50+ Reasons to Celebrate Music
1. Performing is fun.
2. Orchestra friends are the greatest.
3. We are capable of communication on a high creative level.
4. Music looks great to colleges, regardless of the other courses you may be taking.
5. You sound great on your instrument! Be proud of your musical growth!
6. Music develops independence and collaboration.
7. Music helps develop higher-order thinking skills including analysis, social skills, critical thinking, and creative thinking.
8. In music, there is room for all students and abilities.
9. Music allows students to improve naturally at their own rate, while challenging them to work in teams, set higher goals, and stretch their imaginations.
10. Music develops social skills and promotes an environment that gives students the opportunity to be special and part of a group.
11. Music fires up enthusiasm for learning. It reinforces reading, math, and critical-thinking skills, builds self-confidence to flourish in other curriculums, accommodates a variety of learning types, and helps those who have difficulty relating to traditional instruction.
12. Music allows students to experience other times, places, and cultures in a tangible manner.
13. Music fosters a positive attitude towards learning. It strengthens academic performance and promotes creativity.
14. Music is related to math; the rhythms, tempos, beats, and even key signatures of music are mathematical.
15. A study shows that kindergarten children who were given music instruction scored 48% higher on spatial-temporal tests than those who did not receive musical training.
16. Another study reveals that exposure to music education leads to an increase in the reading abilities of elementary students. First-grade students with a year of direct involvement with music education tested nearly one grade higher than their peers. First-grade students with two years for music education scored almost at the third- grade level in reading.
17. According to the College Board National Report of 1999, students with musical studies scored better on the SAT exam.
Verbal scores Math scores
Musical study 538 534
No arts coursework 477 492
18. Students who were involved in music coursework for even just one-half a year averaged seven to ten points higher on the SAT compared to those who had no music coursework. Music students with four years of study averaged 58 points higher on the verbal portion and 39 points higher on the math portion of the SAT.
19. Music helps the "at-risk" student. It can unlock underdeveloped abilities.
20. Music students learn self-discipline, how to resolve conflicts and work with others toward common goals.
21. Music is creative and allows students to express pent-up emotions.
22. "Music is about communication, creativity, and cooperation; and, by studying music in school, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives, and experience the world from a new perspective." Bill Clinton, 42nd President.
23."Involvement in music…is one of the finest ways that a child can learn about our society. Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them -- a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music." Gerald R. Ford, 38th President.
24. Music helps in business success. "The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are nearly without exception practicing musicians." Grant Venerable.
25. Music offers a firm foundation to start successful careers outside of music. In fact, after studying the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants, physician and biologist Lewis Thomas found that 66% of music majors applying to medical school were admitted. This was the highest of any undergraduate group. In contrast, 44% of biochemistry majors were admitted.
26. Music unites people. In a world where so many factors divide us, music has the power to melt away the gulfs and chasms that separate us -- breaking down social barriers, stereotypes and prejudices. In unique ways, music brings us together, broadens our minds, opens our hearts, and helps us understand one another.
27. Music exalts the human spirit. Its intrinsic value is unquestionable. (That means that music is worth learning because it is music.)
28. Music transcends time and language. It plays a pivotal role in creating great civilizations. It enables us to express our noblest thoughts and feelings, and refreshes the human spirit.
29. Today, music is one of the most important manifestations of our heritage. It reflects, preserves and advances our culture.
30. Students need to know about Beethoven and Louis Armstrong as well as about Newton and Einstein. (Plus, Albert Einstein played the violin!)
31. "I get the most joy out of my violin. I often think in music…I see my life in terms of music." Albert Einstein.
32. Scientists have found that music is not just a cultural and artistic entity but is a highly complex neural activity. It physically changes the brain forever.
33. There are five neurobiological systems that influence learning. The cognitive system includes visual-spatial perception, mathematical ability, and creative thought. The emotional system includes the endocrine system, hormones, social skills, personal skills, cultural awareness, and aesthetic appreciation. The perceptual-motor system includes sensory feelings and perception of timing. The stress-response system includes the immune response, autonomic nervous system, and the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The memory system includes the ability for attention, concentration and recall. All five systems are used when making music. "There is no other academic discipline that can be held to this stringent biological standard." Eric Jensen.
34. Neuroscientist Arnold Scheibel, of the University of California, did an autopsy on a world-renowned violinist. The fourth layer of the auditory cortex, the part of the brain responsible for hearing reception was twice as thick as normal.
