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Home › Blog › Research › Benefits of Music To The Brain

April 4, 2018

Benefits of Music To The Brain

By Lia Peralta

updated 10/22/2021

Save The Music believes in the benefits of music in schools . Music has the potential to help students succeed in school, build self-confidence, and create leaders and well-rounded young people. Learning through music can improve a student’s academic performance, increase attendance, and improve test scores overall.

In Save The Music’s recent case study in Newark, New Jersey, schools with quality music education programs had a decrease in students being chronically absent from school. The value of a music program can mean that more students come to school more often, participate more in school activities, and look forward to something during the school day – music class.

We see that students who participate in a school music program have more social-emotional skills like grit, perseverance, and teamwork. Music can prove to be an important part of the school day to help students express themselves and work through feelings of stress and anxiety. This attributes to the social benefits of music education . Music education and social-emotional learning (SEL) intersect when students practice self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making ( SEL core competencies ). Embedded into the four major music education processes – create, present, respond, connect – students have the potential to become impactful leaders, creators, independent thinkers, and empowered young people.

Music shows something about who we are as people. Our identities can be communicated through what we play, create, and the music we share with others. We can illuminate our cultures through music and continue a legacy passed down by our families. With music education in schools, teachers can encourage students to use their voices, expressing themselves through music.

In West Virginia, Save The Music found that 83% of music teachers believed that their students who participate in music have increased their overall engagement in school. Additionally, active music programs in schools gave a sense of pride to the whole community. Music education has become a key thread in the fabric of the people who live in school districts with quality music education in schools.

The value of music education seen here is that students who participate in music-making, creativity, and artistic expression attend school more often and perform higher in other academic subjects. The importance of music in school also extends to social and emotional benefits, that each child develops the skills to conquer challenges of life situations in the music classroom and beyond.

Why is music education important ? Let’s explore more areas to answer this question.

THE BENEFITS OF MUSIC EDUCATION TO THE BRAIN: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

There are positive outcomes and cognitive benefits of learning music . It has been shown to increase cognitive competence and development in students who participate in music in school. Playing music throughout life can also lead to a lower risk of developing dementia and increased brain resilience. Playing music activates many senses in the brain that increase thinking skills, including social and emotional awareness, and improve interpersonal communication. Reading music can improve general reading comprehension skills overall. Music sparks the brain and many parts of the brain are activated.

Practicing music is like a cross-fit workout for the brain! When we play and listen to music, it’s processed in many different areas of our brain. The extent of the brain’s involvement was scarcely imagined until the early 1990s, when functional brain imaging became possible. The major computation centers include (Source: This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel Levitin).

PREFRONTAL CORTEX

Creation of expectations, violation, and satisfaction of expectations.

MOTOR CORTEX

Movement, foot-tapping, dancing, and playing an instrument.

CORPUS CALLOSUM

Connects left and right hemispheres.

AUDITORY CORTEX

The first stages of listening to sounds and the perception and analysis of tones.

SENSORY CORTEX

Tactile feedback from playing an instrument and dancing.

VISUAL CORTEX

Reading music and looking at a performer’s or one’s own movements.

NUCLEUS ACCUMBENS

Emotional reactions to music.

HIPPOCAMPUS

Memory for music, musical experiences, and contexts.

Movement such as foot-tapping, dancing, and playing an instrument. Also involved in emotional reactions to music.

“Playing music is the brain’s equivalent of a full-body workout.”

– “While listening to music engages the brain in some pretty interesting activities, playing music is the brain’s equivalent of a full-body workout. The neuroscientists saw multiple areas of the brain light up simultaneously processing different information in intricate, interrelated, and astonishingly fast sequences. Playing a musical instrument engages practically every area of the brain at once, especially the visual, auditory, and motor cortices. As with any other workout, disciplined structured practice in playing music strengthens those brain functions allowing us to apply that strength to other activities.” (Anita Collins, How Playing An Instrument Benefits Your Brain , July 2014)

Playing music connects different parts of the brain, increasing efficient decision-making skills and more spontaneous creativity.

– “The heavy-tax of piano playing makes their minds efficient in every way. Studies show that when jazz pianists play, their brains have an extremely efficient connection between the different parts of the frontal lobe compared to non-musicians. That’s a big deal — the frontal lobe is responsible for integrating a ton of information into decision-making. It plays a major role in problem solving, language, spontaneity, decision-making and social behavior. Pianists, then, tend to integrate all of the brain’s information into more efficient decision-making processes. Because of this high-speed connection, they can breeze through slower, methodical thinking and tap into quicker and more spontaneous creativity.” (Jordan Taylor Sloan, Science Shows How Piano Players’ Brains are Actually Different From Everybody Elses’ , June 2014)

✓ Check out our guest blog post by Music Education Advisory Board member, Gabriella Musacchia, called “Music and Learning: Does music make you smarter?”

MUSIC EDUCATION FACTS

There has been an outstanding amount of research about young people who play and practice music and its positive outcomes. Music education in schools has profound effects on student performance and the development of well-rounded citizens. At Save The Music, we see students in music programs thrive and discover their creativity. We see them participate more in school activities and engage their families and communities in music education as well.

Explore the benefits of music education statistics below and find more information about the value of music education in Save The Music’s Advocacy Tools .

Studies show music learning yields several benefits to overall development and performance.

– Children who study music tend to have larger vocabularies and more advanced reading skills than their peers who do not participate in music lessons (Arete Music Academy. “Statistical benefits of music in education.” Arete Music Academy. Accessed July 17, 2014).

– Regardless of socioeconomic status or school district, students (3rd graders) who participate in high-quality music programs score higher on reading and spelling tests (Hille, Katrin, et al. “Associations between music education, intelligence, and spelling ability in elementary school.” Adv Cogn Psychol 7, 2011: 1–6. Web. Accessed February 24, 2015).

