NAMM: Founded in 1901, 110 years ago; The NAMM Show is one of the largest music product trade shows in the world. It is held every January in Anaheim, California, USA, at the Anaheim Convention Center. This year there was a record 95,709 registered attendees, and 1,441 exhibitors.

Keeping Music Going In Our Schools

Can you imagine a world with no music? Ouch! That would be like being trapped in an ongoing nightmare. Music inspires us, moves us, brings us together. It is art, science, tradition, culture and chronicles - the essence of our existence from one generation to another. It brings back memories, it shifts our mood and it heals. Personally, I couldn't imagine living in a world without music. I toast to this year's NAMM slogan, "Believe in Music," and invite everyone, of all ages, to Believe in Music! I caught up with renowned musician Michael Murphy, after his NAMM performance with Pete Anderson opening day of NAMM. Michael summed it all up in three words when he said, "Music is Magic." Murphy is a musician, composer, music producer who lives near NOHO and has played keyboards with Joe Walsh and Seals and Crofts.

I am a musician myself and lucky to be living in the NoHo Arts District, the largest concentration of music recording venues west of the Mississippi. I get to experience musical events, talk with musicians, play with musicians, and be in heart of the NOHO music scene. But what if you are not a musician or in the music industry? Is the survival of music of great relevance to those who are not in the music business? I think its safe to say that almost everyone on the planet enjoys music in one form or another. But does everyone "believe" in music? With budget cuts threatening music education in our schools, I sometimes wonder.

One of the great things I noticed at NAMM this year was the spirit of keeping music going in schools; which translates greatly to keeping music alive. This year, NAMM had a powerful message, "Keep Music Education Strong." The NAMM Foundation launched its annual effort to recognize and support schools across the United States that support music education as part of a complete and quality education for all children. NAMM envisions a world in which the joy of making music is a precious element of daily living for everyone; a world in which every child has a deep desire to learn music and a recognized right to be taught; and in which every adult is a passionate champion and defender of that right. NAMM's mission is to strengthen the music products industry and promote the pleasures and benefits of making music.

After walking from booth to booth in what seemed to be hundreds of miles of booths, I really got the sense that the music industry is coming together to support music and arts education in schools. I came across several companies and non-profit organizations that offered great opportunities for music education. I was very impressed with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a non-profit mobile recording studio dedicated to providing students of all ages with free hands-on opportunities to make music and produce video projects.

Another booth that caught my attention was an exciting new program called CoolUp Your Schools. Greeting people at the booth, Phil Seiflein of Ethermedia gave me a full run down of the program. In the words of CoolUp Your Schools spokesman Harry Evry; "We set out on a mission to encourage students and support the critical cause of music in the classroom, and we have been blown away by the amazing outpouring of heart felt encouragement and music industry support; not just from the musicians and artists in the music industry but from businesses and foundations who recognize the critical importance of music and art education to our students experience and understanding of culture creativity and education." Mr. Evry then shared with me how this vision began with one Karaoke system manufacture offering to put specially loaded systems full off educational content into as many classrooms as possible. In the course of the NAMM show dozens of artists musicians and entertainers volunteered their talents to support endorse and support CoolUp Your Schools. Teachers and Schools interested in receiving free systems, content and support and anyone interested in supporting the program can register at http://coolup.tv.

And so with all this I feel more optimistic that the music industry will do everything possible to keep music going in schools. I left the expo feeling rewarded by the experience and joined the energizing drum circle lead by Arthur Hull in which REMO supplied hundreds of drums for all those who believe in music.

Visit the NohoArtsDistrict.com music blogs:

Brit Music Scene - David Mariam covers the British Music Scene...raised in Los Angeles, living in London for the past eight years, David is now a contributor to several top music review sites in the UK.

Jessie Payo covers the LA music scene - Jessie’s band opened for The Black Eyed Peas, Jason Mraz, Lauryn Hill, Lupe Fiasco, Etta James and Boyz II Men. Her music has appeared on MTV’s hit series “The Hills,” “The City,” “My Super Sweet Sixteen,” ABC’s “Make it or Break it” and FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Links:
NAAM : http://www.namm.org/

NAMM Foundation:
http://www.nammfoundation.org

CoolUp Your Schools.
http://coolup.tv