Immersive Music Education at Slate School

By Eben Pariser, Music Educator

Music is so much more than entertainment. It’s a fundamental technology for linking our consciousness and creating a feeling of community. Published research in science journals links music making to neuroscience and health. Music causes the release of oxytocin, which is the chemical that helps bond mothers and children. It causes our brain-wave frequencies to synchronize, and our hearts to literally beat as one. It can serve as a doorway to different states of consciousness, and causes activity in diverse systems throughout the brain. It can even elevate T-cell counts, suggesting it improves immune function.¹,² 

One of my favorite questions to pose as an educator is, “why do we make music?” Is it a biological adaptation? Or is it just a random accident? Regardless of the answer, my goal in education is for every student to first experience the raw power of music and what it does for the human organism. The effects are profoundly more potent when music is actually played or sung in groups, as opposed to just listened to from recordings. These effects are not dependent on being “good” at music. Holding a beat collectively in a group is a behavior unique to humans, and we can all do it.

“Free Non-Verbal Music” is a flagship program at Slate School. We invite groups of 10 students to join together for 25 minutes of completely free, completely non-verbal musical expression. Instruments such as djembes, vibraphone, recorders, and piano, are placed around a central space. Friends are invited to sing, clap, hoot, howl, stomp, play, draw, lie down, dance, meditate, or do anything else without words. I am generally stationed at the drum set to help build a consensus beat that is sustained, which is a critical ingredient for human-made music’s power.

Some of our young friends shared their observations from the experience: 

• “A feeling of joining together and synchronicity.”

• “Changing together as one.”

• “Fun not to speak!”

• ”The vibrations from drums feel like a massage chair!”

• “Communication!”

I can corroborate all of these observations. When I do Free Non-Verbal Music with adult groups, they consistently add observations of increased community, joy, freedom, connection, and love. We’ve created a breeding ground for great vibes. What strikes me most about Free Non-Verbal Music is how the connection and feelings carry over to the other music programs we offer. For instance, Private Coaching on an instrument or voice can often be scary and bring up a range of unpleasant feelings and sensations for children. But since all students enter Private Coaching through the portal of Free Non-Verbal Music, these tensions, fears, and judgments seem to be entirely relaxed. By the time we are doing one-on-one Private Coaching, we feel totally safe and seen by each other. Leading these groups continues to educate me on what is essential in music, and I try to bring these attitudes and states of mind to my professional music as well.

The interest in our Drum Clinic programs is immense, too. About half of our Slate School students are involved. In addition to being a powerful delivery mechanism for the benefits of music on humans, it is covertly one of the most theory-driven offerings. We explore and diagram beats filled with subdivisions and ratios. Friends learn rhythmic notation, which many adults find to be a big weakness in their comprehension when they are later in their musical journeys.

Every classroom at Slate School also has opportunities to write and perform songs as a group throughout the year. The process of forming bands and performing songs is positively influenced by the nurturing and connectivity experienced in Free Non-Verbal Music. Some of the kinks — like overplaying, being self-centered, and being shy — seem to be alleviated, and group dynamics and playing as one is enhanced.

We are dedicated to expanding our music program, and we believe that adding more musical instruments to our currently small collection will greatly enhance it. We would be incredibly grateful for any donations to our Music Fund—every contribution, big or small, makes a difference! We are hoping to order approximately $3,000 of musical instruments, including a Drum Kit, Cymbals, Skekeres, Shakers, Glockenspiels, and an Octave Xylophone. With each instrument purchase, we’ll announce the donors who contributed to each instrument purchase, and our students will also create artwork and placards that we will display at Slate School to honor those who help make these new instruments and our music program possible. We can’t wait to share and create beautiful music with you!

1. Rodrigues, A. C., Loureiro, M. A., & Caramelli, P. (2010). Musical training, neuroplasticity, and cognition. Dementia & Neuropsychologia, 4(4), 277–286.

2. Zhou Z, Zhou R, Wei W, Luan R, Li K. Effects of music-based movement therapy on motor function, balance, gait, mental health, and quality of life for patients with Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Rehabil. 2021 Jul;35(7):937-951.