Debussy & Me

Marie Rackham plays her favorite pieces by Claude Debussy

Have you noticed your students, your children, or yourself feeling more agitated than usual in these complicated times? Agitation is a serious and unacknowledged obstacle to learning.

There are many good habits and tools that one can employ to increase calmness within oneself and foster a better mental frame for learning. Among them, one of the most accessible and powerful is music, specifically classical music.

In recent years we've seen a number of in-depth studies on the effects of classical music on the capacity of the mind to learn. The benefits of listening to classical music while learning include reduced stress and tension, accelerated learning, greater retention of material learned, higher performance on tests, lower blood pressure, and even increased IQ scores.

Deep in the brain there is a band of white fibers called the corpus callosum. Researchers have discovered that the corpus callosum increases in size when humans are exposed to quiet, classical music. This increase in size increases the communication between the two hemispheres of the brain which, in turn, increases learning efficiency.

Claude Achille Debussy was born in 1862 near Paris, and died in Paris in 1918. He was the founder of the Impressionist School in music, music which gives the listener a "hint" or "suggestion" of the subject. Personally, I am moved by the atmospheric quality and allusive vagueness of his music. Whether he suggested a lonely shepherd on a hill or goldfish in a pond, he creates an "impression" that stirs my imagination.

Enjoy!

Who This Music is For

Debussy & Me has been carefully assembled and arranged so that even students without any background in classical music can enjoy and benefit from the music.

Families learning at home, independent learners who wish to increase their memory and powers of concentration, and teachers interested in helping to cultivate calm in the classroom have all benefited from Marie's nuanced and powerful interpretations of these memorable pieces of classical piano music.

A Word from Thomas

Complete Playlist

Purchase

In order to support students and families in these unusual times we're working to keep our rates as affordable as possible.

Debussy & Me: $16 $10 USD

Immediate access to all 21 downloadable mp3 files for an individual or a family.