The Importance of Music Education

Objectives Benefits of Music Education Music Education Advocacy What Parents can do to Encourage their Children in Music How Music Connects with Core Subject Areas-Research and Ideas that are used in the Music Lessons Elementary Music Education

IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC EDUCATION Music Education Helps Develop: Hand-Eye Coordination Memory Skills Concentration Problem Solving Skills Teamwork Self-Confidence/Self Esteem Standards of Excellence Time Management Skills

4 Categories of Benefits for Music Education 1.Success in Society 2.Success in School 3.Success in Developing Intelligence 4.Success in Life

1. Success in Society Every human culture uses music to communicate ideas and ideals The arts are identified as one of the six basic academic subject areas students should study to succeed in college –Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do, 1983 [still in use], The College Board, New York The arts create jobs, increase local tax base, spur growth in businesses (hotels, restaurants), and improve the quality of life for our cities and towns –American Arts Alliance Fact Sheet, October 1996

2. Success in School Students with music performance or appreciation experience scored higher on the SAT than those not involved. How much higher? 53 points higher on verbal and 39 points higher on math for those involved in music performance 61 points higher on the verbal and 42 points higher on the math for those involved in music appreciation –1999 College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers, The College Entrance Examination Board, Princeton, New Jersey Students participating in arts programs in selected elementary and middle schools in New York City showed significant increases in self- esteem and thinking skills –National Arts Education Research Center, New York University, 1990

3. Success in Developing Intelligence-Research Results Music training is superior to computer instruction in enhancing children’s abstract reasoning skills, those necessary for learning math and science –Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis, and Newcomb Two Rhode Island schools gave an enriched, sequential, skill-building music program which showed marked improvements in reading and math skills. Students in this program who had started out behind the control group caught up to statistical equality in reading, and pulled ahead in math –Gardiner, Fox, Jeffrey, and Knowles

Success in Developing Intelligence-Research Results Continued A study at the University of California (Irvine) showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ –Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Ky, and Wright Children given piano lessons significantly improved in their spatial-temporal IQ scores (important for some types of math reasoning) compared to children who received computer lessons, casual singing, or no lessons –Rauscher, F.H., Shaw, G.L., Levine, L.J., Wright, E.L., Dennis, W.R., and Newcomb, R.

Success in Developing Intelligence-Research Results Continued An Auburn University study found significant increases in overall self-concept of at-risk children participating in an arts program that included music, movement, dramatics, and art, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children’s Self- Concept Scale –N.H. Barry, Project ARISE: Meeting the needs of disadvantaged students through the arts A study at McGill University found that pattern recognition and mental representation scores improved significantly for students given piano instruction over a three- year period. They also found that self-esteem and musical skills measures improved for those students –Costa-Giomi, E.

4. Success in Life Opens doors that help children transition from school into the world around them- world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement –Gerald Ford, former President, United States of America By studying music in school, students have the opportunity to build on skills such as communication, creativity, and cooperation. They enrich their lives by building on these skills and seeing the world from different perspectives –Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Leading Heart Surgeon, Baylor College of Music.

What Can Parents Do? Listen to music with your child from little on up-nursery rhymes, folk songs, children’s songs Sing and play music with your child Go to concerts or watch concerts on television Encourage your child to participate in musical activities at school, church, and home Listen and show enthusiasm for your child’s musical achievements Attend your child’s school/church music programs Be active in your child’s everyday life Engage in musical activities with your child on the internet. There are many interactive sites

How Music Connects to the Core Subject Areas Research & Ideas Used in Music Lessons

Music and Math Spatial/temporal relationships in music exist as pitch and rhythm patterns The cognitive skills used to process music are used in math as well When singing on pitch: “Do” is less than “re”, and “re” is less than “mi”. As students develop these skills, it can help students understand math concepts such as number lines »Gardiner, 1996

Music and Math 2 nd and 3 rd graders were taught fractions using concept of rhythmic notation-relationships between different note values Peers received traditional fraction instruction Students taught fractions using music concept scored 100% higher on fractions tests than those who learned using the traditional method » Rauscher, 1999

