Music Minds
Los Angeles
For a number of socioeconomic and individual reasons, many families and individuals are unable to access easy music education and experience. We want to provide those who don’t have access to music otherwise the opportunity to learn, play, read music, and create a welcoming community. We are an organization that hopes to introduce music into people's lives so that they can enjoy everything that it has to offer while also improving their cognitive health. Through lessons and activities, we hope to expand people’s knowledge of music. Specifically, to address those who do not have access to resources that could prevent cognitive issues, our aim is to make music more accessible and do our best to ensure that everyone has the chance to prevent cognitive impairment as well as establish critical thinking skills in younger and older generations.
The importance of our mission
We live in a world where children are greatly affected by socioeconomic factors that determine whether or not they can discover their interests and play instruments. There have been many times where our team members had to witness scenarios where their classmates could no longer attend and take music lessons with them because of how costly they were. Hence, we believe that it is important to create an organization that offers not only an inclusive community, but also brings forth easily available and affordable lessons to everyone, no matter who they are, their age, their socioeconomic status, or any other financial situations. We believe that everyone should be able to get the chance to better their cognitive abilities and find new interests, talents, and hobbies in the musical industry. We hope to influence and help as many people in our community as possible.
Significant Issues we want to Improve
Cognitive Impairment in the Older Generations
Studies have shown that music is a great tool to stimulate the brain. When specifically talking about the benefits it has in terms of cognitive diseases, we can see that some music, especially music that was once loved by a person can bring back deep memories and that therefore allow individuals to feel as themselves again, enabling socialization, self-love, and mind clearness. Music itself forces the brain to work in a bunch of areas ranging from the prefrontal to the temporal lobes; from the hearing and movement cortices to the areas of the brain that control your emotion. As people age, their brains age with them. They decrease in productivity and slow down. In patients with cognitive diseases, we see that these areas don’t really work as well as they used to and have hard time functioning. That is where music steps in. Music has proven to stop this effect and keep the brain young by offering countless benefits.
Learning music theory and the basics of instrument playing would be able to stimulate the brain even more and provide a good way for those suffering from any cognitive issue a way to work their brain out. Studies have shown that learning music and being able to play it make the brain work to a great extent and provides those who know music an advantage in their cognition. From higher brain densities to larger amounts of grey matter, music is able to force the brain to undergo plasticity and form new neural networks. So, when we apply this to those who are suffering from the effects of aging, we might be able to combat some of the symptoms that accompany the onset of Alzheimer's. If we start implementing music at an early age, we would be able to maybe help prevent some of these issues, or at the least prevent the symptoms from being super severe. Therefore, MMLA focuses on two global issues: combating cognitive decline while offering greater opportunities for musical exploration.
One study has shown that those who use music in care facilities for older people with cognitive disorders, saw a 50% improvement in happiness and 56% reduction in behavioral issues. Another study showed that those who played an instrument, even in their later years in life, were 64% less likely to develop dementia. Only a couple of the people in the study were professional musicians, while the majority only knew the basics of playing an instrument. Even so, it meant that they had a significantly lower chance of developing any sort of cognitive disease. This demonstrates how effective music can be in preventing cognitive impairment. Both studies showed how music can benefit those with cognitive issues and those without.
Limited Access to Opportunities
In order to encourage more children and people of age to adopt an interest in the music industry, it is important and required that people have both- a convenient and affordable way to receive lessons and partake in musical activities. However, access to music and instruments is extremely limited, especially those in the lower class and who live in lower-income communities. According to statistical sources, only 33% of children get exposed to the musical world- 18% of which take private lessons and 15% which utilize other types of musical learning through instruments. Many of the remaining children live in poverty and are unable to either afford or travel the inconvenient distance for music lessons.
Music education- especially that in California has been on a steep decline for years. Many schools in underserved areas cannot afford to offer lessons and only focus on what is considered the “basic” education requirements. Similar can be said about retirement homes where only a certain few get the privilege to include instruments, like a piano, and lessons to their residents.
Additionally, in underprivileged suburban areas, over 50% of individuals have to travel at least 5 miles to reach the nearest music institution that offers lessons. This can be said to be extremely difficult for low-income families who are probably much less likely to have a reliable form of transportation to travel all the way to the nearest musical institution. Since this is so challenging, many families tend not to pursue their interests in music because they simply do not have the resources or time to do so.