– Schools that have music programs have an attendance rate of 93.3% compared to 84.9% in schools without music programs (The National Association for Music Education. “Music Makes the Grade.” The National Association for Music Education. Accessed February 24, 2015).

– Research at McGill University in Montreal, Canada showed that grade-school kids who took music lessons scored higher on tests of general and spatial cognitive development , the abilities that form the basis for performance in math and engineering (http://nisom.com/index.php/instruction/health-benefits).

– A study of 8 to 11-year-olds found that, those who had extra-curricular music classes, developed higher verbal IQ, and visual abilities, in comparison to those with no musical training (Forgeard et al., “Practicing a Musical Instrument in Childhood is Associated with Enhanced Verbal Ability and Nonverbal Reasoning,” PLOS One, 2008).

– Children with learning disabilities or dyslexia who tend to lose focus with more noise could benefit greatly from music lessons (Arete Music Academy. “Statistical benefits of music in education.” Arete Music Academy. Accessed July 17, 2014).

– Young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year, compared to children who do not receive musical training (National Association for Music Education. “The Benefits of the Study of Music.” National Association for Music Education. Accessed July 17, 2014).

– Music and math are highly intertwined. By understanding beat, rhythm, and scales, children are learning how to divide, create fractions, and recognize patterns (Lynn Kleiner, founder of Music Rhapsody in Redondo Beach, CA).

– Playing a musical instrument strengthens eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills, and kids who study an instrument learn a lot about discipline, dedication, and the rewards of hard work. ( http://nisom.com/index.php/instruction/health-benefits ).

– Music training not only helps children develop fine motor skills, but aids emotional and behavioral maturation as well, according to a new study, one of the largest to investigate the effects of playing an instrument on brain development (Amy Ellis Nutt, “Music lessons spur emotional and behavioral growth in children, a new study says,” The Washington Post, January 7, 2015).

– Music training leads to greater gains in auditory and motor function when begun in young childhood; by adolescence, the plasticity that characterizes childhood has begun to decline. Nevertheless, our results establish that music training impacts the auditory system even when it is begun in adolescence, suggesting that a modest amount of training begun later in life can affect neural function (Adam T. Tierney, Jennifer Krizman, Nina Kraus, “Music training alters the course of adolescent auditory development,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015).

– Children who study a musical instrument are more likely to excel in all of their studies, work better in teams, have enhanced critical thinking skills, stay in school, and pursue further education (Arte Music Academy. “Statistical benefits of music in education.” Statistical-Benefits-Of-Music-In-Education. Accessed July 17, 2014).

– Taking music lessons offers a space where kids learn how to accept and give constructive criticism , according to research published in The Wall Street Journal in 2014 (Joanne Lipman, “A Musical Fix for American Schools,” The Wall Street Journal, October 10, 2014).

– Making music together, children learn to work as a team while they each contribute to the song in their own way. At the same time, music helps children learn that together they can make something larger than the sum of its parts (© 2015 Program for Early Parent Support (PEPS), a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization).

– More benefits of music for children include learning cooperation, sharing, compromise, creativity, and concentration – skills that become invaluable as they enter school, face new challenges, and begin to form new friendships and develop social skills (© 2015 Program for Early Parent Support (PEPS), a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization).

– Kids who make music have been shown to get along better with classmates and have fewer discipline problems. More of them get into their preferred colleges, too (http://nisom.com/index.php/instruction/health-benefits).

> Source: NAMM Foundation’s “How Children Benefit From Music Education In Schools”

✓ For more research briefs and handy quotes to help make your case for supporting music education in schools, check out this list from the NAMM Foundation : MUSIC FACTS

Thank you to our partners and friends in music education for publicizing their vital research for us to share. Remember, however you use this fact bank, please remember to include the sources provided.

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The Importance of Music in Education

Welcome to our guide to the importance of music in education, which highlights the vital benefits children get from receiving musical instruction from an early age.  

Music is arguably the most life-enriching academic subject of them all. A universal language that triggers emotional responses and kickstarts creativity like no other, music is a fundamental pillar of arts education.

This article outlines the far-reaching benefits of music that stretch way beyond the subject itself and why music is an indispensable part of any academic programme.

13 Benefits of Music in Education  

Music can bring a series of important benefits to your child’s education, many of which you may not have considered before.

1. Improve language capabilities

Music and language have a deep and profound relationship. The link between musical instruction and better language development in young children has long been established.

Musical training stimulates and trains the same part of the brain that deals with understanding language. Children who have some exposure to musical education will, therefore, have a greater understanding of tone and how different segments of speech align. It can also be incredibly useful if your child is learning a second language.

2. Better cognitive abilities

Playing an instrument increases the use of your neural network. When compared to those who don’t play an instrument, there is some suggestion that musicians have a larger growth of neural activity.

A 2009 study in the New York Academy of Sciences showed how children who received musical instruction showed improved sound discrimination and fine motor tasks, with visible changes in those networks showing during brain imaging.

3. Better maths skills  

Children who undertake music in education are also enhancing their maths ability. A link between music and better control of spatial-temporal tasks, as pointed out here in the Journal of Aesthetic Education , means children are better equipped to learn key mathematical skills.

One theory says that learning rhythm is responsible, as maths involves picking up patterns and how visual elements go together.

4. Better test scores 

With better maths ability comes the potential for better test scores. A 2007 study from the University of Kansas found that students in primary schools with better musical programmes scored 22% higher in English and 20% higher in maths when compared to those in weaker musical programmes. This was regardless of the socioeconomic factors between the different schools.

