Majorities of both parents and teachers see a myriad of social-emotional, academic, 21st century skill, community, and physical and health benefits from music education—especially social-emotional benefits ~ NAMM Foundation and Grunwald Associates LLC (2015). Striking a Chord: The Public’s Hopes and Beliefs for K–12 Music Education in the United States: 2015.
Music has been found to stimulate parts of the brain, and studies have demonstrated that music enhances the memory of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, including a study conducted at UC Irvine, which showed that scores on memory tests of Alzheimer’s patients improved when they listened to classical music. ~ Cheri Lucas, Education.com, “Boost Memory and Learning with Music,” pbs.org.
Students at schools with excellent music programs had higher English test scores across the country than students in schools with low-quality music programs; this was also true when considering mathematics. ~ Journal for Research in Music Education, June 2007; Dr. Christopher Johnson, Jenny Memmott
Studies have shown that young children who take keyboard lessons have greater abstract reasoning abilities than their peers, and that these abilities improve over time with sustained training in music. ~ Rauscher, F.H. , & Zupan, M., “Classroom keyboard instruction improves kindergarten children’s spatial-temporal performance: A field experiment” Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15 , 215-228.2000.
In the past, secondary students who participated in a music group at school reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs). ~ 5 VH1: Save the Music. “The Benefits of Music Education.” VH1: Save the Music. Accessed February 24, 2015. .
Research indicates the brain of a musician, even a young one, works differently than that of a nonmusician. “There’s some good neuroscience research that children involved in music have larger growth of neural activity than people not in music training. When you’re a musician and you’re playing an instrument, you have to be using more of your brain.” ~ Dr. Eric Rasmussen, chair of the Early Childhood Music Department at the Peabody Preparatory of The John Hopkins University, quoted in “The Benefits of Music Education,” pbs.org, Laura Lewis Brown.
Music enhances fine motor skills, or the ability to use small, acute muscle movements to write, use a computer, and perform other physical tasks. ~ Forgeard, 2008; Hyde, 2009; Schlaug et al. 2005, “The Effects of Musical Training on Structural Brain Development A Longitudinal Study,” The Neurosciences and Music III: Disorders and Plasticity: Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1169: 182–186 (2009).
“I believe arts education in music, theater, dance, and the visual arts is one of the most creative ways we have to find the gold that is buried just beneath the surface. They (children) have an enthusiasm for life a spark of creativity, and vivid imaginations that need training – training that prepares them to become confident young men and women.” ~ Richard W. Riley, Former US Secretary of Education
Children who study a musical instrument are more likely to excel in all of their studies, work better in teams, have enhanced critical thinking skills, stay in school, and pursue further education. ~ Arte Music Academy. “Statistical benefits of music in education.” Statistical-Benefits-Of-Music-In-Education. Accessed July 17, 2014.
Musical training is thought to improve nervous system function by focusing attention on meaningful acoustic cues, and these improvements in auditory processing cascade to language and cognitive skills. ~ Nina Kraus, Jessica Slater, Elaine C. Thompson, Jane Hornickel, Dana L. Strait, Trent Nicol, Travis White-Schwoch, “Music Enrichment Programs Improve the Neural Encoding of Speech in At-Risk Children,” Journal of Neuroscience, September 3, 2014.
Musicians are found to have superior working memory compared to non-musicians. ~ Berti, et al., 2006; Pallesen et al., “Cognitive Control in Auditory Working Memory Is Enhanced in Musicians,” PLOS One, June 15, 2010.
The College Entrance Examination Board found that students involved in public school music programs scored 107 points higher on the SAT’s than students with no participation. ~ Profiles of SAT and Achievement Test Takers, The College Board, compiled by the Music Educators National Conference (2002)
Taking music lessons offers a space where kids learn how to accept and give constructive criticism, according to research published in The Wall Street Journal in 2014. ~ Joanne Lipman, “A Musical Fix for American Schools,” The Wall Street Journal, October 10, 2014.
U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students found that students who report consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show “significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12.” ~ U.S. Department of Education NELLS88 Database
Students who take music in middle school score signifcantly higher on algebra assignments in 9th grade than their non-music counterparts. ~ Helmrich. B. H. (2010). Window of opportunity? Adolescence, music, and algebra. Journal of Adolescent Research. 25 (4).
Majorities of parents whose children are involved in music classes also credit music education for making them happier, more focused, more self-disciplined, stronger academically and more helpful. ~ NAMM Foundation and Grunwald Associates LLC (2015). Striking a Chord: The Public’s Hopes and Beliefs for K–12 Music Education in the United States: 2015.
Playing an instrument as a kid leads to a sharper mind in old age, according to a new study conducted by Brenda Hanna-Pladdy, a clinical neuropsychologist in Emory’s Department of neurology, and her colleagues. The researchers gave 70 people between the ages of 60 and 83 a battery of tests to measure memory and other cognitive abilities. The researchers found that those who had played an instrument for a decade or longer scored significantly higher on the tests than those with no musical background. ~ Quoted in Diane Cole, “Your Aging Brain Will Be in Better Shape If You’ve Taken Music Lessons,” National Geographic, January 3, 2014.
Nearly 100% of past winners in the prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology (for high school students) play one or more musical instruments. This led the Siemens Foundation to host a recital at Carnegie Hall in 2004, featuring some of these young people, after which a panel of experts debated the nature of the apparent science/music link. ~ The Midland Chemist (American Chemical Society) Vol. 42, No.1, Feb. 2005
Studies have shown that assiduous instrument training from an early age can help the brain to process sounds better, making it easier to stay focused when absorbing other subjects, from literature to tensor calculus. ~ Hearing the music, honing the mind. (2010). Scientific American, 303(5), 16
Music therapy has been found to reduce psychological stress in a study of 236 pregnant women. ~ College of Nursing at Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan
