During the week of May 2-8, musicians, schools, and other organizations across the country will come together to celebrate National Wanna Play Music Week, an annual event sponsored by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). This week-long celebration highlights the importance of music education programs in schools and promotes the benefits of playing music for people of all ages and skill levels. NAMM is also a TakeLessons organizational partner, which is why we are proud to support this event and power the lesson locator tool on the official Wanna Play Music website.
Ahead of this year’s Wanna Play Music week, NAMM has introduced a new initiative called “Pledge to Play” where interested participants can take a pledge and make their commitment to learning an instrument. There’s still time to sign up on the Pledge to Play Facebook page – you’ll even have the chance to win some cool prizes!
The week will officially kick off on Monday, May 2 with the seventh annual “Music Monday,” an event in which schools, community and professional organizations will perform one piece of music simultaneously at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, 11 a.m. Mountain Time, 12 p.m. Central Time, and 1 p.m. Eastern Time. NAMM hopes that by having everyone sing the same song at the same time, music will transcend all genres and unite people through the melody and the act of performing the piece together. You can register your school or organization as a participant in Music Monday online or by emailing musicmonday@namm.org. If you aren’t able to play at the designated time, NAMM also encourages participants to pick up an instrument and play at any time throughout the day.
Other events will take place throughout the week, including an announcement of the “Best Communities for Music Education” on Wednesday, May 4 and a day featuring “unexpected celebrity musicians” on Thursday, May 5. The week concludes with National Music Store Weekend from May 6-8, when musicians and non-musicians alike are encouraged to visit and support local music stores in their neighborhoods. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved during this year’s Wanna Play Music week, so mark your calendar and get ready to play!
ksurmacewicz