5. Inspire creativity

Music is one of the most creatively stimulating tasks any person can undertake. If you want to spark your child’s creativity, there are few better things you can do than to encourage them to create their own unique music by picking up an instrument or engaging in their music class.

6. Refined hand-eye coordination

Learning an instrument to an elite level is no easy task. It takes considerable hand-eye coordination to learn almost any instrument. Those who master their craft are blessed with a unique skill; it’s something that can be applied to other areas of academia and general life.

Hand-eye coordination is important in many sports, especially bats or racquet sports like tennis or cricket. It can also help elsewhere in education, as writing skills and art require the hands and eyes to work together.

In adulthood, your child will find them relying on their hand-eye coordination to do any number of tasks. Practical things like DIY are easier with good coordination. Allowing your child to improve it with music will benefit them for a lifetime.

7. Better memory

Improved memory is another well-established benefit of music in education. Learning an instrument, the language of music and the notes and lyrics that make up songs all require a flexing of memory.

Music is also one of the easiest things to store in your memory, often to our frustration. Songs get stuck in our heads, sometimes for days; a perfect display of how music can stick in our minds.

8. Encourage teamwork

Music is often considered a solo effort, but it’s unlikely your child will go through their musical education alone. In class or as an extracurricular activity, music is one of the best ways to learn vital life skills like teamwork. Be it in a band or singing group, teamwork is vital to creating good music.

9. Relieve stress

School is such an important time for children and at times it can be stressful – especially during tough examination periods.

Music has become a proven remedy to relieving stress, with research from Stanford University linking this to the beat of music. At 60 beats per minute, music can cause our brain to synchronize and cause alpha brainwaves – which are present when we are relaxed. Over a period of 45 minutes or so, it can help induce sleep too.

After a long day studying, a musical session is an easy way to relieve stress and take your child’s mind off of deadlines and exams.

10. Develop social skills

As an extension of improving teamwork, music is also a great way for your child to meet new people and create lasting friendships. Music is a great way to bring people together. If they decide to take up music as an extracurricular activity, they’ll be bonding with likeminded children who share their passion.

In a time when children are increasingly interested in communicating online and focusing on digital skills, music is a refreshing return to face-to-face contact.

11. Instil perseverance

Speak to anyone who has mastered a musical instrument or played in a successful band; musical excellence is hard to come by. It requires plenty of practice and a willingness to keep going.

To continue to improve and progress requires perseverance. A child understanding they have to work hard to achieve something is incredibly powerful and something they will lean on for the rest of their lives. There are few better ways to instil perseverance than through music.

12. Bring about a sense of achievement 

When your child does achieve a musical goal, they get the incredible satisfaction that comes from working hard to attain something. In that sense, music is a great confidence builder. Creating something as expressive and loved as music and seeing audiences on stage or family members at home enjoy it can be an incredibly rewarding experience.

Confidence is one of the most valuable skills a child can have and music is one of the best ways to allow it to flourish in your child.

13. Learn an enviable life skill 

How many times have you met an adult who says their biggest regret is not learning a musical instrument as a child? Musical skills they didn’t learn as a child become some of the most sought after in adulthood. Help your child to develop their skills in music from an earlier age and you’ll be giving them a gift that will bring them, and others, joy for the rest of their life.

At Nord Anglia Education, we understand the importance of creative arts like music, harnessing the subject to bring benefits that span our entire academic programme. Find out more about our music curriculum, or head to our schools page to a Nord Anglia Education school near you.

Want more of the latest insights into education?  Read our INSIGHTS publication here !

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At Education Through Music, we believe that every child, at every school, deserves access to high-quality music education. It is part of a well-rounded education , essential for students’ social and emotional well-being , and a critical tool for establishing equity and access .

The best way to stay involved with ETM is to subscribe to our Newsletter !

To learn more about the importance of music education, listen here to ETM staff speaking about the value of music education and its impact on students’ lives.

Music education is part of a well-rounded education for all children as understood and supported by federal and state policymakers.

Click here or scroll down to learn more about Well-Rounded Education.

Music education supports students’ social and emotional well-being.

Click here or scroll down to learn more about Social and Emotional Well-being.

Our organization exists because systemic racism has created inequities in access to education. We strive to help level the playing field for children from under-resourced communities by ensuring that all children have access to high-quality music education, no matter their background or circumstance.

Click here or scroll down to learn more about Equity and Access.

• According to the Every Student Succeeds Act, music is an essential component of a well-rounded education.
• 88% of families agree it is important that their child’s school has a music program. 
• Quality general music education has been linked with the development of self-control, planning, and verbal intelligence: the life skills students need to make decisions, focus, plan, problem-solve, and juggle multiple tasks. It also fosters a motivation to learn music. (from Longitudinal Analysis of Music Education on Executive Functions in Primary School Children )

“I don’t think education is complete without music.” – ETM Partner School Principal

“Without music, I feel a piece of me is missing.” – ETM Partner School Student

• 70% of parents whose children attend ETM partner schools agree that learning music helps their child’s social development.
• 85% of ensemble students say they have made at least one new friend through ensemble.
• 79% of students say their music teacher or ensemble director cares about them as a person.
• 72% of students say their music teacher or ensemble director is someone they can go to if they need help with something.

“Music does help me a lot, and it’s helped me get through some really difficult times.” – ETM Partner School Student

“It’s empowering. It gives you a strength that no other activity can give you.” – ETM Partner School Student

• 40% of students in new partner schools report they have never before had a general music class
• 79% of families say it would be difficult for them to pay for private music lessons without a school music program
• 85% of ETM partner public schools’ student population comes from low-income households

“I think the music program is just excellent. My child loves the music class she is in because she knows many schools don’t have music in their area.” – ETM Partner School Parent

“ETM offers schools in low-income neighborhoods the opportunity for a quality music education and instrumental program.” – ETM Partner School Principal

All data is from our 2018 Impact Report unless otherwise indicated.

