One.

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Long.

Short.

Long.

Oh!

Ha ha ha!

Welcome to the second season of “More childhood, please.®” A show made by kids, for kids.

It's part of Akron Children's mission to help you make the most of your time as a kid with fun ideas, challenges, and ways to spend time with friends and family.

And this season, we're changing things up.

Episodes are now 30 minutes, and we'll have more of them throughout the year.

Have you guessed what the topic is for this episode?

Here's a hint.

It's like “blank” to my ears.

That's right.

It's music.

We're going to explore how it makes us feel, think, and even heal.

That's a lot to get through in 30 minutes, but I think we can do it.

This is season two, after all.

Yeah, we got this.

This is “The World of Music.” You know that song we were playing a minute ago?

Yeah, I think I can remember that.

How did that song make you feel?

Was it a happy song, sad, or did you feel something completely different?

It made me feel really excited for the episode.

Same.

We're going to explore how music can make us feel with the help of an expert.

Hi, Lily and Rhys.

Hi.

I'm Rachel, and I'm a music therapist at Akron Children's.

I use music to help kids in behavioral therapy.

That includes helping kids with their mental health, understanding and dealing with their feelings, and learning how to talk about them and ask for help if they need it.

And I use music to do that.

How can music change how we feel?

Good question, Rhys.

Let's start with a little challenge.

I'm going to play three different songs.

During each song, I want you both to write down how it makes you feel.

Sound good?

Yeah, let's do it.

Great.

Here's our first song.

OK, Lily, what did you write down?

So the song, made me feel elegant, fancy and relaxed.

And Rhys?

I wrote calm, at peace, and happy.

Nice.

So that was a classical-style song using orchestral instruments like strings and woodwinds.

And when those instruments hold longer notes, they can evoke a wide variety of feelings.

It's also a slow tempo – the term for how fast or slow music is, which can help us feel more relaxed.

Let's listen to another song.

OK.

All right.

So Rhys, what did you notice about this song?

How’d it make you feel?

I wrote happy and upbeat.

So that song was a kind of modern pop feel that seems happy, upbeat and energetic.

The song is around 120 BPM.

Do you know what BPM stands for?

Yeah, beats per minute.

Right.

It's the the number of beats that you hear in every minute of a song.

And while everybody has their own preference for what music makes them feel happy, in general, faster-paced music can make us feel more energized and upbeat.

So tempo can have a big effect on how we feel.

And this is the tempo that we heard in the song.

But if we take it a little bit faster, it might feel different.

And if we take it slower, it could feel different as well.

Do you see how it changes the feel?

Yeah.

Yeah.

That felt really different.

Yeah.

Great.

Now let's listen to one more song.

All right.

Lily, what did you feel about that one?

So I felt that song was rebellious, crazy, and all over the place.

Yeah.

So that was kind of a heavy metal song.

It had a driving, consistent rhythm that was louder and at a faster pace.

We really heard those drums, and that faster tempo, along with those consistent, repetitive rhythms, can help you feel more energized.

You can use this knowledge of music to help you with your feelings and mood.

If you were feeling stressed, which of these three songs would help you feel calmer?

The classical one.

Yeah.

The first one.

So if you're ever feeling stressed, you can listen to music on the slower side.

On the flip side, if you're feeling a little down in the dumps or feeling tired, you could try something with a faster tempo or a consistent drumbeat that you can move along to, or melodies that are catchy and easy to sing along with.

Think about how baseball players use a song that gets them pumped up as they walk out onto the field.

Having your own list of songs that pump you up can be helpful when you're trying to improve your mood.

This has been great.

I learned a lot.

Thanks for teaching us about the science of music.

My pleasure.

Have fun with the rest of the show.

Thank you.

Any idea what's next?

Yes.

We're doing a challenge that involves more music.

This is “Guess the Instrument.” OK, Lily, we're going to do a challenge.

We'll listen to a few seconds of an instrument playing.

Then we have to guess what the instrument is.

There are several rounds.

Are you up to it?

Let's do it.

Oh, that's a flute.

Yeah, that's a flute.

The flute is a member of the woodwind family.

It’s one of the earliest instruments still in existence.

The oldest flute discovered dates back 40,000 years.

The bongos.

Yeah, these are definitely the bongos.

Bongo drums are played with your hands.

These drums always come in a pair, with a larger one and a smaller one.

Uhh.

This is like a harpo.

It's like a harpo.

I know it.

I swear I’ve heard it.

