Why Music Education is Important

Music, one of the medieval Four Pillars of Learning-along with arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy, has historically, been considered an integral part of learning. A number of studies have indicated that music training may be more valuable to the development of general intelligence than previously theorized. Shaw and Rauscher (1997) indicate that there are statistically significant, causal linkages between the study of music and the development of spatial reasoning. Studies that reveal significant changes in children’s spatial and cognitive development involve the child as actor, not spectator. The more a child participates in music education, the more learning he or she experiences.

Proponents of music education have claimed that student participation in music activities has a positive effect on everything from academic achievement to self-discipline. Music has the ability to facilitate language acquisition, reading readiness, and general intellectual development; to foster positive attitudes and to lower truancy in middle and high school; to enhance creativity; and to promote social development, personality adjustment, and self-worth.

Studies have found that music participants more often are elected to class offices, receive academic honors, and achieve higher grades than non-music participating students. Through participation in school music programs, students gain a sense of discipline, self-esteem, and pride of accomplishment, and they learn to excel in teamwork, problem solving, leadership, and creative thinking. Arts education instills creativity, a facility for problem solving, discipline, and cooperation in young performers. Competencies learned in one art form are in some sense generic and transferable to other subjects. Students, particularly high-risk students, do well in arts education classes yet suffer when confined to learning through a more traditional curriculum. In studies conducted by the College Board, it was found that music/art students consistently scored higher on both the math and verbal sections of the SAT.

Motor skills developed by playing a musical instrument transfer to writing skills. Memory training, listening, recall, and concentration are all skills developed in music study that transfer to academic areas. Listening to music temporarily enhances spatial skills. Students who studied music improved in math more than students who did not study music.

In essence, music education is important because it stimulates thought and action in non-musical areas and develops individual confidence. The study of music develops an overall discipline of mind that transfers to other subjects. It develops perceptual skills necessary in many academic areas. Music develops critical thinking skills, and improves skills in reading, writing, and math. Other skills that are developed through musical education are a sense of rhythm, physical coordination, fine motor and gross motor skills, critical thinking, memory recall, listening, and logic. Music education contributes to the quality of education overall and fosters critical thinking skills, builds values that connect children to themselves and to their cultures, and produces citizens and workers who are comfortable using many different symbol systems: verbal, mathematical, visual and auditory.

References

“The Arts and Academic Achievement: What the Evidence Shows.” Special Issue. Journal of Aesthetic Education 34 (Fall/Winter 2000).

Baum, S., S. Owen. and B. Oreck. “Transferring Individual Self-regulation Process from Arts to Academics.” Arts Education Policy Review 98 (March/April 1997): 32-39.

“Gallup Poll Indicates Growth in Music Making.” Music Trades (September 1977): 70-71.

Kelstrom, M. “The Untapped Power of Music: Its Role in the Curriculum and Its Effect on Academic Achievement.” NAASP Bulletin 82 (April 1998):34-43.

College Entrance Examination Board. Profile of SAT and Achievement Test Takers (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995).

Shaw, G., F. Rauscher, L. Levine, E. Wright, W. Dennis, and R. Newcomb. “Music Training Causes Long-term Enhancement of Preschool Children’s Spatial-temporal Reasoning.” Neurological Research 19 (1997): 2-8.