Benefits of Music Education

Living in a world surrounded by noises and sounds, one cannot deny that music lives all around them. Schools, street corners, sporting events, there is one thing you will always find: music. Music education is quickly becoming defunct in schools, as many try to decry its many benefits. A growing emphasis on the concrete subjects of math and science, whose benefits are more immediate, are pushing the creativity and imagination of music classes to the back of the budget. Music education is no longer described as stimulating and exciting, but rather unnecessary and distracting. But the benefits of having an education in music is undeniable. Simply being around music can have a positive impact on life. Music enables the human race to discover emotions that they have never uncovered before. The human mind is refreshed by music; “our imagination and memories are stimulated by the sounds, and summon feelings and memories associated with the musical sound” (Wingell 15). Without music, the world would be silent. Lifeless. No matter what language one speaks or what culture one is from, music is a universal language, connecting the hearts of people around the entire world. In schools throughout the nation, that connection is being severed because of budget cuts and lack of funding, but the benefits of music education are clear. The benefits of having an education in music are not only present in the classroom; a lasting impact is also left on the social and emotional growth of a person, though the gains may not be evinced immediately. Participating in musical education programs in schools can give students the opportunity to form lasting friendships and to gain skills that will last them their entire lives. Music education can be beneficial to students because it enhances students’ performance in the classroom, aids in improving student’s interest and engagement in school, and advances students’ social and emotional growth.

“Musical is a universal experience. With few exceptions, all humans perceive musical pitch, tone, timbre, and harmony. We listen to music to relax, to help us think, to celebrate, and grieve. Our emotional responses to music have been noted in literature, poetry, and drama. The power of music to evoke an emotional response is used by advertising companies, film directors, and mothers singing their babies to sleep. Early education teachers are familiar with using music and rhythm as tools for learning language and building memory. (Foran, 2009) Several musical melodies are used in grade school to learn information. Music is used in my math classes across the world to enhance the learning process of formulas. English classes use music help children learn prepositional phrases, adjectives, adverbs, noun, and etc. However, after most scholars reached a certain grade level, using music to achieve new heights academically became a technique of the past. Most instructors didn’t bother using music in order to help retain information. It was almost as if it was forgotten about. But, if music is so important why isn’t it allowed in most classrooms today? Many teachers are not fond of music in the classroom. To many, it is seen as a distraction. Is it the type of music a person chooses to listen to? Would it be different if the music chosen by

Elementary schools and high schools across the U.S. have lately suffered from financial strain. Because of this, budget cuts have to be made and music programs often suffer before sports and academics. Although some people believe that music is not a key component in preparing for employment and higher education, yet several others express otherwise, who say music has been shown to stimulate other parts of a student’s mind that can help them excel. Statistics have shown that the correlation between music class and other academia is not only positive for students, but also can improve future scholastic abilities, and thus should not be cut from schools. Through the evaluation of various sources

Web. 21 Feb. 2016. This article’s author argues that it is important for music classes to remain available to children in school due to their mental benefits. The author explains that many school boards tirelessly attempt to eliminate music programs, however, there is abundant evidence that supports keeping the programs since learning music can dramatically improve children’s ability to read and comprehend math. The author backs their argument with a plethora of statistics from various sources showing the sharp contrast between the scores of music and non-music students. This article adds to the proof that education can be aided by a student’s understanding of

The Knowledge of reading music, and playing an instrument has proven to be beneficial to the learning curb in students including those of little to no background in a literary education to students in college. However, there are schools in America where music isn’t offered. Having a music program could create improved grades, memory, concentration, and quicken the learning process of literacy, but it is believed that music isn’t for everybody.

Music education has consistently been at the bottom of the educational priority ladder. With minimal prospects and intense competition for a successful career, music classes have been eclipsed in student interest and funding by courses related to the more lucrative STEM careers. Although music education creates a hefty burden for the school board, the numerous personal benefits warrant music opportunities for all students.

