Every heart has a song
Every soul, a melody
A yearning so long
To find true serenity.
And one fine day
After the longest wait
Comes knocking along
An Angel with a harp
Turning their lives
Into a beautiful song.

The word ‘music’ originates from the Greek term Mousikē, which also includes drama, dance and poetry. Singing has been scientifically proven to soothe and raise your mood. However, singing in a group is even more beneficial because it releases hormones like oxytocin that make you feel good and also reduces stress hormones like cortisol.

Dopamine being the key, studies show that if you listen to music you enjoy, while getting your heart rate up, you can achieve more with less effort. The pain sensitivity can decrease in the aftermath of exercising with music, so when you’re done, you may not feel as exhausted as you would have otherwise. Listening to music before you do something can put you in the right frame of mind for the task at hand.

Listening to 5-10 songs daily helps improve memory and strength and boosts the immune system by 80%. Song lyrics are believed to have a stronger impact on human minds when an individual is sad. Though it can affect your mood, it turns out that it can also have a significant effect on your perception of the world. That is why the type of music you listen to plays a vital role in how you feel, what kind of thoughts you invite and your response to the situations around you!

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Grooving with green friends

Gardening gloves? Ready. Watering can? Ready. What about your device with some peppy music loaded in it? Adding a musical touch to your gardening hobby can make plants thrive. Before you set up a DJ party in the garden, let’s take a look at what makes plants rock in rhythm.

Turns out, it’s not just any old tunes that make plants thrive; it’s the sound waves themselves! Frequencies like 125 Hz and 250 Hz have been found to help with photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert light into energy. And more energy means more growth — a fascinating link between music and magical growth!

But here’s where it gets really interesting. It’s not just the frequencies themselves that matter; it is also the type of music. Soothing sounds like rainfall and birdsong or classical melodies don’t just make humans happy — they delight plants, too! They’ve been shown to promote seed sprouting, stress relief, and even bumper crop yields. Don’t be surprised the next time you find your plants shaking and grooving when there’s music playing!

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Samsung Music Frame is a speaker that doubles as decor. Music Frame has a camouflaged design with a modular front area that you can use to display different artwork or your favourite vinyl records. The frame measures 12.9 x 12.9 inches, and hidden inside are two woofers, two midrange drivers and two tweeters, with waveguides to spread the sound around. Music Frame is compatible with Samsung’s Q-Symphony technology so that you can pair it with Samsung TVs and soundbars, or operate as a standalone speaker. It features Samsung’s SpaceFit technology that allows it to adjust the volume of your tunes to suit the environment. It offers both WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.

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What would be the availability or difficulty levels of pursuing a musical career in the future? Will competition be increasingly difficult, or is it important to focus on one specific genre? The entertainment industry is highly based on public opinion, so what would be a considerable path to follow in order to fulfil one’s musical passion?
Iniyan Achyudhan (15) / International Bilingual School at Tainan Science Park, Tainan, Taiwan

The music industry is always in need of innovative, creative, successful artists to introduce different styles and various fusions in this field. But there’s more to a career in music than just performance — it can involve one or many disciplines. The more versatile you are, the more opportunities you will have to work in the music business. 

Musicians may perform a variety of tasks depending on their area of specialization. Composers create musical compositions for films, plays, television and concerts. Conductors lead instrumental music groups, such as orchestras, dance bands, and various popular ensembles. Instrumental musicians play any of a wide variety of instruments such as the saxophone, trumpet, piano, guitar, drums, clarinet or flute. Some may be talented enough to play more than one instrument. Singers sing songs on stage, radio, television or motion pictures. DJs bring parties to life, using their mastery of music and beats to entertain crowds.

However, the music business is more challenging to break into than other sectors. There is a lot of competition, but if you hone your skills, build relationships with the right people, and put in the effort, you can pursue some of the careers described above.

The growing popularity of music in recent years has also resulted in increased employment opportunities. Social media has enabled fans to segment themselves into large supporting groups, which allows musicians to make a substantial income based on their talents, endorsements, ads or views. Many use their performing skills in amateur work or as a hobby. As someone rightly said, “It’s a great life, when it works.”

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“Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence.”

