According to Harvard University President, Drew Faust, as of the year 2008 in the United States, more than eighty percent of the public school districts funds across the country have been cut for elective programs such as, music and art. Faust is one of many people that have shared concerns about the removal of these programs. In addition to Faust, neuroscientists have revealed these elective courses are not only enjoyable, but in fact are strengthening the mind. Studying music or playing a musical instrument can have a greater impact on the brain than studying a core subject (Boyd). To illustrate, music has the ability to spark memories of occasions shared with family and friends. A song played during the holiday season can bring back memories of something as simple as decorating a Christmas tree or lighting a menorah. For this reason, the arts are frequently labeled as …show more content…
An IQ, test or intelligence quotient test, evaluates a person's mental ability. For example, a student that plays the keyboard or piano seem to have a tendency to possess a higher IQ than a nonkeyboard performer. Additionally, students exposed to music lessons, vocal, and keyboard, had a greater increase in IQ over a period of time, compared to students who did not experience music lessons (Goopy). Moreover playing a musical instrument can have a positive effect a well on a student’s standardized tests, such as the SAT. A ten year study tracked over 25,000 middle and high school students, musical students received higher scores on the SAT’s then the non- musical students. Specifically, students involved in music programs scored 63 points higher on the verbal and 44 points higher on the math section of the SAT (“The Importance”). To summarize music education and playing a musical instrument impacts a student throughout their academic career and
Studies show that those high school students least likely to be involved with drugs are band students. Six separate national independent studies showed students with four years of instrumental music scored 40-50% higher on their Math and English Sat scores that non –music students who had equal scores four years earlier. "Why" Music is the only subject that encompasses all seven learning intelligences. Music is one of only two subjects that "connects" the two independent sides of the brain –logical and creative. Similar studies showed that band students attend more regularly. They participate in their classrooms, look forward to and actually like school. They become more focused, more disciplined. An educated person is less likely to end up in jail, impaired by addictions, or homeless.
In June of 1984, Richard Ramirez began his famous killing spree. His strategies on how he would kill his victims seem to be unorthodox and unorganized, take his first victim for example. Seventy-nine year old Jennie Vincow was asleep on her bed inside her apartment on Chapman Street in Los Angeles, California, when Richard Ramirez who unintentionally broke into the wrong apartment, was high off coke and angry because of the poverty based apartment he broke into, plowed his six-inch hunting knife into Jennie’s chest. After waking up screaming, she tried defending herself but due to his raging strength it was nearly impossible to do that, Ramirez then covered her mouth as he cut her throat and stabbed her three more times in the chest and once in vaginal area. (Phillip Carlo, The Night Stalker, 1996)
Although musical intelligence is not seen as important or “truly smart” in society, it can still be powerful, and it still is a form of intelligence. Alternative forms of intelligence (those other than “book smarts” like mathematical or linguistic intelligence) are oftentimes overlooked by society. Another aspect of this piece is the view that societal intelligence is important to survival, and can just as easily be used as a reason to consider someone to be smart (Graff). If both musical intelligence and social intelligence are important facets of society, and both can be used to measure somebody’s smarts, musical education should be an appropriate addition to schooling because it has been shown to increase both. Musical education not only increases musical intelligence, but also emotional, interpersonal, and general societal
Students enrolled in music classes and lessons have higher test scores than the students who are not enrolled in these classes. Music education has a strong impact on the success of a student in the classroom. "Music majors have the highest SAT scores in all areas" (Mickela “Music and Student Development”). Th...
The idea of the Mozart effect began in 1993 with a study conducted by Rauscher, Shaw & Ky. This study involved 36 university students taking three different IQ spatial reasoning tasks and for each test used either Mozart’s sonata for two pianos in D major and relaxation music was played, silence was also used. The results of this experiment showed that students who had listened to the music of Mozart had better results for the spacial reasoning tests in comparison to silence or relaxation music. The results also showed that the impact of Mozart’s music was only temporary and only lasted for 10-15 minutes. Overall this study was very basic and had numerous flaws such as the sample size and also the variety of tests used to look at the impact of music (Rauscher, Shaw & Ky, 1993). In 1997 Don Campbell’s book The Mozart effect popularised the claim that music makes children smarter. This book created a public interest in music and brain development. The book uses Rauscher’s experiment as an example of what Mozart’s music can do which in this experiment shows a temporary increase in spatial reasoning, this however was misinterpreted by the public as an increase in IQ. The popularisation of the...
Much too often in America today, modern music and art programs in schools are perceived to many as extracurricular activities rather than important subjects that are vital to a students learning and skill development. The truth of the matter is that encouraging music and art education in public schools has a much larger impact on student’s grades, academic performance, and the economy than the majority people realize. Within the next year city school budgets will be dropping by twenty five percent, and despite the fact that music and art programs have been showing a dramatic contribution to student’s learning, this substantial drop in funding for the programs will lead to no dedicated money for art or music programs (Mezzacappa). There is no doubt that a cut in funding for art programs will take a huge toll on students overall grades and test scores. Research has found that the studying of music and art facilitates learning in other subjects and enhances children’s skills in other areas (Brown). Furthermore, providing students with a creative outlet can do great justice in reducing the stress from many other classes and even offer insight for students in possible career paths involving the art field. The art industry today currently supports 4.1 million full-time jobs (Dorfman). By increasing the funding of music and art programs for students preschool through twelfth grade we can see a dramatic increase in the education of children across the United States, assist with skill development in young students, and greatly benefit the economy at the same time.