At the same time, a specific report titled “School Art Programs: Should They Be Saved?” by Valeriya Metla, argues that music classes jeopardize students’ futures by distracting them from “important” core classes. However, as other research proves, music generally leaves a positive impact on students’ learning and school experience. First off, recent research shows that music education actually improves test scores. Ellen Judson wrote that according to a 10 year study tracking about 25,000 high school and middle school students, “Students in music programs scored 63 points higher on the verbal and 44 points higher on the math sections of the SATs than students with no music participation.” This shows that music helped these students learn and also helped them display their learning on tests. This, then, raises the question “What is it about music that improves learning?” Significant research has also been completed on the effects of music on children’s brains and neurological development. The National Association for Music Education explained that music helps develop language and reasoning, builds memorization skills, helps develop spatial thinking skills, and helps creative thinking.

Music affects the amplitude and frequency of brain waves. Music can create a highly focused learning state which vocabulary and reading material is absorbed at a great rate (Education.jhu 2016). Students who received music instruction had improved sound discrimination and fine motor tasks and brain imaging. When information is put into rhythm and rhyme, these musical elements provide a hook for recall and gives a better remembrance of data(Cerebremente 2016).

“Students in elementary schools with superior music education programs scored around 22 percent higher in English and 20 percent higher in math scores on standardized tests.” (Brown) It is also proven that people that play a musical instrument have a larger growth of “neural processing” than those who do not and only listen to music (Locker). In a study conducted by Northwestern University, student who took weekly music lessons over the course of two years were found to be able to “process sounds more easily,” directly contributing to “improved reading and speech skills.” (Edghill) These obvious benefits towards those who are not merely listening to music but involved in it gives some weight to keeping music and

The arts become a part of a child’s life growing up in a family, socializing with friends, community, and in school. Music education allows for self-expression and connecting students with themselves and others.

All school districts should retain music programs in their schools. Probably the most well-known supposed benefit of involvement in a music program is the Mozart Effect. The Mozart Effect claims that “performance on tasks of spatiotemporal reasoning may be improved for ten-fifteen minutes immediately after listening to part of a Mozart piano sonata or similarly complex music” (Črnčec, Wilson, and Prior, 580). While the Mozart Effect has little to back it, there are still many reasons music and other fine arts belong in schools.

Many people believe that the arts, specifically music programs, hold no beneficial value to students other than for an extracurricular activity. Others believe that having these programs within our schools, only takes away from instructional time. However, research has shown that music education, and exposure to music in general, provides great benefits and values to the adolescents that are involved in said programs (“Music Matters”). Participation in music programs promotes the advancement of academic scores and sets students on the path to success later in life. Furthermore, these programs, be it instrumental or vocal, provide an outlet for adolescents to express themselves and have truly lasting implications on their global development. Notwithstanding all of the pleasure and self-confidence gained through participation in music programs, music education may provide important benefits towards students’ academics by improving their concentration levels and cultivating higher order thinking skills that may increase academic achievement.

So to what extent does music impact the cognitive processes of the human brain? First of all, cognitive processes are processes that involve knowledge and how people use their knowledge. They include matters such as attention, memory, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. All of these are very important for human behavior. Music, in particular, has been used to assist in cognition for many years; recent advances in medical technology have provided evidence confirming the effects of music on the brain’s affective, cognitive, and motor components (Jones, 2010). All things considered, it is apparent that music has a very strong and lasting effect on the cognitive processes of the human brain.

Recently, many studies have been conducted proving that music is vital to a child's education and development. However, many school systems have had to make budget cuts, and one of the first things to be removed was the music program. Music is important in education for many reasons. Recent studies have proven that taking music classes at a young age helps a child to

Music curriculum in the public-school system is something that is often supported but is not enforced. Music curriculum is important because of all of the cognitive benefits that can be obtained but due to it not being enforced, many students choose to opt out of music classes. Schools should enforce continuous music curriculum throughout a student’s educational career because of music’s ability to improve brain function and development. Continuous music curriculum leads to physical changes in the brain that include increased grey matter, which can lead to cognitive changes such as speech, language, and memory and an increase in the size of the corpus callosum which leads to an increase in overall intelligence.