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Why Music Education Is More Important Than Ever

Music hath charms to soothe our students’ social and emotional needs.

Kindergartners singing a special song to learn about nouns. The sound of recorders drifting down the school hallway. The high school choir singing the school alma mater at graduation. As teachers, we know how central music is to what we do—and now it’s more important than ever.

Music creates magic

As a music education teacher, I was overjoyed when my school was able to begin the year with our traditional back-to-school assembly for the first time in two years. Each year our school picks a “theme song.” Our fifth graders perform it at this assembly. Maybe it’s cheesy, but I love it. This year, as the soloists took turns leading a call-and-response to this year’s song, “It’s All Right,” something magical happened. The students in the audience all clamored to participate. From kindergartners to fifth graders, they craned their necks for better views and sang out to ensure their voices were heard. This was collaboration and teamwork. This was trust and respect. It was everything our administrators had just spent our summer professional development days telling us our students lacked and desperately needed our help in rediscovering.

Music education is trauma-informed education

The past few years have seen “trauma-informed teaching strategies” quickly become one of the most popular phrases in educational circles, and with good reason. However, we should take a moment to note the important role music education has always played in helping students cope with trauma. Research has long shown the positive connections between listening to and playing music and the ability of children to regulate their emotions . It also creates more welcoming, calming learning environments, boosting students’ learning in the classroom. Furthermore, studies indicate that music education boosts students’ problem-solving, vocabulary, and reading comprehension skills , which will help to alleviate some of our students’ difficulties in communicating with their peers. As we seek answers for the emotional, behavioral, and academic concerns in our classrooms, we can’t forget what already works: music education.

Music teaches SEL skills

While you might not realize it right away, music teachers have been implementing well-established SEL practices for many, many years. Music education programs , be they schoolwide music classes or performance-based electives like band, chorus, and orchestra:

• Teach and reinforce the importance of effective communication and collaboration.
• Respect and highlight different cultures and socioeconomic environments.
• Provide opportunities for visible improvement and growth.
• Foster feelings of accomplishment and achievement.
• Promotes responsible risk-taking as students prepare for and perform in front of audiences.
• Recognize the need for student leaders and develop those skills in students of all background and ability levels.
• Support intrinsically motivating practices that teach commitment and perseverance.

Music isn’t just an elective or “special” anymore

Playing an instrument or participating in a music class are not the only ways music can help our students. Music can be a highly effective tool in trauma-informed teaching strategies in every classroom. Teachers can use music to:

• Create welcoming, safe environments for students as they enter the classroom.
• Ease stress caused by periods of transition from one activity to the next.
• Serve as an auditory signal for appropriate amounts of processing time, collaboration, or brainstorming.
• Increase student buy-in and engagement by tying it to current curriculum.
• Assist students who are struggling with anxiety or stress .

Making music education a priority

As administrators and teachers reimagine what school needs to look like moving forward, music education must play a critical role. One of the ways that we can support this is by properly funding our music classrooms and school performance spaces. Easier said than done, right? But actually, now is the perfect time to secure funding for these programs. In 2020, the U.S. Congress created the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund to address learning loss caused by the pandemic. Music and performing arts classrooms can apply for money to purchase supplies and resources. 

While applications and approaches may differ, the social and emotional benefits of music are universal and irrefutable. As we work to repair the damage caused by the past few years, the need for evidence-based strategies is more important than ever. Let’s ensure that we harness the amazing power of music education to help our students as we move forward. 

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How Music Primes the Brain for Learning

To reap the benefits of music on learning, kids need consistent and abundant musical practice, according to the latest cognitive research.

Ten years ago, musician Angélica Durrell began teaching a small group of Connecticut high school students how to play different percussion instruments, including the charango and toyos —musical instruments native to Central and South America, where many of the students had recently immigrated from. They learned to play Pachelbel’s Canon and then moved on to master “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” the sixties doo-wop hit by The Shirelles, singing the lyrics in both English and Spanish.

Within a few years, the after-school music program—aimed at Latino students, many of whom were struggling academically—became renowned in the school district, recast from a “nice-to-have” extracurricular into a strategic tool for addressing some of the district’s persistent challenges. Durrell’s students, teachers and school leaders noticed, were attending school more consistently, their English was improving, and they seemed increasingly comfortable making friends.

Today, Durrell’s non-profit program Intempo serves more than 3,000 students each year in Stamford and Norwalk schools, underscoring music’s profound impact on learning from both a cognitive and a social and emotional learning (SEL) vantage point. “We went from approaching it from a music perspective,” Durrell says, “to approaching it from an immigrant inclusion, language acquisition, and grade-level reading-acquisition perspective.”

Consistent exposure to music, like learning to play a musical instrument, or taking voice lessons, strengthens a particular set of academic and social-emotional skills that are essential to learning. In ways that are unmatched by other pursuits, like athletics for instance, learning music powerfully reinforces language skills, builds and improves reading ability, and strengthens memory and attention, according to the latest research on the cognitive neuroscience of music.

Experts are hoping this body of evidence might alter the current state of music education in schools—which is extremely uneven and, in some places, downright nonexistent. In a 2014 survey from Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit advocacy organization, teachers reported that 1.3 million elementary students didn’t have music classes in their schools, and nearly 4 million didn’t have a visual arts class. More recently, data from the 2016 National Assessment of Educational Progress showed improvements in some areas, though arts participation and access varied greatly by region . For example, while 68 percent of eighth-graders had music class in 2016, students in the Northeast were twice as likely to attend music class compared with students in the South and the West, where only one-third of students had access to music classes.