However, only taking the simple action of relocating or adding musical institutions throughout the cities is not enough to solve this profound problem. Music lessons are expensive. An average music lesson costs $80 per hour, and that is only for the lesson itself. Additional costs go into purchasing or loaning instruments for at-home practice. For schools especially, paying a teacher or conductor to teach music to students is yet another costly experience. This shows that for increased musical opportunities, music lessons do not only have to be nearby, but also cost-efficient.
Lack of Education and Motivation
A multitude of research has been conducted to show the benefits of music education. Music has been shown to decrease stress, boost creativity, and stimulate the brain. For young children, it has been shown to help them in their schools and their academics. Music is a great form of expression that is important for developing kids as it allows them to explore and express themselves in many ways. Not to mention that it has great improvement for their academics. One study showed that those who had music lessons or just any basic music understanding scored 22% higher on English standardized tests and 20% higher on math, than those who did not have any background in music. Not to mention, another study showcased that students who were most creative and had excellent critical thinking skills were mostly students who were able to proficiently play an instrument. Music has been shown to relieve stress and give people an all-around ecstatic feeling. Another study showed that high school students who listened to music regularly and those who could play an instrument didn’t have depression compared to their peers. Even with all of these case studies, there isn’t that much advocacy for the benefits of music. In fact, most places ban listening to music even though it gives so many benefits (i.e. schools).
In addition, lessons to get music are really expensive and they generally have a bad reputation. Some parents believe music to simply be a side hobby and fail to consider its countless benefits.
In addition, there isn't much promotion for the benefits of music when it comes to cognitive impairment. Most treatments focus on the medical aspect and while that is an important aspect, if not the most important, other forms of treatment can help as well. Studies have shown that music was the best way for dementia patients to remember the past as it was able to bring deep memories to the surface and it helped them communicate what they wanted. Yet, most people don’t pay attention to the benefits which is an issue because so many mental health issues can be battled through the use of music. That is our goal.
To add on, another aspect of this issue is that many times children fail to have proper motivation to continue their music journeys. Many times, they are forced, causing music to seem like a chore and a burden. This causes a decrease in student motivation and causes children to not want to continue their journeys with music. Research shows that in order to motivate children to continue their journeys with music, they should do so out of their own free will, which our organization aims to implement through fun, positive, and engaging musical activities.
Why Now?
This issue needs to be addressed now because of the increase of cognitive impairment in our society. With the COVID-19 pandemic, student grades have been significantly dropping. Children are shown to have a harder time focusing in class and have had overall decreases in test scores throughout these past couple of years. Music and its studies have been proven to increase individual performance academically and allow children to have a better range of focus. To add on, although the COVID-19 pandemic has struck years ago, economic suffering has continued ever since. Now, more than ever, the levels of poverty and homelessness in Los Angeles have reached an all time high. Prior to the pandemic, homelessness levels have been more than 13% lower, portraying how much of a negative impact COVID has had on the economic aspects of these individuals. Therefore, there are more and more people that are not able to access instruments and discover new talents, addressing this issue now would help introduce these people to new opportunities. To add on, with the aging population of Los Angeles, cognitive impairments have been occurring more and more frequently, showing that now is the time to act. Many of these dysfunctional impairments do not have medical cures such as Alzheimer's and other types of dementia, nor do they have a solid etiology identification. However, it has been proven that mental exercises such as playing the piano can help the elderly slow down the aging of their brain, improve their memory, communicate better, and function at a higher cognitive level. All of this taken into account, we can conclude that now is the time to take action against these global issues and introduce solutions that will not only help one group of people, but everyone.
Meet the Team
Aleksandra Grechanik
Aleksandra (Sasha) Grechanik is currently a 16 year old senior that attends Granada Hills Charter High School. She has completed Level Advanced in the Certificate of Merit and attended two music schools throughout her life: Encino Yamaha School and Virtuoso Russian Music Academy. She plays the piano, the acoustic/electric guitar, and the drums.
Ani Hovhannisian
Ani Hovhannisian is a 17 year old senior who also attends Granada Hills Charter High School. She is currently undergoing the Certificate of Merit program and has mentored numerous children to further their musical knowledge. She has played the piano as well as the violin for 14 years.
Upcoming Events
Annual RecitalTime is TBDLocation is TBD
Student SessionsTime is TBDLocation is TBD
Musical ActivitiesTime is TBDLocation is TBD
