April 14, 2008 by Stacy McDonald
Recent Happenings…
What a month! Last week, James and I keynoted the MCHE conference in Indiana and met a lot of great families! In my talk, I shared with ladies how they might help their daughters better understand the importance of godly deportment and presenting themselves to others in a lovely and godly way. We’ll probably make that one available in an MP3 file soon.
James shared on various subjects, including the history and relevance of the Reformation and how not to be a “homeschool dropout.”
This weekend, we attended our local APACHE conference. And for the first time in several years, James and I attended a homeschool conference as simply “vendors.” We weren’t speakers this time, so no busy schedule, no heavy prep time, no stress about projectors, handouts, or notes. Wow! I hardly knew what to do!
We were able to relax in our booth and visit with many wonderful new neighbors (we just moved to the Peoria area a year and a half ago), and attend several sessions (something we never seemed to have time for before). They had a great line up this year: Steve Lambert, Andrew Pudewa, and Jay Wile.
James and I held hands, strolled the aisles, and browsed the books and resources. It was practically a date! Our children enjoyed the time as well. It was wonderfully relaxing and I truly felt recharged and rejuvenated!
The day before the conference began we were honored to have our good friend, Andrew Pudewa, join us for dinner. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen him and we truly enjoyed the fellowship. Plus, our children have been using his writing curriculum, the Student Writing Intensive and were thrilled to fawn over their “other teacher.” We had some good conversations regarding how we might transform our culture for Christ.
Andrew is convinced that we won’t see major change in our culture until we see a profound improvement in our music. He said something like, “Music is not nice; it is powerful!”
During the conference one of his session talks was entitled, “The Profound Effects of Music on Life.” It was absolutely fascinating! Approaching it from a scientific perspective, he describes one experiment that was done with several groups of rats being exposed to different types of music over a six week period.
I won’t give you all the details (I’d rather you listen to his tapes), but I thought it was very interesting that the experiments, with the rats exposed to “heavy metal” music, kept having to be redone because the rats attacked and cannibalized one another before the experiment was complete. (Reminds me of some rock concerts I attended in high school.)
He mentioned how emotionally attached we get to our music and how we often refuse to listen to any type of critique regarding the quality or impact of it. Some people even refuse to attend a church without a drum set! Apparently, to some, doctrine isn’t nearly as important as rhythm.
Anyway, I would encourage everyone to listen to this wonderful life-changing teaching set. This is from his website: 
An interesting lecture highlighting the profound neurological benefits of music in a child’s environment.
Author: Andrew Pudewa
Price: $15.00
In what possibly may be the most interesting lecture you will ever hear, Andrew Pudewa highlights research regarding the profound neurological benefits of playing a musical instrument at a young age and the advantages of having the right kind of music in the child’s environment. Dramatic evidence regarding potentially harmful music is introduced with both scientific data and spiritual insight. Includes numerous musical samples and commentary. You will never listen to music in quite the same way after hearing this presentation. From children to adults, everyone should get this timely and fascinating message (2 audio CDs)!
For some good quality music, click HERE.
You can download the MP3 for The Influence of Music on Life Part 1 here.
Or you can download the MP3 for The Influence of Music on Life Part 2 here.
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7 Responses to “Recent Happenings…”
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I was a strange child. During my middle school years, I enjoyed listening to Renaissance church music, such as choral settings of the mass text by Palestrina. This really shaped my thinking about music in general, but more specifically about church music. I’ve always felt this type of music felt “higher”…so why would I want to listen to higher music at home, then go to church and listen to the same type of stuff I could hear on the radio. I’ve always felt like a snob about it…but it really is something I’m glad I was exposed to at a young age (my mom is a choir director). It’s why I went to college and got a music degree!
How did the rats react when they listen to hip-gop is that in there too. I myself had to give up that type of music; I would love to know what it does to rats. Two, what music did the rats respond to in the most positive way?
Will your husband’s talk be available to listen to or read?
Thanks!
Oh, my daughter would just LOVE to meet Andrew in person! He is one of the best speakers I have ever heard- we enjoy using IEW for writing as well as his poetry program.
Fascinating! My boys LOVE classical music and instrumentals- we listen to it quite a bit.
This is evidenced by the fact that I actually heard Christopher humming “Toccata and Fugue”(Bach)the other day when he was coloring. I couldn’t figure out why until I remembered that I had that CD on in the car all week. Evidently, as we drove he had been memorizing the notes. It is scary how much we assimilate without even realizing it! :o)
I just listened to Andrew Pudewa’s music cds. They are very informative and maybe something all Christians need to hear.
Andrew Pudewa’s CD about music truly changed the way I looked at the influence of music and revolutionized what I now expose my children to musically. It is worth your time and money. He is a GREAT speaker.
Thanks for spreading the word about Mr. Pudewa.
Claire