Like a harpo?

No.

No, but like there’s something after, no, I know it's like harp something.

Final answer harp something.

I'll say a harp, too, because.

Let's see.

Harpsichord.

Oh.

I told you it was harp something.

OK, but please explain, because I’m very interested.

It was commonly used in Baroque music.

Unlike a piano, this actually plucks the strings instead of hammer on them.

The way the strings are plucked prevented the player from playing with any dynamic style.

And the piano slowly replaced the harpsichord, making it fall out of style for a long time.

Trumpet?

Yeah.

I think it's a trumpet.

Is it trumpet?

It sounds very majestic.

Yeah.

Very overpowering.

Yes.

A fanfare.

Yeah, you know, like.

Yeah.

OK.

Trumpet.

It's a trumpet.

Yeah, trumpet.

Moment of truth.

Oh, it's a French horn.

Oh.

The modern version of the French horn was invented in Germany.

The French horn is a part of the brass instrument family, which also includes trumpets, trombones and tubas.

If all the tubing of the French horn were straightened out, it could measure over 12 feet long.

That's pretty long.

That is.

Bass guitar.

Yes.

The electric bass was invented in the 1930s as a portable alternate to the larger double bass.

The bass guitar is considered essential to many styles of music, including funk, jazz, reggae and rock.

We're going to hear some more instruments in this next segment.

Some kids who play in an orchestra are going to tell us about their instruments, what they like about them, and maybe some interesting facts.

This is “Let's Get Classical.” Hi, my name is Eliana Fittante and I'm a junior and I play oboe with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra.

A reason I love playing it is because it's such a unique sound, especially in a young band.

The oboe is the tuner of the orchestra, and the rest of the orchestra uses that to match their sound.

Its unique mouthpiece is a double reed instrument.

They are made from pieces of cane like this that are folded and shaped.

And we use all sorts of tools to hand-make our reeds rather than machines.

My name is Dominic Morataya, and I play trumpet for the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra.

I’ve been playing the trumpet for six years.

I love everything about the trumpet.

How it sounds, the emotions I can create, and how it challenges me to work hard.

It is one of the oldest instruments.

It was around in ancient Egypt.

It was first made out of animal horns, too.

It's also known as the royal instrument because it was used to announce kings and queens.

Hi there.

My name is Alex Alafi and I play the trumpet.

You’ve already seen Dominic with his trumpet, but there are four trumpets in an orchestra section, and we are two of those four.

Everybody has their own role in helping an orchestra sound as good as it does.

I chose the trumpet because of my family’s heritage of playing the trumpet.

My grandpa played the trumpet and so does my mom.

I also chose the trumpet because you can play it in so many different genres – classical music, jazz music or even mariachi music.

Hello, my name is Kaustubh Devarakonda and I'm a freshman at Strongsville High School.

I picked the viola because it's a very underrated instrument, and its rich tone and quality attracted me.

It's a really fun instrument to play, and it's really wonderful to be along with all my peers, playing this hard and challenging music.

Did you know that learning to play a musical instrument engages many areas of our brain simultaneously, including our sensory, motor, attention, emotion and memory areas?

Hi, my name is Cameron Fullen and I play the tuba.

I have been playing the tuba for five years, and I started playing halfway through my seventh grade year.

I thought it was really cool to learn a new instrument.

I find it cool that I get to see all these musicians who are just driven in what they do, and they enjoy the music that they create.

Practice every day, even just a little.

Pick an instrument that speaks to you.

Find passion in it and stick with it.

It really is worthwhile and it will teach you so much about yourself and how to be with others.

And it'll bring you a great community.

Try your best in everything that you do, whether it's music, whether it's school, whether it's sports, whether it's really anything.

Teamwork is important.

Communicate well, practice together, and encourage each other.

One thing that I would say about messing up whenever you're playing is don't, don't stop.

Keep playing through what you're working with, you know.

Even if you mess up, that's just building on what you're trying to create.

So, keep playing.

In our next segment, we're going to get an inside look at a different kind of musical group – a garage band.

This group of brothers and friends writes their own music, practices often, and as you'll see, really cares about snacks.

Same.

I love some snacks.

Me too.

Maybe we should get some for the segment.

Get ready to rock with Shep and the Bucs.

This is “Garage Band.” Oh, what's up?

It's Clarence from Shep and the Bucs.

I didn't know you guys were going to be here.

We're just about to start a rehearsal.

Oh, we got Taj on keys.

