NAMM Members Just Play to Celebrate Music Day on the Summer Solstice

NAMM members and musicians of all abilities tuned-up their instruments to welcome the Summer Solstice in a daylong, musical free-for-all in observance of the first-ever National Music Day, June 21. The sounds of free, of-the-people music filled the air in more than 514 cities in 110 countries around the world.

NAMM members organized and participated in dozens of live music events, including uke circles, jam sessions, musical-instrument flash mobs, giving free music lessons, and record breaking performances, to create a musical feast for participants and spectators. Spearheaded by the National Music Day Foundation and Make Music cities, the mission is to encourage everyone to enjoy the unifying power and benefits of playing music.

“I knew that this was something that our city needed to be a part of,” said Nathan Honore of Milwaukee’s Melk Music. “Our neighbors in Madison and Chicago both had excellent celebrations planned, so I definitely was inspired to start our own. It is so important to be involved with National Music Day in order to publicly show support for music in the community.”

NAMM-member-related events from around the country included elaborate, well-attended celebrations on both coasts and most states.

Hohner Harmonicas supported music for the masses by donating harmonicas to aspiring musicians at events in six major U.S. cities: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Madison and Portland, ME. In New York’s Central Park, harmonica virtuoso Jia-Yi He gave free harmonica lessons to the public with the instruments. In Los Angeles, Hohner teamed up with Alfred Music to feature the Tom Nolan Band leading a boisterous, 100-player harmonica band at Santa Monica Beach.

Make Music New York (MMNY), organized one of the largest musical celebrations in the country, playing host to a daylong succession of more than 1,000 musical events, including Mass Appeal, a series of open-invitation, single-instrument jam sessions. Guitar World Magazine, Guitar Center, Guitar Mash, D’Addario and NY Guitar School, gathered more than 400 guitarists for an afternoon of jamming and play-alongs. All ages and skill levels improvised and harmonized at the open-invitation event.

MMNY also presented Rhythm on Rikers, a drum-concert event featuring eight inmates who had been tutored by NYC-based professional percussionists in a ten-week program combining music theory and private drum lessons. The soul-stirring percussion concert was performed for an enthusiastic group of fellow inmates, who could also participate, with drums donated by Remo.

The streets of New York were vibrant with musical energy. Musicians broke a Guinness World Record for the largest keyboard ensemble ever assembled, while premiering pianist Jed Distler’s latest composition on 175 battery-powered Yamaha keyboards. Following the joyful performance, all of the keyboards were donated to the New York City Department of Education with support from Viacom. A portable karaoke bar featuring a traveling pianist playing music on a Casio-donated Privia PX-350 digital piano acted as a modern-day pied piper throughout the streets of Manhattan, collecting brave vocalists along the way. Gibson Guitars kept the music playing by hosting MMNY after-dark celebrations in their showroom.

NAMM retailers in cities across the country were responsible for events that welcomed musicians of all levels and abilities. Milwaukee’s Melk Music encouraged seasoned musicians as well as those who hadn’t picked up an instrument in years to join a community-wide ‘music-affirmation jam session.’ Musical Innovations in Greenville, SC, involved community members in a ukulele circle that was filled to capacity with willing music makers, including a local 8th-grader’s entire slumber party.

“Being a part of a celebration happening on the same day in over 500 cities in over 100 countries was an excellent way to get our community interested in playing music,” said Tracy Leenman of Musical Innovations. “We chose a ukulele circle because we hoped to convey the idea that playing music as a family can be fun, affordable and very easy. Anyone can find a way to participate in music, regardless of age or ability level; and any time people play music, there are benefits - socially, psychosocially, physically, and more.”

In Chicago, hundreds of musicians of all ages filled the plaza of Chicago’s renowned Richard J. Daley Center for a stringed performance with the Rise & Shine Orchestra, a Broadway sing-along, and John Philip Sousa’s famous Sousapalooza march.

Denver music-makers took their act on the road as the city’s B-Cycle riders (B-Cycle is the city’s bike-sharing transit program) grabbed tambourines and formed a musical caravan through the streets, stopping to make music with instrumental groups performing along the bike routes. The caravan culminated in a musical jam session in Skyline Park.

Los Angeles kicked off the music celebration on June 20 with a free, public concert on the South Lawn of the Los Angeles City Hall featuring celebrated composer Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s latest work.

Make Music Riverside organized pop-up concerts, performances and all-hands-welcome instrument circles starting early in the morning and continuing well after sundown. Riverside’s aspiring musicians could choose among ukulele, drum, guitar, and keyboard circles. There was even a hands-on demonstration for would-be orchestra conductors.

National Music Day united efforts in major cities, small towns around the nation and the world. NAMM-member involvement proved instrumental in providing warm, welcoming opportunities for anyone to make music, illustrating that music and its many benefits are for everyone.