World Music Day or Fête de la Musique is an annual celebration that takes place on 21 June every year to honour amateur and professional musicians. On this occasion, how about taking up the hobby of either playing a musical instrument or listening to music?

Playing a musical instrument, especially the guitar, is one of the most popular hobbies worldwide. Millions play the guitar as a leisure activity, as it is one of the easiest musical instruments to learn.

According to research conducted by Fred Cicetti of Live Science, playing the guitar lowers blood pressure, decreases the heart rate, reduces stress and lessens anxiety and depression. Researchers suggest that both listening and playing any musical instrument can improve our memory capacity. There is also emerging evidence that playing music can improve our immunological response to viruses and bacteria. Isn’t this very important in this current scenario?

Playing a musical instrument is a great hobby to have. So if you are thinking of taking on a new hobby this year, music lessons are a great option. A few of the musical instruments one can easily learn and play are: keyboard, piano, recorder, classical guitar, drums, electric guitar and violin.

Five benefits of playing a musical instrument

1. It is a form of therapy.
2. It is good for the heart.
3. It enhances creativity.
4. It can future-proof the brain.
5. It enables us to express our feelings.

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Have you had some training in playing an instrument or singing? Training under an experienced guru from childhood helps to sharpen your skills; later you can develop the instinct through talent, experience and practice.

You may go for a B.A. in Music after 10+2. During the course, students receive a thorough grounding in the core areas of practical skills, music history and analysis. They may further specialize in performance, composition, electro-acoustic music or other areas as they progress through the course.

Some of the institutes are: Bhatkhande Music Institute Deemed University, Lucknow (bhatkhandemusic.edu.in); National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama (Sangeet Natak Academy), New Delhi (sangeetnatak.gov.in); Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata (rbu.ac.in); Visva Bharati, Santiniketan (visvabharati.ac.in), Tansen Sangeet Mahavidyalaya at various places (tansensangeet.com).

The life of a professional musician can appear glamorous. But when it comes to making it a profession, the jobs are highly competitive and difficult to find. It often takes the right contacts and a lot of luck to find work. You may experience a great deal of rejection and there may be periods of time when you don’t work, at least as a performer.

I’m telling you this not to scare you; rather that is the reality. Breaking into this industry also requires dedication, talent and sometimes good luck. That may be the reason your parents are suggesting that you first secure yourself with a good education and career.

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If you don’t want those following your Spotify account seeing what you’re listening to, the music streaming platform allows you to hide your playlists.

In the app, click on the ‘Your Library’ tab on the bottom right-hand side of your screen. Here you’ll see all the playlists you’ve created. Select the playlist you want to make private, and tap on the three dots at the top right corner of the screen. Select ‘Make Secret’ from the menu that pops up.

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Furtados School of Music, founded in July 2011, is one of the most popular music schools across the country. Partnering with over 200 schools in different parts of the country, the School today spreads the joy of learning music to thousands of children.

Band-It Festival, a musical event initiated by Furtados School of Music in 2012, has over the past seven years grown into a national festival, bringing together young music lovers from all over India, annually.

To learn more about School and the Festival, The Teenager Today spoke to Dharini Upadhyay, the co-founder and co-CEO of Furtados School of Music.

Excerpts from the interview.

How did Furtados think of starting a School of Music, and why? When did you begin the School?
The Music School as an extension of business is something that the Furtado family always wanted to pursue. It was a passionate dream to build an entrepreneur entity, with a purpose to create a legacy that steered Tanuja Gomes (co-founder and CEO) and me towards enabling the dream of bringing life to Furtados School of Music.

There is a lot of work done in neuroscience on effective ways to update an outdated understanding of the purpose and importance of music education in every child’s educational journey. But our country does not have a structured approach to music education and so the vision of FSM is “to offer universal access to quality music education to students across the country in a fun -filled and joyous manner”.

Tell us about the early years of the Music School. Who initiated it, and from where did the School start functioning?
Tanuja and I were both bankers and decided to hang up our boots to pursue our dream to set up our first entity. We did considerable amount of groundwork and were convinced that this was the business idea we will pursue. We also assessed and met a few educators in India to understand the same for schools over here, which gave us a clear understanding of where the gap lies and highlighted the immense opportunities that existed in India. We originally started with “excellence centres” where students came to pursue their interest in piano learning programme, and gradually expanded our offer to different instruments like, guitar, drums, violin, vocals, etc.

