How does practicing music change our experience of music? We speak with an expert, Molly Gebrian to learn more. Her recent book, Learn Faster, Learn Better presents approaches to practicing that are supported by research into how humans learn music. Musical Memories by Alec Stutteville, Andrew Song, and Carlos Utrilla guide our discussion. One technical note regarding this episode of Lifetimes of listening: there are a few audio issues with Dan’s track that we could not easily fix. After a few moments, you will stop to hear them, but we wanted you to know that the issue is in the sound file, and not your speakers. Please enjoy, On Practicing Music!

How do you create a place for the arts to flourish? Why do youth need to be involved in expressing themselves with art? These are among the many things we speak about with our guest Logan Greene. He was one of the co-founders of the nonprofit organization Groundworks, an organization that promotes youth driven arts and music in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to telling us about Groundworks, Logan draws attention to some of the conscious decisions that were made to ensure that a healthy, safe, and supportive community that is in many cases run by youth and young adults. Musical memories by Ana Espinosa, Andy Mourelatos, and Faye Zhang guide our conversation.

How does music sustain us during difficult times? Why do we now realize why live music is so important? Our guest today is Lia Falco, an associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Arizona. She was central to the founding of a school based mental health program that provides free mental health counseling for students and families in public education, a program which launched just before the pandemic. Her research provides a context to the stories in this episode, about how music helped sustain and bolster people as they found ways to use music to provide solace for themselves during the pandemic. Musical memories by Andre Cota, Ariel Heinrich, and Hunter Del Rosario guide the conversation to a better understanding of how music supports us during those times we are in crisis.