Why music in education is important

In class yesterday Kim asked why should music should be taught in school?

Here are some reasons why:

· Music teaches sequential learning which is important to reading comprehension.

· Middle school and high school students who play instrumental music score significantly higher than non-band peers in standardized tests. University studies conducted in Georgia and Texas found significant positive correlation between the number of years of instrumental music instruction and academic achievement in math, science and language arts.

• Students who were exposed to the music-based lessons scored a full 100 percent higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner. Second-grade and third-grade students were taught fractions in a nontraditional manner by teaching them basic music rhythm notation. The group was taught about the relationships between eighth, quarter, half and whole notes. Their peers received traditional fraction instruction.
• A ten-year study, tracking more than 25,000 students, shows that music-making improves test scores. Regardless of socioeconomic background, music-making students get higher marks in standardized tests than those who had no music involvement. The test scores studied were not only standardized tests, such as the SAT, but also in reading proficiency exams. In 2001, SAT takers with coursework/experience in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 41 points higher on the math portion than students with no coursework/experience in the arts.
• Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school. Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66 percent of music majors who applied to med school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. For comparison, (44 percent) of biochemistry majors were admitted.
• A study of 7,500 university students revealed that music majors scored the highest reading scores among all majors including English, biology, chemistry and math.
• A McGill University study found that pattern recognition and mental representation scores improved significantly for students given piano instruction over a three-year period.
• self-esteem and musical skills measures improved for students given piano instruction.
• Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 showed that music participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentage of music participants receiving As, As/Bs, and Bs was higher than the percentage of non-participants receiving those grades.
• Research shows that piano students are better equipped to comprehend mathematical and scientific concepts. children who received piano/keyboard training performed 34 percent higher on tests measuring spatial-temporal ability than the others even. "Spatial-temporal" is basically proportional reasoning - ratios, fractions, proportions and thinking in space and time. This concept has long been considered a major obstacle in the teaching of elementary math and science.
• Young children with developed rhythm skills perform better academically in early school years. Findings of a recent study showed that there was a significant difference in the academic achievement levels of students classified according to rhythmic competency. Students who were achieving at academic expectation scored high on all rhythmic tasks, while many of those who scored lower on the rhythmic test achieved below academic expectation.
• College-age musicians are emotionally healthier than their non-musician counterparts. A study conducted at the University of Texas looked at 362 students who were in their first semester of college. They were given three tests, measuring performance anxiety, emotional concerns and alcohol related problems. In addition to having fewer battles with the bottle, researchers also noted that the college-aged music students seemed to have surer footing when facing tests.
• The world's top academic countries place a high value on music education. Hungary, Netherlands and Japan stand atop worldwide science achievement and have strong commitment to music education. All three countries have required music training at the elementary and middle school levels, both instrumental and vocal, for several decades. The centrality of music education to learning in the top-ranked countries seems to contradict the United States' focus on math, science, vocabulary, and technology.
• Music training helps under-achievers. In Rhode Island, researchers studied eight public school first grade classes. Half of the classes became "test arts" groups, receiving ongoing music and visual arts training. In kindergarten, this group had lagged behind in scholastic performance. After seven months, the students were given a standardized test. The "test arts" group had caught up to their fellow students in reading and surpassed their classmates in math by 22 percent. In the second year of the project, the arts students widened this margin even further. Students were also evaluated on attitude and behavior. Classroom teachers noted improvement in these areas also.
• "The nation's top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st century."

Facts provided by: http://www.nammfoundation.org/research/research-briefs-did-you-know

These facts clearly support the idea that music should be taught in schools. Music makes you smarter, more motivated, and raises your self-esteem. I realize that music and sports both teach team work, but an ensemble is the biggest team you will ever be in. A basketball team has 10-15 players and 5 players on the court at one time; a football team has 11 on the field; a baseball team has 9; soccer has 11. Do you know how many people are in an instrumental ensemble? 20, 30, 40, even up to 200 players! What other thing in the world involves this many people working together simultaneously towards one common goal? What other thing in the world do this many people work together to make something beautiful? With sports teams you have to be good initially to be on the team from middle school and beyond because you have to try out. Because they only need a limited amount of players, they only pick the best ones. Music never turns anyone down, the only way to be discarded by any ensemble is for having a bad attitude. They accept everyone no matter what your musical background, or how good you are, if you are interested the instructors will teach you. This could be why music raises ones self-esteem. I understand that music isn't for everyone and that not everyone is good at it, but that does not mean it should not be taught in schools. Just like gym class is required for physical health, music should be required for mental and emotional health.

So I end with the question: why shouldn't music be taught in schools?