What was the purpose of reaching out to regular schools, and how did they welcome the idea?
We felt we did not reach out to all students as access was still limited to the few who already had an exposure to music or were guided by their parents to pursue music as part of their various activities. Our dream was to create access to one and all. We then reached out to schools and conducted workshops to introduce them to the idea of learning musical instruments as part of music lessons in school. We had guests from Julliard School, New York, who conducted several workshops in schools along with FSM mentors and teachers, to deliver the magic of creating music together, and inspiring others, to bring these opportunities to students in schools as part of the programme. The journey commenced in 2012 with three schools in Mumbai and is now expanded to 200 schools across 20 cities offering music education to more than 75,000 students.

What about the Band-it Festival? How did it get started, and what was the initial response from music-loving youngsters?
Band-It is a platform for all students to perform and experience the joy of making music together and performing on a professional platform. The whole idea is to offer exposure and experience to students in an environment where they can bond with other students across schools and experiment with different genres of music and instruments. We encourage all kinds of bands to participate in Band-It. They could be Indian classical bands, fusion bands, rock bands, jazz bands, etc. The thrill of performing in front of an enthralling audience for young musicians brings in tremendous confidence and infuses them with energy and enthusiasm to be creative in whatever they do to make it to top ten bands list of the country. Given the response, we have added various categories like solo singing, choir, solo instrumental, as well. While learning is essential, performing regularly helps you apply your learning and keep getting better at what you do.

How did the idea of partnering with the regular schools come up? Is the response encouraging in proportion to the efforts and the investment that you make?
We think every school, every child in every school must get exposure to music. Partnering with all schools opens up opportunities to one and all. Our continuous efforts have given us great results year on year. While we started with 50 bands in year one, Band-It had 100 bands in year two and we are looking at over 500 participants this year. Our constant efforts have also been supported by various well-wishers like Faber Castell, Gibson, Furtados, Kidzania and many other companies to help expand the reach of the festival.

Tell us about the methodology you follow in the selection process, and in identifying the “best” musical talent in the country.
Given that we have expanded our reach to eight cities we have invited bands, soloist and choirs across the country to send their videos to us for the first round of eliminations. The shortlisted bands, soloist and choirs will perform in the regional rounds that will be conducted in all eight cities. The top 10 bands across the cities will be invited to Mumbai for the final round of Band-It finale. Before the finale the top 10 bands will be mentored by professionals from the industry on playing together, performance tips, brushing up on finer playing techniques, etc. We also have last year’s winners, Chaos Rift of Euro School, Airoli, who will open the Band-It 2019 Festival. Our special invitees are two NGOs, Aseema and Akshaypatra (Hyderabad) students who will also perform on this platform.

Where will the grand finale be held, this year? How much is the prize money offered to the winners?
The grand finale will be held at Bal Gandharva Auditorium, Bandra, this year. We are offering prizes worth more than 5 lakhs to all winners in addition to give-aways and certificates to all participants and schools that have auditioned for this Festival. The winners will also record their album in the studio and their videos will be promoted on YouTube by FSM. They will be offered an opening performance at Band-It 2020.

The Teenager Today wishes you every success in the grand musical festival. We look forward to working with you in the coming years.

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Hollywood is the destination for singers who hope to achieve success in any possible genre. There’s no completely certain path to become a world-famous singer, but here are some things you can do to increase your odds.

• Determine your type of voice. Most singers in Hollywood are well schooled on their vocal abilities. You need to know your vocal abilities before gathering music that will best display your own special sound.
• Study music. Take up an instrument, such as the keyboard or guitar, to make your singing performances even more entertaining.
• Record and market your music.
• Be determined and persistent. There’s a lot of competition out there. Most successful singers spend years working on their voices and playing low-paying gigs before they make it big. Don’t lose sight of your goal, and resolve to be patient.
• Sing in public whenever possible. Even if you don’t get spotted by a musician right away, you’re practising your stage presence and getting used to being in front of a crowd.
• Network. Make connections with other musicians. You never know who might want to collaborate with you in the future.
• Learn how to handle criticism. Accept rejection and move on.

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