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Mindful Music Moments

Imagine an entire school – students, teachers, and administrators – taking time each morning to turn inward together, and listen to a brief mindfulness prompt and world-class music.

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The Well's programs combine best practices in arts and wellness and are designed in partnership with those they serve. How do we create our programs? In partnership with others and especially those we serve.

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More Than Music: How 4 Minutes A Day Transforms School Culture

Students and staff at Parker Woods Montessori (Cincinnati Public Schools) listening to MMM. In a year of MMM, students hear 8-10 symphonies' worth of music, over half by living composers.

It’s the beginning of another music class at Incline Elementary which sits on the edge of Lake Tahoe, close to Reno, Nevada. Students shuffling into the music classroom are feeling a little stressed and burnt out. Many students are unable to sit still and focus their fragmented attention… until Ms. Righellis turns on a video to start the class. 

A smiling animated music note named Mel O. Dee jumps into frame. Mel takes a deep inhale and exhale, and the students hear a familiar voice. “Hello. It’s time for Mindful Music Moments, so let’s get ready to listen.” The students and teacher follow along as the voice guides them, “Place your feet on the floor. Hands on your lap or on your desk. Sit up nice and tall. Close or focus your eyes, and find your breath moving in your body… As you listen today, just notice. How does this music make you feel?” 

Mel O. Dee fades away and the screen is illuminated with a captivating kaleidoscope of color that responds visually to calming orchestral music that begins to play. Some students close their eyes, some lay on the floor, grounding their entire body, and others gaze softly at the meditative visuals on the screen while thinking about the prompt. Ms. Righellis keeps an eye on her students, but is also taking these few minutes to center herself before teaching today’s music lesson. The music plays for a brief three minutes and the voice returns. “Fantastic job! We’ll be back soon with more Mindful Music Moments.” 

Mel O. Dee waves goodbye as Ms. Righellis turns off the video and asks her class how today’s Mindful Music Moment (MMM) made them feel. After using the program over the past year (often 2-3 times a week with rotating music classes), the students are already improving their skills in self-awareness and self-management. “MMM calms me down,” says 4th grader Aisha. “It helps me stay focused during class after we have been really crazy,” says 3rd grader Silas.”

At the end of the year, Ms. Righellis and over 100 of her students wrote heartfelt letters to The Well about the positive impact MMM (and our brand new animated videos) had during their first year:

The results have been invaluable. Many of my students look forward to it, and they really enjoy the different types of music as well as the physical effect it has on them. Students who are constantly disruptive, hyperactive, or on edge instantly calm their bodies down when I put on the MMM. For many, it's the only time in class that they are successful because they can focus on their breath.

Not only has MMM had a great impact on student behaviors, musical learning, and bodily awareness, but it has also helped me to regulate my emotions and maintain better classroom management as a teacher. I love it because I get to do it with the students rather than just monitoring them.

Ms. Righellis, Music Teacher, Incline Elementary, May 2024

Students at Parker Woods Montessori (Cincinnati Public Schools) watch the new daily animated video versions of MMM. Photo by Kyle Wolff.

Rosland Elementary (Bend-La Pine Schools) students listening to Mindful Music Moments together in the gym to start their day. Photo by Central Oregon Daily News.

Mindful Music Moments is The Well’s signature program since 2016, created after working in schools and seeing a exponentially increasing numbers of students struggling with chronic stress, depression, anxiety, and even suicidal ideation at younger and younger ages. After hearing the morning announcements every day, we thought that could be the bandwidth to reach everyone in the school to provide a daily, school-wide experience of down-regulating our nervous systems and feeling more connected to our minds and bodies at school.

MMM began at The Academy of World Languages (Cincinnati Public Schools) and is still used there today, now in its 9th year. Since then, MMM has blossomed into a nationally recognized program. 

In 2023/24, more than 118,000 youth in more than 300 schools across 20 US states were served with access to over 200 daily, guided audio and video MMM journeys, additional classroom resources, and ongoing training/support.

Thanks to support from community arts partners and local donors, 91% of schools received MMM for free during 2023/24. That trend has continued with 87% of participating schools receiving support so far this 2024/25 school year. In Ohio, our amazing partners include Summermusik, Columbus Symphony, Canton Symphony Orchestra, and The Cleveland Orchestra. To see all of our national music partners and generous funders, click here.

Here are some of the evolutions of Mindful Music within the past two years, inspired directly by feedback from teachers, administrators, and students.

  • NEW daily animated video content created in collaboration with Pixel Fiction, Kattspaw Audio, and Lightborne Communications, Inc.
  • NEW weekly worksheets by Stacey Moyer, a local Cincinnati music teacher.
  • NEW daily Spanish translations by Adriana Prieto Quintero.
  • NEW music selections requested by students including Disney soundtracks, video game soundtracks, naturescapes, and music by over 20 living composers!
  • NEW music commissions by The Well, including:
    • Sound Intersections by Nate May, in collaboration with Omope Carter Daboiku and Talon Silverhorn. Documentary film by Clay Kessler.
    • The Hope Commission by Sonia Morales-Matos, in collaboration with Summermusik, inspired by the journey of Little Amal (The Walk Productions) and local Cincinnati refugee families.
    • The Wonder Commission by Brian Raphael Nabors, inspired by astrophysicist Alan Lightman, performed by Antigone Music Collective and youth voices from UpSpring Cincinnati. Documentary film by Asa Featherstone IV.
    • Beginning Spring 2025– The From Scratch Project: A 30-minute piece composed by local high school students participating in the Cincinnati From Scratch program, inspired by 300 composition ideas from local elementary students.

Read The Well's full Impact Report in Movers & Makers Magazine

Learn more about Mindful Music Moments 

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Our programs have been nourishing the community since 2005. In 2019, we became the non-profit, A Mindful Moment.

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