We got Sawyer on drums.

We got Griffin on guitar and vocals.

And we're going to show you guys how the music gets made.

So originally me and my brother Sawyer were in a band together and it was called Shep, and we wanted to do a song for the school talent show that involved parts and pieces we did not have as a band yet.

We knew we needed keys, so we added Taj, here, and he’s an amazing piano player.

All right, yeah, what are the chords there?

OK.

All right.

So start with, a B-flat major.

I mean, I’d already done cross- country with him and theater.

I didn't know he had a band, but I mean, he had good snacks at his house.

So I was on board right away.

Snacks.

Taj loves ‘em.

Yeah, I love snacks.

So now we had the piano part of the song covered.

But this song was unusual, kind of, and it had a trumpet solo in it.

And fortunately enough for us, Taj’s brother Clarence played the trumpet.

Yeah, so I attended a few rehearsals and we did a show at Rialto where we were joining on stage.

I just loved the vibe so much.

So ever since then, Shep became Shep and the Bucs.

Give it up for Shep and the Bucs.

“When you think that you're on the brink of disaster will you look for me?” We want to get some music out into the world, some of our own music out into the world, and get some more people to start liking our stuff.

Usually we start with Taj on a chord sequence.

And then we get Griffin to mirror it.

Then we get some drums on it.

Then add some lyrics and it sounds a little bit like this.

I feel like all of our music kind of reaches a part of the soul that, words can't.

And I feel like putting that message out into the world, especially as, like, a young band of friends that just, like, got together, I feel like that can also put a different message into the world that nothing else can.

Not only does playing music together support group cohesion and collaboration, but studies have shown that playing music together synchronizes the brain waves of the band members.

Whenever people are playing and like, nobody can get their mind across or something like that, we have this code word.

I'm not going to say it now.

I'll say it in a minute.

But, whenever we say it, everybody has to go silent and just like, stop playing so that whoever wants to speak can speak.

So I'm going to demonstrate, OK.

Three, two, one.

Pineapple!

All right.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

We're going to be releasing a song called “Aftershock” in spring.

And we're going to play it for you and we hope you enjoy it.

Just being in a band is such a fun experience.

And, I mean, I'm in like, bands at school, like jazz band, concert band, but it's like, not as fun as, like, a band with, like, you know, my friends and I’ve really, like, I've, like, my friendships have grown and, you know, it's just it's, like.

So sweet.

It's just, like, such a great experience.

Check out this song I memorized.

“Glacial conglomerate, shale, sandstone and chalk, banded iron, anthracite, and shelly limestone.” Is that a song about rocks?

Yeah, I had a test on the different types of sedimentary rocks, so I used a melody to remember them all.

Wow.

You used music to be better at geology?

Yep.

And it can do a lot more things too.

Hey, we know a music therapist at Akron Children's.

Why don't we ask them what else music can do?

Great idea.

This is “The Power of Music.” Hi, I'm Emily, a music therapist at Akron Children's.

We're here in the Expressive Therapy Center, the home of our art and music therapists, to talk about how music can help us to not only express ourselves, but also learn and heal.

Music is actually one of the few things that can engage or light up all areas of the brain.

And that means that when we're using music to help kids heal, it can actually motivate us to recover both mentally and physically.

As a music therapist, I help kids reach their goals, such as becoming stronger and more independent, sometimes alongside their other therapists.

I have Morgan, an occupational therapist at Akron Children's, here with me today, who helps kids’ minds and bodies.

When we work together, that can make therapy more engaging, supportive and effective.

Right, when kids are recovering from illnesses and injuries, they get various therapies that help their physical bodies, their mental cognition and problem solving, as well as being able to do their everyday activities.

And sometimes that can be really difficult.

So we tend to partner with our music therapy to be able to have more creativity and motivation to reach those goals.

Let's take a look at some examples.

Sounds great.

We use music to help kids of all ages and abilities.

And we have Thomas here with us today to demonstrate a few things.

Hi, Thomas.

Thanks for joining us.

Hi, you’re welcome.

So we're going to play Boomwhackers today.

Have you ever played these before?

I haven't.

No?

They're these musical tubes.

And you tap them like on your knee or on the floor or against each other, and they make a cool sound.

Let's try some different ways to tap them.

So we could clap them.

We’re helping kids engage both sides of their bodies to enhance their movement and coordination.

We could go on the floor.

By using sounds and music, kids have different levels of focus and new gains to their occupational therapy goals.