Now, following months of pandemic-related learning disruptions, organizations that track arts education like the federally-funded Arts Education Partnership say it’s difficult to even get a handle on who’s learning music at school.

The Cognitive Benefits of Music

The key to understanding music’s advantages, researchers say, lies in how the brain processes sound, the raw material of music, language, and—perhaps counterintuitively—learning to read. The sounds that come in through our ears travel along an anatomically complex “auditory pathway” that’s deeply connected to parts of the brain that determine how humans move, how we think and speak, what we know, and what we pay attention to. “The hearing brain is vast,” explains neuroscientist Nina Kraus, author of the new book  Of Sound Mind , in an interview with Edutopia . “People think of the hearing brain as being a silo within the brain. In fact, our hearing engages our cognitive, sensory, motor, and reward systems. That’s huge. From an evolutionary perspective, being able to make sense of sound is ancient and has engaged all these different perspectives.”

What makes music learning so powerful is how it engages all those different systems in a single activity. To play the violin, for example, a student needs to coordinate their motor, cognitive, and sensory systems to be able to put their fingers on the correct strings and move the bow at the right time; to read musical notes on a sheet of music and know what sounds they represent; and to hear if the pitches and rhythms are correct and coordinating with other players at the right time. Then there’s how the sound of music makes the student feel, which lights up the brain’s reward system. Engaging all these different systems makes learning how to play music one of the richest and deepest brain activities that humans perform. “Teachers resoundingly tell me that children who play music also do better in school,” Kraus writes. Young musicians also tend to have stronger language and reading skills than non-musicians because their brains have spent more time actively “engaging with sound.”

The type of instrument doesn’t matter: flute, violin, accordion, piano, voice—even abundant exposure to music can make an impact. “What is important is that engaging with sound changes and strengthens how the brain responds to sound,” Kraus says.

Music as Academic Strength Training

At Durban Avenue School in Sussex County, New Jersey, music teacher Shawna Longo calls out a particular rhythm, and then her kindergarteners play it on their Boomwhackers , tuned percussion tubes that come in different sizes and colors to symbolize different pitches. “Now only the red ones! Do ‘I like pepperoni pizza,’” she calls out, and the children play ta-ta-tee-tee-tee-tee-ta-ta. “They can only play when I hold up their color,” she says. “They have to learn when to wait, and when to play.”

The ability to keep a steady beat and anticipate the next beat, research has shown , are reliable indicators that a child is ready to learn to read. But keeping rhythm isn’t the only musical skill that paves the way for language development and reading, notes education researcher Anita Collins in her new book, The Music Advantage .

Learning to read music—decoding musical notation and connecting it to sounds—activates the same “phonological loop” in the brain as when kids learn to read words, deepening sound-word connections. Collins describes the process in her book:

• The eye sees a symbol on the page, whether it’s an eighth note D or a letter t at the start of a word

• The brain hears the sound, pulling it from the memory of music and speech sounds all brains possess

• The brain instructs the body to make that sound, whether it’s hands playing an instrument or the mouth shaped to make the t sound

• The brain listens to be sure the correct sound was made, and then makes adjustments

(From page 54 of The Music Advantage )

Processing sound strengthens the same areas of the brain that are responsible for learning language and learning to read—and while neuroscientists are still teasing out the how and the why, Collins writes that the latest research indicates that “music and reading may well be complementary learning activities,” with music functioning as a robust tool to improve language learning.

The Sound of Social Cohesion

When Covid-19 lockdowns first spread across the globe in March 2020, multiple videos showed people in Italy singing together from their balconies. At a time of extreme stress and isolation, Italians turned to music to connect with their neighbors.

Music and song are among the most basic ways humans have connected with one another for thousands of years. “Music lives in the oldest part of our brain,” Collins tells  Edutopia . “Music and song are at least as old as language and the spoken word.”

In a landmark 2018 study , researchers from the University of Toronto found that an adult singing and moving to a musical beat with a one-year-old child in tow increased social cohesion: the child was more likely to help when the adult later “accidentally” dropped an item. The study has been replicated many times, Collins writes, and shows how music taps into a primal bond that may encourage prosocial behavior like empathy and helping—the very behaviors that adults want children to develop as they grow, and behaviors schools strive to teach using the tenets of social and emotional learning.

When students belt out the school song at basketball games, or sing the clean-up song in kindergarten, it’s a potent practice for strengthening basic human social bonds. “Singing is a very powerful tool to make children feel in community,” says Kelly Green, vice president of education at Kindermusik, which creates research-based music curriculum for early childhood learners. “It’s deep SEL.”

Like Italy’s balcony singers during lockdown, social singing and music-making might be especially helpful to students now, when loneliness, anxiety, and depression are skyrocketing among young people. But Green says that kids in school sing a lot less than they used to. We tend to think “that learning music is only to develop as a musician,” Collins remarks. “People don’t feel confident to sing anymore. The fear that sits under ‘I can’t sing, I’m not musical’ is incredibly deep. When I start singing with students, they often realize singing is just a practiced skill. All these things start happening. They feel this sense of euphoria.”

Kids Benefit From Deep and Consistent Engagement

Facing limited budgets, increased academic expectations and testing , and a music teacher shortage , some schools and districts are increasingly looking to nonprofit organizations and community partners for help. Groups like Save the Music Foundation provide grants for schools to purchase student instruments and provide teacher training. The Harmony Project brings intensive music training and support to underserved students in the Los Angeles area. The Soulsville Charter School, a music-influenced middle and high school in Memphis, Tennessee, taps into the birthplace of American soul music and legendary Stax Records with the support of the Soulsville Foundation .

