MUSICAL SKILLS
Music students develop skills that are directly related to music, but also have obvious benefits in other areas:
o Listening: Good musicians are, by necessity, good listeners. They have been trained to listen purposefully, intently and carefully for differences between every note and every chord they play. They listen to discern harmony versus dissonance. They listen to distinguish when a note is sharp, flat or just plain off-key. They have developed their sense of hearing and their ability to focus and pay attention to sound.
o Rhythm: Through the study of music, students become able to recognize and create rhythm. Music is a fun and entertaining way to learn about rhythm and patterns.
o Memory: In order to learn how to play students learn the names and placement of notes on the staff and the corresponding key to strike in order to play a piece of music correctly. Pieces of music are eventually committed to memory over time with enough practice. Memorization skills are strengthened with regular use.
INTELLIGENCE & BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
Early musical training helps to develop brain regions involved in language and reasoning as well as spatial intelligence.
o “A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science. — Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb, "Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning," Neurological Research, Vol. 19, February 1997
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EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
Music students frequently outscore non-music students in standardized tests and general school performance.
o Students with coursework / experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT: students in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than did students with no arts participation. — College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers.
o In an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students (NELS:88, National Education Longitudinal Survey), researchers 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.” This observation holds regardless of students’ socio-economic status, and differences in those who are involved with instrumental music vs. those who are not is more significant over time. — Catterall, James S., Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga. “Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts.”
o In a recent study, researchers observed a correlation between verbal skills and music training. Children who had been taught to play an instrument had better verbal memory scores compared to their non-instrument-playing peers. Music training develops a brain region that also may support areas of the brain responsible for language.
Musicians have better development of their left temporal lobes compared to nonmusicians. This region of the brain facilitates cognitive processes that also contribute to verbal memory skills. Brain functions are not simply "left side" or "right side." Rather, they are part of a more interconnected system in which developing one region is likely to enhance the performance of other regions as well.
LIFE SKILLS
An education in music also teaches important and enduring life lessons that are readily transferable:
o Craftsmanship: Students of music understand how musical details come together to produce good, rather than mediocre, sounds. These exacting standards in the craft of music demand a level of excellence that, when applied to other endeavors, require students to push their own limits.
o Perserverance: Music making requires focused and sustained effort in routine practice. Professional musicians rehearse regularly to stay on top of their repertoire. It is only through a great investment of time and effort that a successful performance is possible. There are no shortcuts. Through the study of music, students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve concrete results.
o How to perform: Music making focuses on "doing" rather than observing and teaches students, quite literally, how to perform in front of an audience.
o Poise and self-confidence: Stage fright is not an uncommon feeling when called upon to perform in public, whether formally or informally. Opportunities to overcome this anxiety make it less intimidating and helps to develop a sense of poise for future stressful situations. Self-esteem and self-confidence also develop as a result of the sense of achievement that comes from accomplishing challenging and rewarding musical goals.
CREATIVITY
Music is a wonderful means of self-expression that can convey anything from the deepest sorrow to the greatest joy and everything in between.
Students derive a unique sense of satisfaction in active music-making as opposed to passive music consumption.
HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE
Music can also play a positive role in improving your health and quality of life:
o Playing and appreciating music makes you smarter: It doesn't have to be classical music. Any music you enjoy sparks neurons in the brain that improves memory and mental powers. If you have children, expose them to music. They'll do better in reading and math.
o Slow music calms nerves and lowers blood pressure: Thirty minutes a day of breathing along to the beat of slow, soothing music (more like Norah Jones or Frank Sinatra, not so much Lady Gaga or Katy Perry) can significantly lower your risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
o Music keeps your hearing sharp: Older musicians generally do not experience typical aging in the part of the brain (the auditory cortex) that often leads to hearing troubles. But you don't have to be a highly trained virtuoso to benefit. It's never too late to start taking piano lessons and preventing these age-related changes.
o Music melts away stress: Recent medical studies show that listening to soothing music calmed heart rates by as much as 5 beats per minute in critically ill hospital patients hooked up to breathing machines. That was enough to significantly ease anxiety and help them heal.