonies can elicit a response in children that stimulates learning, promotes responsiveness, encourages communication, and fosters growth. When used to empower and evoke connectedness in children with autism and special needs, music is truly transformative.
"Music can always be there when you need it." ~ An 8 year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome
Last year Magical Music for Life held its first TUNES IN TIMES SQUARE concert. The audience numbered in the thousands and the funds raised at that event enabled Magical Music to create their first album, A Day in the Life of a Child, as a collection of free downloadable original songs written especially for children with special needs. The music and lyrics of these songs have been written with the guidance of speech and music therapists. Some songs are written for children with auditory sensitivity to help integrate and normalize particular noises that could elicit discomfort. Other songs facilitate the many facets of language development and communication. Several of these songs are recorded at various tempos or with a call and response format so as to be interactive and accessible to a wide variety of needs. Magical Music’s goal is to provide children of all abilities with music that engages and transforms the way they understand themselves, others, and the world around them.
Speaking about this collection of music, Karen Nisenson, founder/clinical director of Arts for Healing, said: “What a wonderful gift to the special needs community!! With clever lyrics and great melodies, these songs hold the Magic of Music in the way they bring important skills to every child. I hope that parents and educators the world over will download this music and encourage their friends to do the same!! “
Proceeds from this year’s TUNES IN TIMES SQUARE will be used to produce more original songs to be available at no charge to serve the specific needs of therapists, parents, and children and as an accessible resource for people everywhere. Magical Music encourages everyone to come to Times Square’s Broadway Pedestrian Plaza on May 5th at 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. to hear a debut concert of this music, as well as other music performed by Broadway actors, selected tri-state soloists & groups, and the Magical Music singing groups. To learn more about TUNES IN TIMES SQUARE, go to www.magicalmusic.org or check out the other articles on Patch.
* * *
Magical Music for Life, founded in 1999, is a nonprofit charitable organization whose mission is to use music to better the lives of children. Toward this end, MMFL has produced a wide range of musical projects which deliver positive messages to children. These projects include two family musicals (The Adventures of Zak and Russell, the Hermit Crab), which have been performed in professional theaters, schools, and hospitals throughout the northeast. MMFL has written songs for several national well-known charities and children with special needs & autism, as well as the Magical Music singing groups have performed at such venues as the White House, United Nations for the first World Autism Awareness Day, Citi Field Stadium, Tribeca Film Festival, and Times Square. Proceeds from these events have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for children’s charities. This year’s TUNES IN TIMES SQUARE will be Magical Music’s fourth benefit concert involving the participation of hundreds of children. Besides last year’s TUNES, Magical Music for Life produced One Town … One Voice concerts to benefit Stand Up to Cancer and Habitat for Humanity's Katrina Relief Fund.
For more information about Magical Music for Life, to hear their original music, or to make a donation supporting their mission of using music to better the lives of children, go to www.magicalmusic.org.