“You have to be willing to say, ‘We can’t do this alone,’” says Tamu Lucero, superintendent of Stamford Public Schools, where Durrell’s Intempo program is now a critical component of the district’s new-arrivals program. Even though Stamford schools already offered regular music programming, Lucero says, “we were willing to be open to the idea of how we could use an outside partner to enrich the learning environment for students.”

Researchers will continue to untangle some of the reasons behind why music learning is so beneficial to students—but know enough to conclude that listening to music or writing a song for a class project only begins to scratch the surface. To get maximal brain benefits, students should actively engage with music by learning to play an instrument or studying voice, preferably in a group setting. The evidence is strong enough to recommend music education as a discrete class for all kids—and across the grade levels—as a critically important investment.

Or as Nina Kraus states, “Music should be a part of every child’s education. Period.”

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How Music Education Sharpens the Brain, Tunes Us Up for Life

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When Amy Richter was a little girl, her father often traveled for work. He often came home bearing gifts of music and record albums. They bonded while poring over all that vinyl, she recalls, exploring the world of music from classical and rock to bluegrass.

Richter’s love of music only grew as she got older and studied voice and piano. Diagnosed with dyslexia, she also found that music helped her cope with her learning disability. It helped her gain focus and confidence. That’s why she studied music therapy in college. She knows the power of music to supercharge our brains.

“Music really became the guiding force in my education and helped me to connect with other people, helping build confidence through performance, also helping with my mental health,” said Richter, who founded  Music Workshop , a free music curriculum designed to cultivate a love of music from a young age, that can help schools beef up their arts offerings on the cheap. Schools across the country, including hundreds in California, from Yuba City to San Diego, now use her program. “It really became a tool in my life to better myself.”

To be sure, aficionados of the arts have long argued that art transforms us, but in recent years, neuroscience has shown just how music can shape the architecture of the brain. This cognitive research illuminates the connection between music and learning and gives heft to longstanding arguments for the power of music education that are newly relevant in the wake of California’s Proposition 28, which sets aside money for arts education in schools.

“The K-12 grades are the years in which brain function is most rapidly evolving and information from all different types of learning and subjects is being processed and absorbed, including connections across what we might think of as different school subjects, but they are all connected in our developing brains,” said Giuliana Conti, director of education and equity for  Music Workshop , which is particularly popular at schools that often tap substitute teachers in an era of high teacher absences.

“Music education provides physical and auditory experiences that work like bridges for brain structures. As the brain processes musical sounds and body movements, neural pathways across different regions of the brain grow and strengthen. The more those pathways are activated, the more usable they become across time and other skill sets or learning experiences.”

Amid the ongoing crises in literacy and numeracy plaguing our schools and the enduring sting of pandemic learning loss, many arts advocates are pointing to music education as a way to boost executive functioning in the brain. This enhanced cognitive function, often coupled with a surge in well-being, may be the secret sauce that makes music education such an academic powerhouse, research suggests.  Music may prime the brain to learn.

“Music is this wonderful, holistic way of engaging almost everything that is important for education,” said Nina Kraus, a noted neuroscientist at Northwestern University who studies the biology of auditory learning, in a  webinar. “First of all, we know that the ingredients that are important in making music and the ones that are important for reading and literacy are the same ingredients. So when you’re strengthening your brain by making music, you’re strengthening your brain for language.”

Kraus, who grew up listening to her mother play the piano, is passionate about the impact of sound, ranging from the distracting to the sublime, from noise pollution to Puccini, on the brain. The gist of much of her research is how thoroughly sound shapes cognition. Music training, for example, sets up children’s brains to become better learners by enhancing the sound processing that underpins language, she said.

While we live in a visually oriented world, our brains are fundamentally wired for sound, she argues. Reading, for example, is a relatively new phenomenon in human history, while listening keenly for a sound, say a predator, is a primal impulse deeply embedded in the brain. Put simply, what we hear shapes who we are.

“Music really is the jackpot,” as Kraus, author of “ Of Sound Mind ,” puts it. She has conducted extensive research showing that music education helps boost test scores for low-income children.

Music also helps us manage  stress.   Perhaps that’s one reason that offering more music and arts classes is also associated with lower chronic absenteeism rates and higher attendance, research  suggests . Think of music education as lifting weights with your brain. It makes the whole apparatus stronger and healthier.

“Music is therapeutic because it helps us to regulate our emotions,” said Richter, who adds that a culturally relevant music curriculum can help engage a diverse student body. “It helps us to lower our cortisol levels. It helps promote relaxation. It helps us with focus and concentration. It also helps us with connection. Now more than ever, we know how important connection is, especially among our youth.”

In the post-pandemic era, these insights may well fuel the uptake of music classes in a state struggling with low test scores, but the implications for brain health actually go far beyond academic prowess and social-emotional well-being in childhood.

Indeed, early musical experiences may impart a lifelong neuroplasticity, Kraus has documented. Studies suggest that a 65-year-old musician has the neural activity of a 25-year-old non-musician. A 65-year-old who played music as a child but hasn’t touched an instrument in ages still has neural responses faster than a peer who never played music, although slower than those of a die-hard musician.

“What I would say to everyone who thinks about picking up an instrument: It’s never too late,” Richter said. “Even just practicing scales can help with cell regeneration. So I encourage adults to continue to learn music along the way, whether that’s picking up an instrument or listening to music, it’s always really important for brain development.”

Music pricks up our hearts and minds, as well as our ears. Children must persevere to master a piece of music and collaborate to perform it in the spotlight. They must learn focus, patience and grace under pressure. That kind of electrifying shared experience, working as a community, is something new to many of them, experts say.