Music and Math Students use addition and subtraction skills when working with measures and beats- ex: Creating and/or completing measures using quarter, half, eighth notes and their respective number of counts. Musical notation- notes and rhythms- are sets of graphs

Music and Science Science and SoundScience and Sound Experiments on sound waves and vibrations-using a rubber band plucked between two fingers to show vibration.Experiments on sound waves and vibrations-using a rubber band plucked between two fingers to show vibration. See salt move on a surface when sound is made: Put plastic tightly over a coffee can and secure with a rubber band. Place salt on the plastic. Tap a smaller can with a ruler to see the salt move. The salt moves because the plastic is vibrating due to the sound waves hitting it!See salt move on a surface when sound is made: Put plastic tightly over a coffee can and secure with a rubber band. Place salt on the plastic. Tap a smaller can with a ruler to see the salt move. The salt moves because the plastic is vibrating due to the sound waves hitting it!

Music and Science Instruments and Science Size and Pitch: – Large instruments have low sounds – Small instruments have high sounds – Using Boomwhackers (plastic tubes that are pitched to certain notes), you can build a pyramid to visually show the students that to support the pyramid, the large tube must be on the bottom (and it makes the lowest sound). The smallest tube must be on the top of the pyramid (it makes the highest sound)

Music and Science Other interesting ideas: Glasses filled with different amounts of water- have the students put them in order from the lowest to the highest (the lowest will be the one with the least amount of water; the highest will be the one with the most water-the instrument is actually the air column created by the space not filled up with water: smaller air space = more water = higher sound larger air space = less water = lower sound There are numerous songs and movement activities that have a science focus to them. The opportunities to connect music to science are ENDLESS!!!

Music and…..

Music and Social Studies Happens often when teaching/learning songs about: Countries Continents States Game songs from other cultures Folk dances from around the world While learning these songs, we also learn: Games Dances Instruments-both American and foreign Rhythms Songs in native languages History of American music and world music

Music and…..

Music and Reading Both music and reading rely on the discrimination of sounds from each other When learning to read, we learn how to relate letters to their spoken sounds Phonemic stage of learning to read is promoted by good pitch discrimination skills (learning association between visual parts of words and their spoken sounds)

Music and Reading Research Experimental group received Kodaly training five days per week for 40 minutes during a seven-month period Control group received no special music training Experimental group’s reading scores were significantly higher (88 th percentile) than the control group’s (72 nd percentile) Hurwitz, Wolff, Bortnick, and Kokas

Endless Possibilities!!! Music is constantly connected to the core subjects of education By it’s nature, music education naturally addresses all subject areas!

Music Is………… Science~it is exact, specific, and demands acoustics. Music scores are graphs which indicate frequencies, volume changes, melody, harmony, and intensities all at once with exact control of time Mathematical~it is rhythmically based on subdivisions of time into fractions Foreign Language~terms are often in Italian, German, or French. Notation is a set of symbols used to represent ideas that everyone, regardless of language can understand

Music Is…….. History~ reflects the times, country, and origin of it’s creation Physical Education~ coordination of eyes, hands, fingers, lips, voice, facial, and diaphragm muscles in response to the sounds heard and interpreted Art~ Use all of the technical aspects of music to create emotion and beauty

Resources Arts Improve Reading and Math. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2002 from Campbell, D. (1996). Introduction to the Musical Brain. Saint Louis: MMB Music, Inc. Campbell, D. (2001). The Mozart Effect. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Campbell, D. (2000). The Mozart Effect for Children. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Henriksson, L. Why Arts Education Matters. Retrieved February 2, 2002, from

Resources cont. Hopkins, G. (1999, March 15). Making the Case for Music Education. Education World. Retrieved December 1, 2001, from Music and Your Child. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2002 from Music and Literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2002 from Music Education Facts and Figures. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2002 from

Resources cont. Weinberger, N. (n.d.). Music and the Brain. Retrieved February 16, 2002 from Weinberger, N. (1994). Music and Cognitive Achievement in Children. MuSICA Research Notes, V1, I2. Retrieved April 28, 2002 from MuSICA Research notes database. Why Music? (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2002 from Why Music Matters (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2002 from