35. Through constant musical repetition, feedback, and practice, over time the brain makes new neural connections called "synapses." The more music making a person is exposed to the more changes occur in the brain's synapses. The neural map becomes more and more connected with the growth of these synapses.
36. String players who have many years of developing fine motor skills through finger movement often have the most significant changes in the brain. Significant left-hand movement when playing an instrument typically leads to a larger cortical area in the sensory cortex corresponding to the index finger. Many years of finger activity result in nerve growth.
37. The cerebellum, an area of the brain involving rhythm and maintaining a beat is on average 5% larger in musicians than in non-musicians.
38. Think about what this new increase in brain size allows, and not just with music. A whole new world is open with a bigger brain and a more finely connected neural map.
39. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have shown that corpus callosum fibers which link the left and right brain hemispheres are about 15% larger in musicians compared to non-musicians.
40 .Japan, Hungary, and the Netherlands all have worldwide, top-ranking scores in math and science. It is no surprise that all of these countries have extensive music and art training in their school curriculum.
41. In 1993, a physicist named Gordon Shaw conducted a study that had students listen to Mozart before a reasoning test. The students who listened to Mozart's "Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major" did significantly better on reasoning tasks than those students who listened to a relaxation tape or silence.
42. Music reinforces reading. The skills necessary to read text are the same skills necessary to read music.
43. Music is related to math. There is even a neural overlap in math and music brain functions.
44. Dr. Spychiger of the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, wanted to know what would happen if you increased music exposure at the expense of traditional classroom time, at the expense of math time. Students ranging from ages seven to age fifteen took part in the study. Half of the students acted as the experimental group and were exposed to daily music lessons, forty-five minutes a day, five days a week, at the expense of traditional classroom time. The control group continued their normal studies and took a once-a-week music class. The experimental group with increased music instruction at the expense of traditional classroom time had increased reading and language scores, performing better than the control group. Regarding math skills, the music group did just as well as the students who spent more time in math class. After this study, teachers noted that the students with increased music time behaved better in class, were more cooperative, and exhibited better social skills. This study was conducted over three years and also suggested that music training has significant long-term value.
45. "IBM's Thomas J. Watson Center has found that nearly all music shares a simple mathematical formulation that expresses how notes change in pitch over the course of a musical work. This same mathematical relationship is found in a wide variety of other natural patterns, including the changes in the electrical patterns of brain cells, the fluctuation of sunspots, and the growth of tree rings. The same mathematical formula that characterizes the ebb and flow of music exists widely in nature, from the flow of the Nile to the beating of the human heart, to the wobbling of the earth on its axis. Voss's research reminds us of the ancient philosophers, who claimed that music is in harmony with the cosmos itself." Richard Voss.
46. Redcliffe Elementary School was an "at-risk" school with test scores in the 25th percentile. A strong arts program was added to the school, and within six years, test scores soared into the top 5th percentile. This rural school, with a 42 percent minority population, shows that the arts are at the heart of academic success.
47. Schools in the United States producing the highest academic achievement are also spending 20-30% of the school day focusing on the arts, with a musical emphasis.
48. The St. Augustine Bronx Elementary School was failing school in 1984. After implementing a strong arts program, now 90% of students are reading at or above grade level.
49. Musical potential exists in every individual which, like all potential, should be developed to its fullest.
50. You have devoted years to playing your instrument at this point. You understand that music is often hard work and not always fun. In these I'm-not-having-fun moments, consider your commitment to your instrument and your commitment to our orchestra. Know that we need you! You are important to our group. Some of the best things in life require hard work. With persistence and perseverance, you will reap the rewards of your hard work. Stay in orchestra!!!
51. The Orchestra program promises to be a fun course with a lot of performance opportunities, exploration of many genres of music, and possibilities for field trips and special events. Don't miss out!!
For Further Reading…
Dickinson, Dee. "Music and the Mind." New Horizons for Learning (1993): 1-4.
Hansen, Dee and Elaine Bernstore. "Linking Music Learning to Reading Instruction."
Music Educators Journal 83 (2002): 17-21.
http:://www.menc.org
Jensen, Eric. Arts with the Brain in Mind. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development. 2001.
Jensen, Eric. Music with the Brain in Mind. San Diego: The Brain Store. 2000.
Jensen, Eric. Teaching with the Brain in Mind. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development. 1998.
The Benefits of the Study of Music: Why We Need Music Education in Our Schools. MENC pamphlet. Reston: Virginia. 2000.
Article adapted with permission from Ms. Preddice-Strom