“When music is more regularly incorporated as part of children’s everyday lives,” Conti said, “it can move the needle in their learning and development more effectively across many different parts of their lives: socially, emotionally, musically and academically.”

It’s the intangible effects of music education, the elements that can’t be reduced to data points and parameters, that strike Kraus as the most profound. Music builds a feeling of joy and a sense of belonging between musicians and their listeners, which is something that little else in our age of digital background noise can do.

“Music connects us, and it connects us in a way that hardly anything I know does, so it’s very, very important,” Kraus said. “We live in a very disconnected world. Depression, anxiety, alienation, the inability to focus, all of that is on the rise. Intolerance is on the rise. Music is a way to bring us together.”

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Why is Music Education in Schools Important?

by guest blogger | Arts Education and Integration | 5 comments

Music education is important in our schools.  And yet, it seems these days, it is being offered less and less in many school systems. Unfortunately, many schools have begun to exclude music from their curriculums to make room for other subjects.

Music is an extremely important subject for all children to learn and can lead to better brain development, increases in human connection, and even stress relief. As music is removed from schools, children will no longer receive these benefits unless they enroll in private lessons, which is much too expensive for some families to afford.

Here are five reasons why music education in schools is important:

#1) Music stimulates brain development in children

Various studies have found that engagement with music can lead to an improvement in brain development in children. A study at Northwestern University found better neural processing in students who played a musical instrument when they were compared with students who simply listened to music. This study shows the importance of receiving music education, rather than simply turning on background music when students are doing work in other subjects. Other studies have also found increases in IQ points in children who engaged with music. When compared with students who didn’t take any music lessons, musically-engaged students had more improvements in IQ subtests, index scores, and a standardized measure of academic achievement.

If you’re interested in enrolling your child in music lessons outside of the school system for more engagement with music, take a look at this article to learn about the costs.

Music education is also a great way to enhance reading comprehension abilities in children. Another study, which was also conducted at Northwestern University, found that students who actively participated in music classes had better speech processing abilities along with higher reading scores than children who weren’t involved. Reading is an important skill for all children to develop because it is needed for all subjects. Even subjects that are not related to English literature will involve reading. For example, math word problems require excellent reading comprehension abilities in order to answer them correctly.

#2) Music is a way to connect with other people

Music education is also important because it will give students a way to connect with other people. Children are naturally very social, and it’s important to encourage them to build relationships by providing them experiences to share with each other. Creating a school band or small ensemble, or encouraging participation in a chorus will allow children to work together towards a final product (such as an end-of-year performance). This encourages bonding and will provide students with something to reminisce on together in the future.

It has been proven time and again that having people of all ages play or listen to music together will help to create bonds. Having an impromptu drumming circle or listening to and enjoying a piece of recorded music can connect people through sound, singing and even movement or dance. Musical experiences such as these can bring back a fond memory or create new ones!

#3) Music integrates many different subjects

Another reason music education is so important is that it integrates so many different subject areas all at once. Not only will music education allow children to develop their musical skills, it will also give them the opportunity to work on their math skills, reading and writing skills, science skills, and history knowledge. For example, time signatures in music are an excellent way to incorporate fractions , and lyric analysis and songwriting will allow students to work on their reading abilities.

Additionally, having discussions about how instruments work will involve information on the physics of sound, and learning about music’s place in society will shine a light on important historical events. If teachers are concerned about their students’ skills in other areas of learning, they will be able to incorporate them into a music class with ease.

#4) Music teaches discipline

Music will also teach children to develop time management skills and discipline. If students are expected to learn their instruments and practice outside of school, then they will develop the ability to create a practice schedule.  They will be able to balance every other activity they have going on in their lives. Learning discipline and time management from a young age will have countless benefits on a child’s future. For example, if a child develops discipline in elementary school, they will be much more able to balance the workload they’ll receive in high school and excel in their classes.

Excelling in their high school classes may then allow a student to choose a reputable post-secondary institution that he or she would like to attend, which will lead to better job prospects as an adult.

#5) Music can relieve stress

Finally, music is an excellent way to relieve stress.  This is significant for students who may feel overwhelmed by schoolwork and try to balance extracurricular activities. Studies have found that music can reduce burnout and improve mood states. As students enter into the upper grades of the school system and begin considering applying for post-secondary schools, they might feel overwhelmed with the need to keep their grades high. Even young students can experience stress with the increasing amounts of homework school curriculums require. Some students may also have stressful home lives, and music will offer a way to escape from these situations.

In addition, you may consider Soundtracking your classroom to help relieve stress and anxiety for your students. Doing so can also help create a focused learning atmosphere.

Music has many benefits to people of all ages. It’s important to know why so that we can continue to advocate for keeping music education in our schools!

My name’s Natalie Wilson and I’m an avid music lover and guitar player who has dedicated my life to sharing what I know on my blog. You’ll find a wide range of topics on my blog, including reviews, tutorials, and tips for musicians.

Visit my blog: MusicalAdvisors.com

Feel free to contact me at [email protected] .

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✅ The 3-step framework 100s of teachers use (myself included!) to transform their classrooms (and improve their impact) in 6 weeks or less. ❌ The 5 mistakes to avoid when supporting your students' social-emotional development. (This will save you so much frustration!) 😬 Why you DON'T need to act like the classroom therapist to have a calm classroom—and what to do instead. ⭐️ How to work with me more closely to create the classroom that brings you joy again!

Good read, music is everything

Thanks for sharing your article. I really enjoyed it. If you are interested in Best Music School in Gurgaon, feel free to visit our website.

Awesome read, when was this published?

Hi Toria, This was first published in May of 2017. Glad you enjoyed it!

Hi, Elizabeth, thank you for giving us the exact date.

