A study of healthy male college students found that, while riding stationary bicycles, the participants worked harder while listening to fast music. Extra bonus: They also enjoyed the music more. ~ Scott Christ, “20 surprising, science-backed health benefits of music,” USA Today, December 17, 2013.
Music can meaningfully reduce the perceived intensity of pain, especially in geriatric care, intensive care, or palliative medicine (an area of healthcare that focuses on preventing and relieving the suffering of patients). ~ Scott Christ, “20 surprising, science-backed health benefits of music,” USA Today, December 17, 2013.
Scientists have found that the emotions patients experience while listening to music have a healthy effect on blood vessel function. Music both made study participants feel happier and resulted in increased blood flow in their blood vessels. ~ Scott Christ, “20 surprising, science-backed health benefits of music,” USA Today, December 17, 2013.
“Music has positive affects on people’s emotions and creativity. When we sing together, we synchronize our breathing and feel more connected. Music is also an effective, almost magical medium for learning and retaining information, [because] it activates three different centers of the brain at the same time: language, hearing, and rhythmic motor control. By inducing emotions, it also creates a heightened condition of awareness and mental acuity. Words paired with music are far easier to retain. As an example, most of us can remember the words and meanings of songs we haven’t heard for years. Isn’t it interesting how you still remember your ABCs?” ~ Don McMannis quoted in, “Use Music to developm kids’ skill and character,” Edutopia, March 19, 2009.
“When a child has a part to play in a music ensemble, or a theater or dance production, they begin to understand that their contribution is necessary for the success of the group. Through these experiences children gain confidence and start to learn that their contributions have value even if they don’t have the biggest role.” ~ Lisa Phillips, “The artistic edge: 7 skills children need to succeed in an increasingly right brain world,” ARTSblog, Americans for the Arts, 2013.
“We need people who think with the creative side of their brains—people who have played in a band, who have painted…it enhances symbiotic thinking capabilities, not always thinking in the same paradigm, learning how to kick-start a new idea, or how to get a job done better, less expensively.” ~ Annette Byrd, GlaxoSmithKline
Music training leads to greater gains in auditory and motor function when begun in young childhood; by adolescence, the plasticity that characterizes childhood has begun to decline. Nevertheless, our results establish that music training impacts the auditory system even when it is begun in adolescence, suggesting that a modest amount of training begun later in life can affect neural function. ~ Adam T. Tierney, Jennifer Krizman, Nina Kraus, “Music training alters the course of adolescent auditory development,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015.
“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.” ~ Ludwig van Beethoven quoted in “Music Is a Potent Source of Meaning,” Tom Jacobs, August 20, 2015.
“Arts education aids students in skills needed in the workplace: flexibility, the ability to solve problems and communicate, the ability to learn new skills, to be creative and innovative, and to strive for excellence.” ~ Joseph M. Calahan, Director of Cooperate Communications, Xerox Corporation.
“I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning.” ~ Plato
“Whoever has skill in music is of good temperament and fitted for all things. We must teach music in schools.” ~ Martin Luther
“Students of all ages – that includes adults – generally find that music helps them focus more clearly on the task at hand and puts them in a better mood for learning.” ~ Chris Brewer, founder of LifeSounds Educational Services, quoted in “Boost Memory and Learning with Music,” pbs.org, Cheri Lucas.
“Music is freakin’ magical. In 40-some years I have never gotten over it — you take some seemingly random marks on a page, you blow air through a carefully constructed tube, and what comes out the other side is a sound that can convey things that words cannot. And you just blow air through a tube. Or pull on a string. Or whack something. And while we can do a million random things with a million random objects, somehow, when we just blow some air through a tube, we create sounds that can move other human beings, can reach right into our brains and our hearts. That is freakin’ magical.” ~ Peter Greene, “Stop ‘defending’ music education,” The Huffington Post, June 11, 2015.
“Music is about communication, creativity, and cooperation, and by studying music in schools, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives, and experience the world from a new perspective.” ~ Bill Clinton, Former President of the United States
“Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them – a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music.” ~ Gerald Ford, Former President of the United States
“I must study politics and war, that my sons may study mathematics and philosophy…in order to give their children the right to study painting, poetry, music and architecture.” ~ John Q. Adams
“The ability to focus is a key skill developed through ensemble work. Keeping a balance between listening and contributing involves a great deal of concentration and focus. It requires each participant to not only think about their role, but how their role contributes to the big picture of what is being created. Recent research has shown that participation in the arts improves children’s abilities to concentrate and focus in other aspects of their lives.” ~ Lisa Phillips, “The artistic edge: 7 skills children need to succeed in an increasingly right brain world,” ARTSblog, Americans for the Arts, 2013.
“When a child picks up a violin for the first time, she/he knows that playing Bach right away is not an option; however, when that child practices, learns the skills and techniques and doesn’t give up, that Bach concerto is that much closer. In an increasingly competitive world, where people are being asked to continually develop new skills, perseverance is essential to achieving success.” ~ Lisa Phillips, “The artistic edge: 7 skills children need to succeed in an increasingly right brain world,” ARTSblog, Americans for the Arts, 2013.
“Being able to think on your feet, approach tasks from different perspectives and think ‘outside of the box’ will distinguish your child from others. In an arts program, your child will be asked to recite a monologue in 6 different ways, create a painting that represents a memory, or compose a new rhythm to enhance a piece of music. If children have practice thinking creatively, it will come naturally to them now and in their future career.” ~ Lisa Phillips, “The artistic edge: 7 skills children need to succeed in an increasingly right brain world,” ARTSblog, Americans for the Arts, 2013.
“A kid with a music degree isn’t limited to a performance or teaching career. Musicians are everywhere. We are project managers, marketers, Finance folks, IT people and engineers. In my twenty-some years as a corporate HR person, I was always impressed by the way musical people excelled at logic and non-linear thinking, both.” ~ Liz Ryan, “Let the kids study music, already!” Forbes, September 3, 2014.
