Why Music?

DOES MUSIC MAKE YOU SMARTER? One of the most innovative and entrepreneurial centers of U.S. commerce is the Silicon Valley of California. One of the most striking facts in Silicon Valley industry is that the very best engineers and technical designers are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians.

Grant Venerable. "The Paradox of the Silicon Savior." In the Case for Dquential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools. New York: The Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, 1989.

Only one in four students gets the chance to sing, play an instrument or perform plays in class each week, even though most American schools offer some type of arts education program, an Education Department study found.

Associated Press, NY, November 10, 1998

A 1984 study by Mueller found that physical, mental, emotional, and social development is faster when students learn a music instrument.

Jeanne Akin, "Music Makes a Difference." (Lafayette, California: Lafayette Arts and Science Foundation, 1987).

A study conducted in 1982 by Delehanty found that first graders learn to read and write within a few weeks when learning lessons to music.

 Sharlene Habermeyer, "Good Music, Brighter Children." (California: Prima Publishing, 1999) 135.

When handicapped children in the Clover Park School District in Tacoma, Washington, were taught basic academic skills through music, their were consistently able to learn more easily. Music helped in teaching them perceptual skills, according to researchers Appell and Goldberg.

Jeanne Akin, "Music Makes a Difference." (Lafayette, California: Lafayette Arts and Science Foundation, 1987).

Students with musical training apparently have a greater capability to process all sounds, including speech.

 Music Training and Mental Imagery Ability. By A. Aleman, M.R. Nieuwenstein, K.B. e. Bocker, and E.H.F. de Haan. Published in Neuropsychologica, Vol. 38 (2000), pp. 1664-1668

The word is out: Researchers have discovered a way to make kids smarter. And savvy parents are signing their children up for private piano lessons while school boards debate the role of music in the public school curriculum.

Research, Music and Policy Debates, Joan Schmidt, Director-National School Boards Association. Published in the Montana School Boards Association Bulletin, April, 1998.

Math: The Invisible Hand Behind The Music. Reading music requires an understanding of ratios and proportions. Arithmetic progressions in music correspond to geometric progressions in mathematics; that is, the relation between the two is logarithmic.

 NCTM News Bulletin, July/August 1999

Music Training Helps Under-Achievers. Researchers find arts training not only raises scholastic performance, but also improves student behavior and attitude.

Nature Magazine, May 23, 1996

In 1993, researchers at the University of California at Irvine discovered the so-called Mozart Effect -- that college students who listened to ten minutes of Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major K448 before taking an IQ test scored nine points higher than when they had sat in silence or listened to relaxation tapes. Other studies have indicated that people retain information better if they hear classical or baroque music while studying.

The Power of Music, Laura Elliott, The Washingtonian, December 1995

A two-year Swiss study involving 1,200 children in 50 schools showed that students involved in the music program were better at languages, learned to read more easily, showed an improved social climate, showed more enjoyment in school, and had a lower level of stress than non-music students.

E. W. Weber, M. Spychiger, & J.L. Patry, 1993

Data from the National Education 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 A's, A's/B's, and B's was higher than the percentage of non-participants receiving those grades.

NELS:88 First Follow-Up, 1990, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC.

As a child's tonal and music skills improve, so does his or her ability to listen. As listening skills improve, a child's personal, social, and academic skills also improve.

"Listening Training and Music Education" by Paul Madaule.

Published in Early Childhood Connections: Journal of Music and Movement-Based Learning, Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring 1998

The Power of Music. It's Profound Influence on the Brain is Underscored by New