TakeLessons Teams up with Kevin Bacon, NAMM, and MTNA for Wanna Play Music Week

National Wanna Play Music Week today, after a monumental period of
music making that drew the participation of stars, such as Kevin Bacon
and Yoko Ono. With the goal to build awareness of the proven benefits
of playing musical instruments for people of all ages, NAMM executed
the week-long series of events to encourage the music maker in every
American.

Music Week Launch with The Bacon Brothers, Yoko Ono and the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” House Band.

NAMM kicked off the week with “Music Monday,” a five-year tradition
started by the Canadian-based Coalition for Music Education that
encourages musicians, music organizations, school bands and music
lovers everywhere to play music at the same time to demonstrate the
galvanizing power of making music. During NAMM’s second year
participating in “Music Monday,” more 2,000 schools and organizations
rallied across North America to simultaneously play music together with
celebrity musicians participating in the effort on both coasts.

In New York, The Bacon Brothers, featuring acclaimed actor Kevin
Bacon and his brother, award-winning film and TV composer Michael
Bacon, helped to launch National Wanna Play Music Week in the U.S., and
appeared nationally on “Fox & Friends,” on behalf of NAMM. On Music
Monday, The Bacon Brothers performed before a crowd of students at the
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing
Arts, promoting music in schools, along with Yoko Ono and the John
Lennon Educational Tour Bus.

“We wanted to show our support for what NAMM and others are doing to
help encourage people to get out and play music,” said Kevin Bacon.
“Music is obviously a huge part of our lives. Playing a musical
instrument can help drive a passion that can last a lifetime and play
an integral part in maintaining a healthy mind and body.”

In Los Angeles, late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” lent the
talents of its house band, Cleto & the Cletones, toward the effort
of making music. Bandleader Cleto Escobedo III and lead guitarist Toshi
Yanagi performed music with a band class at Nightingale Middle School
in Los Angeles. Students were later treated to a private jam session
with Cleto & the Cletones, visiting the set of “Jimmy Kimmel Live”
and hanging out with the entire band and Jimmy Kimmel himself.

“The tremendous response to National Wanna Play Music Week, the
popularity of our music-making tools, and the support from so many
notable music makers reinforces our belief in the power of music
making,” said Joe Lamond, NAMM’s president and CEO. “NAMM is
consistently seeking out new ways to connect people with the enjoyment
and proven benefits of playing music and creating simple ways for
anyone to get involved. It’s never too late to learn to play a musical
instrument, whether you are five or 85. Even beyond NAMM’s National
Wanna Play Music Week, any time is a great time to give music making a
try.”

Tools to Make Music Making Easy

According to the recent “2009 Public Attitudes Toward Music” Gallup
survey *, 85 percent of Americans wish they could play music. In
response to that desire, NAMM created several user-friendly services
and tools aimed to help anyone begin to play music. With the goal of
educating consumers on the benefits of playing music and empowering
them to easily find quality music instructors, NAMM also has developed
a variety of tools, which were unveiled during National Wanna Play
Music Week, including:

• Music Lesson Locator – This free “Find Music Lessons Near You” search tool at www.wannaplaymusic.com,
  features one of the most comprehensive databases of music educators on
  the Web from NAMM’s network of Member stores, the Music Teachers
  National Association (MTNA) and TakeLessons.com, a nationwide provider
  of lessons. This easy-to-use tool helps people who are interested in
  learning to play music to easily find a qualified music teacher in
  their neighborhood by simply entering their zip code or city
  information.

• So
  You Wanna Play Music? Hotline – As an additional resource for National
  Wanna Play Music Week, a special hotline was established to help
  connect people curious about playing music with a NAMM representative
  to ask any questions they may have about ways to get started, how to
  select the best instrument, and how to overcome the most common
  challenges.

• Wanna
  Play? Film Contest – NAMM reached out to more than 500,000 music and
  film enthusiasts, asking them to participate in its short film contest,
  highlighting the positive aspects of making music. Working with
  OurStage, an online community site for filmmakers, submissions will be
  accepted throughout May with the short film winner receiving $5,000
  cash, a MacBook Pro, various computer software for video and audio
  editing, and a trip to the Summer NAMM show in Nashville, Tenn. for a
  world premiere of his or her film.

• Music Making Resources – The www.wannaplaymusic.com
  Web site also featured daily themes that help to educate and build
  awareness around making music, and highlighted important trends, tools
  and news in the world of music.

National Wanna Play Music Week is part of the association’s ongoing
Wanna Play? public awareness campaign, which recognizes the vital role
that music and music education play in people’s lives, and how
recreational music making can directly impact the health and social
well being of people in all stages of life.
About NAMM
The National Association of Music Merchants, commonly
called NAMM in reference to the organization’s popular NAMM trade
shows, is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and
strengthens the $17 billion global musical instruments and products
industry. NAMM’s activities and programs are designed to promote music
making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of more than 9,000
Member companies. For more information about NAMM, interested parties
can visit www.namm.org or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).

*According to the April 2009 Gallup Poll entitled “2009 Public Attitudes Toward Music”