Music is a basic part of everyday life. What makes music unique is its ability to create an emotional response in a person. A music education program should develop the aesthetic experience of every student to its highest potential. Aesthetics is the study of the relationship of art to the human senses. Intelligence exists in several areas, which includes music. The concept of aesthetics allows us to see into ourselves, which in turn helps the development of the intelligences. Not only are these intelligences brought up greatly in music education, but they can be transferred to other areas as well, allowing students to grow more through their other subjects.
The Importance of Arts Education Jane Alexander, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), once said, “Many children are missing out on something which gives their education context, gives their lives depth and meaning, and prepares them to be the future workforce.” This “something” that she spoke of is music and art education. Unfortunately, she is entirely correct. We are currently seeing a dramatic cut in arts education curriculum in our public schools due to the limited amount of time and funding. In many cases, budget cutbacks mean arts education cutbacks.
According to a study in 2009, children who had taken music lessons for a short amount of time had brains that “…grew larger in the areas that control fine motor skills and hearing,” (Lipman 3). Because their brains grew, they could know more and they could have a better education because of the larger parts to the brain.
Even when children learn music they able to listen, sing, dance, create movement. Listening to music draw out emotions, and playing music can be just like communicating emotions. Some people find this a very powerful experience. “ Music enriches the lives of students and should be considered a necessary part of education.”
The academic benefits of music education are immense. In a study by Shirley Brice Heath, a researcher at Stanford University and Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, students with at least three hours of participation in the arts, three days a week for at least a year are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement (Ford, AdamMcMahon, Maureen). Students in music excel in core subjects such as math, English, and science. In 1997, the College Board produced a study, revealing that students with at least four years of music education scored an average of 49 points higher on the verbal section of the SAT and 34 points higher of the math section (“Arts Education”). These days, this is the difference between being accepted to a college and not.
It can be proven, through literary research and personal experiences, that music has a positive effect on learning and memory. It can be concluded that these positive effects have an impact on patients with Alzheimer’s, on the motor skills and auditory memory of mentally disabled children, on students attempting to remember subject manner that they are learning, and on the affectivity of advertisements. On a personal note, music has facilitated my ability to remember things, both positive and negative, a number of times. For example, in high school I memorized the days of the week in French by singing them along with a tune that was already familiar to me. I have also had multiple experiences in which I remember things that I do not want to remember such as advertisements and negative experiences because they were accompanied with specific music. Despite the miniscule negative effects of music on memory, the powerful ability of music to trigger memory production and recall is undeniably beneficial. The profound effect of music on memory and learning makes music a great tool for helping people who want to improve cognitive function, whether they need to receive treatment for a mental disease or learn new information.
However, there are diverse areas, which indicate this sort of connection. Firstly, research has proved that children playing the piano often show improved reasoning skills like those applied in solving jigsaw puzzles, playing chess or conducting mathematical deductions. Secondly, it has been noticed in a particular investigation that the percentage of undergraduate students having taken a music course was about eleven percent above average amongst mathematics majors. This affinity of mathematicians for music is not only a recent phenomenon, but has been mentioned previously by Bloch in 1925.
Children love music and recognize it very early in life. Mothers singing lullabies to her newborn baby, toddlers banging on a pot in the kitchen, preschoolers singing their favorite nursery rhyme, music is an important part of a child’s life. Music does many things, it can bring back a memory or a feeling, it can sooth and relax, and it teaches. Music also teaches children; Language, listening skills, and communication to name a few of the concepts children learn through music. "Scientists are confirming what teachers have long suspected: Music not only touches people's souls, it also shapes growing minds. When children sing or play music they become better readers, thinkers and learners. The more we discover about how the brain works, the more we recognize how crucial music is to children's learning." Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer, Ph.D., a psychoanalyst at the University of California, Berkeley.
In December of 1992, David Ott’s father was dying of cancer. On Christmas Eve morning he went into a coma. The family gathered in the small hospital room knowing that their beloved husband and father would not be with them long. Since it was Christmas Eve, carolers were going through the hospital quietly singing. As they walked past the room singing “Silent Night”, a single tear fell across the comatose man’s cheek. His family stated that after seeing him just lay there all day without moving, that the single tear was his way of telling them goodbye. Ott stated that “music can go where words cannot” (Griffen). Research shows that music is to the brain as physical exercise is to the human body. Some form of exercise is necessary for a healthy body. People know what to do to tone their body but do they exercise their minds regularly and properly? Do they know that listening to Mozart can help increase their memory? Music has a greater impact on human lives than we think; it assists in releasing or creating strong emotions, strengthens the brain increasing the ability to learn, and has the power to heal.