The Importance Of Music In Education

“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

* ““95% percent of Americans believe that music is a key-component in a child’s well-rounded education, 80% percent of respondents agreed that music makes the participants smarter; 78% believe that learning a musical instrument helps students perform better in other subject areas; and 88% believe participation in music helps teach children discipline” (Hurley 3),” (par 1).

Chapter fifteen is all about how music affects the classroom atmosphere. Music can help with classroom management which has a direct effect of the atmosphere of the classroom. Music can encourage confidence which can help with academic problems. Music can make a classroom feel friendly and welcoming on the first day. A good morning song can help students start off on the right foot. A song can also provide a clear beginning to the day and help with structure. Students could sing a patriotic song after the pledge of allegiance. A lot of patriotic songs are hard for students to sing but a few songs are good. “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” would be a great song for students to sing.

Elementary schools around the country are starting to cut out music education. Fortunately, there are many schools that still recognize the importance of music education. Malinda Williams is a teacher at the Baldwin Hills Elementary School. She is also a fan of Motown Classics. The Jackson 5 was one of the most popular groups during the Motown era.

Some of the most significant problems facing parents, teachers, and students is the impact of music on secondary education. Parents and teachers alike, are continuously trying to cut the ties between secondary students and the influences of “bad” music during the school day. More research is being done on this topic to educate students, parents, and teachers.

Over the course of a millennium, music has been a huge factor in each society in different time periods in history. Music is considered as a language, that anybody from anywhere can read and understand without translation. Desire and attraction for music is not just for human beings, it’s is common in all living things. Music can be used to relax, to study, and to do physically demanding activities. Music not only helps with studying but there are so many benefits that come along with having music in your life.

“Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, charm to sadness, gaiety to life and to everything” (Plato). Music is a way for people to communicate their feelings. This expression can come through playing an instrument, singing a song or even listen to other people's music. As a music educator one has the responsibility to shape and nurture people's need for music. Musical education can be one of the most influential forms of education, because of the direct way music impacts our lives. When one is going into music education they must analyze the benefits for oneself, the advancement of those being taught and the contribution to and from the community.

Learning a musical instrument has an impact on intellectual development. A study contrasting the impact of music lessons (standard keyboard, Kodaly voice) with drama or no lessons found that the music groups had reliably larger increases in intelligence quotient. In additionally, playing an instrument can also lead to a sense of achievement; increased confidence; an increase in self-esteem; persistence in overcoming frustration when learning to difficult; self discipline; and provide a means of self expression. These may increase motivation for learning in general thus supporting enhanced

Music is not only something you can hear, you can see it and feel it; notes on a scale dance on the page, a rhythmic beat keeps tempo with your heartbeat as the sound penetrates your eardrums. Music is used to pump up an audience before the “BIG game or create an ambiance in a dim restaurant; Music is mood altering. In the movies, music is constantly incorporated within episodes because it is powerful enough to create suspense, romance, fear or joy. Oddly enough, this combination along with the pipeline to prison concept prompted the thought process about the lack of music in public education. “Pomona Unified School District has decreased the funding for music programs, ultimately excluding off-task students from a positive educational experience; therefore, funds should be available to support music in education. By its own nature music is calming, connective, and cognitive which can encourage off- task students to succeed in school.

Musical education is an important subject that is commonly overlooked and provides many benefits to children who study it. In chapter 1 titled, “Music and the Child - Why Music?”, there are many pieces of evidence pulled from different researches that suggest that musical education needs to be implemented into schools as a core subject. In 1999, Texas State University conducted a research study that provided evidence that studying piano can be connected to improvements in many core subjects such as math, science, and language. In addition, multiple other studies conducted by the University of Toronto and the Psychology Department at Stanford showed evidence that the study of music is capable of improving a child’s reading and language skills (Music and the Child). Overall, musical education has a large positive impact on a child’s education by providing them with skills that can better their performance in multiple areas of study. In chapter 1, I found the fourth bullet point on page 2.2 to be the most interesting. It states that music can improve a student’s self-esteem and confidence. I would have never guessed that music can have that kind of impact on a student. This fact is also very interesting because a student that is confident in himself may also be more likely to participate and be more involved in class. I found the sixth bullet point as the least interesting out of all seven. It states that music can benefit an above average student by providing them with more

Gouzouasis, P., Guhn, M., & Kishor, N. (2007, March). The predicative relationship between achievement and participation in music and achievement in core Grade 12 academic subjects. Music Education Research, 9(1), 81-92. doi:10.1090/14613800601127569. Peter Gouzouasis, Martin Guhn, and Nand Kishor, professors at the University of British Columbia, assert that art subjects are a great potential partner for academic studies because many of the skills one acquires from a music class are transferable to academic skills. They deliver their compelling argument through deductive reasoning and empirical research. To elaborate, they begin by discussing how little research has been done to support the theory that music skills benefit students academically; and then conduct their own experiment on 11th graders involved in music courses to predict the students’ scores as 12th graders. They then provide their empirical findings which show their scores to be considerably higher than non-music participants, by doing this they show readers hard evidence that proves their assertion. They do this to appeal to the reader's sense of logic in order to persuade them to realize the importance of music not only for its intricate beauty but for its blatant advantages it gives to students academically. The intended audience for this paper would be school administration and music educators because the authors urge administrators to see the benefits of music, while stating that music educators must be

Music is a universal passion. Whether you are three years old or ninety years old, whether you are a democrat or a republican, or whether you are from North America or Africa, everyone finds joy and comfort in music. Music plays such an immense role in the day to day lives of people all around the world. So, why is the funding for music programs all around the country being slashed? The debate over whether music programs in schools benefit or hinder children’s overall academic achievements. Proponents of the funding cuts argue that it simply costs too much money to sustain these music programs with all the instruments and sheet music they require, and that they are a distraction from the “more important” academic classes. On the other hand, opponents argue that providing kids with an education in music improves brain activity which in turn allows them to actually excel in other subject areas. While it is true that music can be distracting in some cases, it is extremely important to fund music programs in schools to give students the best academic opportunities possible.

Plato the philosopher once said “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.” Funds have been cut in more than 80 percent of U.S. school districts since 2008. The very first programs to go are often disciplines such as music, art and foreign language. This is in order to create more funding for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programs, also known as STEM. Although STEM programs in public education are important, schools should include more music education because, it increases brain activity, increases creativity in problem solving, and improves test scores.

Music has always been and still is one of the greatest heritage that we have as a human being, that’s the reasons why people called it the universal language of humankind. No matter where we are music is always there around us and that show’s how important music is for us human beings. Without music, we don’t have the way to express our feeling with, technically life will be dulled without any music.

“Education- should enhance understanding of the world, of oneself, and of one’s own experience” (Kelly 2009). What is important about music education? There are many important aspects in music education like pedagogy and performance. For me, music education is about letting the students express themselves. Having the ability to give an idea or to vent is a vital tool in today’s society. This concept influences music because expression is not only in how to connect a phrase, but also how to tell a story. With my time in college, Dr. Joseph Frye will always tell me to tell a story with music. He will also ask me what I want to feel after playing a piece. This is what I believe is important in music education.