OK, and go get Miss Morgan’s.

Yeah.

Yay.

Good job.

So the Boomwhackers worked on our big movements, or our gross motor skills, and this instrument, the Q-chord, works on our small movements, or our fine motor skills.

When you touch the metal part and give it a strum, listen.

What do you think?

You want to try it?

So we're going to use our fingers to build those finger muscles so you can do things like tie your shoes or eat your food.

Ready?

We got to make those fingers strong.

Good job.

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star.” With some patients, we may not be able to see any movement in their hands, but this instrument still makes sounds when it’s touched and lets us know they are moving.

You got to try two new instruments today.

Thank you so much for helping us.

You did amazing and you're getting so strong.

Not only do we work on our motor skills, but music therapy and occupational therapy can work on our cognitive skills or our memory, too.

So we have Melanie here with us to help demonstrate today.

Hi, Melanie.

Hello.

Thank you so much for joining us.

You're welcome.

So we're going to play an instrument.

These are called push bells.

Have you ever played these before?

No.

OK.

So they're kind of like a regular bell, but instead of shaking it, there's actually a button on the top of each one that you can tap with your finger or your hand.

You want to try one?

Yeah.

Ooh, OK.

So we're going to do kind of like a memory game with these.

So I'm going to give you a pattern, and then you're going to try to repeat it, OK?

So for example if I went.

Yeah.

And then we could also use both hands, like Morgan was saying, so we could go, like.

Using music and repeating patterns helps us with our memory and cognitive skills.

For example, if a patient experiences a stroke or a traumatic brain injury, using the push bells can help our visual, motor and cognitive skills.

You are doing so amazing at these.

I think you're ready to try another instrument for some more memory games.

Are you up for it?

Yeah.

OK, let's do it.

We're going to take it one step further and add an extra challenge of also working on our balance.

So we're truly working on our minds and bodies at the same time by playing a floor piano.

So we're going to keep doing patterns like we were doing and try to see if we can keep our balance.

We use this a lot when working on balance.

So kids stand with one foot and use the other to play the notes.

Yes.

So another thing we can do is we can actually read music to play on this piano.

I always like to show people “Happy Birthday,” because that way when it's someone's birthday in your family, you can be like, I know how to play you “Happy Birthday” on the piano.

OK.

Great.

Can you find that teal?

Yep.

That was awesome.

Thank you so much for helping us out today.

We hope you enjoyed learning today how music can help you heal and achieve some of our therapy and expressive goals.

In each of our activities today, we got to work on our motor skills, our balance, our memory and our visual skills all at once.

Thank you for joining us in the Expressive Therapy Center today to really see the power of music.

Hi everyone.

If you didn't know already, I make music.

But, my instrument is a bit different than the ones that you might see in this episode.

DJ Lily Jade in the house.

I've been DJing since I was 5 years old, watching people enjoy themselves, and just have a good time.

What is a DJ?

A DJ is somebody who mixes tracks together and has some fun with it, too.

This is what I call a turntable.

These right here are the brain of this machine.

This side has a track.

Slide this over, it’s this track.

But if it's in the middle, they play at the same time.

These, you can scratch with them, or just anything in that matter.

These buttons, these, I love these buttons because they add special effects to them.

You got your echo.

You got your echo out.

You got your riser.

You got your recycler.

I feel like giving y’all a demonstration.

So here you go.

DJing encourages active creative expression and exercises cognitive skills like attention, memory, concentration and coordination.

Now you may ask why I love DJing so much.

Music is a universal language.

It brings people together and it’s a great way for people to express themselves.

And I love how I, especially, get to express myself with music.

And, you know what?

Y’all need to get up out your seats And Imma play a mix for y’all one more time!

You're rocking with DJ Lily Jade on “The Lily Jade Show.” That was a cool demo on your DJ setup, Lily.

Thanks.

Spinning music on the turntables is really fun.

Yeah, it looks like it.

That's the end of our journey through the world of music.

We saw how music can help us learn and heal, change how we feel, grow our minds, and even form bonds with others.

If you haven't already learned an instrument, maybe it would be a fun challenge for you.

As always, we'd like to hear if you have any ideas on what you’d like to see in future episodes, so please share them with us on Facebook or Instagram.

Until next time, bye!

Maybe we should start a band.

Yeah, but what would we name it?

Bill and the Nightcrawlers.

Ooh, I like Ballet of the Bassoon.

Ooh, that's a good one.