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17 Evidence-Based Benefits of Music Education

Music education can uncover hidden talents and lifelong passions, but did you know that music also boosts non-musical outcomes?

From better grades in English, math, and history to improved emotional management and social skills, music education is proving to be an important ingredient in whole-person development.

Music education benefits [INFOGRAPHIC]

Examining the evidence.

These 17 compelling studies reveal how music positively impacts children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development.

1. Enhances vocabulary

Improving and increasing vocabulary by learning new words and their meanings can be a lifelong process, particularly in childhood, where vocabulary is constantly informed by the school, parents, books, television shows, and, of course, musical choices.

The learning process can certainly have its amusing (and embarrassing) moments for parents of verbose kids, but boosting vocabulary, and mastering its usage, is a life skill they’ll use time and again.

One 2009 study of second-grade students demonstrates a link between musical instruction and effective use of vocabulary and verbal sequencing.

Children were split into two groups, an experimental group that received three years of piano instruction, and a control group which received no musical instruction, whether scholastic or private.

Key study/paper: Piro, J. M., & Ortiz, C. (2009). “The effect of piano lessons on the vocabulary and verbal sequencing skills of primary grade students” Psychology of Music, 37(3), 325–347.

2. Supports cognitive function

Clear, effective thinking, quick recollection, and good decision-making are all related to healthy cognitive function, something that can be improved and developed through mental “exercise”.

Both before and after this participation, children were assessed via the Stanford-Binet intelligence scale.

Key study/paper:   Bilhartz, T. D., Bruhn, R. A., & Olson, J. E. (1999). “ T he Effect of Early Music Training on Child Cognitive Development” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 20(4), 615–636.

3. Develops reading and writing ability

Reading and writing are foundational aspects of not only your child’s education but their life beyond it.

Good reading comprehension is a necessary requirement of many jobs, as is being able to write with clarity and technical correctness.

A meta-analysis on the impact of music education on academic achievement addresses data sourced from the National Center for Educational Statistics, which reports that, within a sample population of over 13,000 high school sophomores, those who participated in music education demonstrated higher grades in English classes. ( Source )

Key study/paper: Donald A. Hodges & Debra S. O’Connell (2005). “ The Impact of Music Education on Academic Achievement ” The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

4. Encourages self-esteem

Positive self-esteem is linked with happiness and success, and it begins in childhood. Children who don’t feel good about themselves can have trouble being assertive, making friends, and trying out new things they’re hesitant about.

When kids participate in empowering activities like music education, they often begin to feel better about themselves and their skills, backed by validating reassurance from peers, teachers, and parents.

These students were divided into two groups — an experimental group that would go on to receive weekly individual piano lessons for the next three years, and a control group that received no such instruction.

At the end of the three-year study, those who had participated in the experimental group scored consistently higher in the area of self-esteem than those who had not. ( Source )

Key study/paper: Costa-Giomi, E. (2004). “ Effects of Three Years of Piano Instruction on Children’s Academic Achievement, School Performance and Self-Esteem “. Psychology of Music, 32(2), 139–152.

5. Increases verbal memory

For kids whose brains are still developing, opportunities to improve memory should be encouraged. As it turns out, music education can play a vital role in boosting verbal recollection skills.

Each subject was read a list of 16 words, repeated three times. Subjects were then asked to recall as many words as possible.

Key study/paper: Chan, A. S., Ho, Y.-C., & Cheung, M.-C. (1998). “ Music training improves verbal memory ” Nature, 396(6707), 128–128.

6. Boosts IQ

IQ, or intelligence quotient, can be a rather controversial topic — as it isn’t, strictly speaking, a measure of exactly how intelligent a person is.

Rather, IQ is a measure of a person’s ability to use reasoning, logic, and provided data to correctly answer a question, make a prediction, or come to a conclusion.

In tests that measured these children against their non-musical peers, music lessons were shown to correlate with general and long-lasting improvement with both IQ and cognitive ability.

Interestingly, these tests showed that music lessons delivered the same results (re. IQ and cognitive ability) among all the young participants, despite their diverse, disparate backgrounds such as varied family income, parental education level, and other extracurricular activities. ( Source )

Key study/paper: Schellenberg, E. G. (2006). “Long-term positive associations between music lessons and IQ” Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(2), 457–468.

7. Develops empathy

The way children relate to their peers and interact socially is often informed by empathy, their ability to perceive, understand, and relate to emotional experiences had by others.

In a 1990 study assessing children with a mean age of 12 years, participants were divided into two groups. The first group was comprised of children who had received six or more years of piano or violin training prior to the study, while the second group was comprised of non-musical schoolchildren.

Each group was assessed using the Epstein Empathy Scale and Battle Self-Esteem Scale — the group which had received previous musical training scoring higher at both empathy and self-esteem than their non-musical peers. ( Source )

Key study/paper: Hietolahti-Ansten, M., & Kalliopuska, M. (1990). “Self-Esteem and Empathy among Children Actively Involved in Music” Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71, 1364–1366 .

8. Raises math and history scores

Subjects like math and history, which rely heavily on recollection and critical thinking, can be especially problematic for some kids. As it turns out, time spent learning to play music can play a significant role in improving their grades in these subjects.

Source:   http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.564.7004&rep=rep1&type=pdf

9. Reduces aggressive behavior

Aggressive behavior in children is often as troubling to those kids themselves as it is to adults, as they may be struggling with feelings such as fear, sadness, or loss of control.

In one 2007 study, the effect of music education on childhood aggression was measured by dividing 48 participants into two groups.

One group of children participated in two weekly music education sessions of 50 minutes per session, while a second control group remained untreated.

Key study/paper: Choi, A.-N., Lee, M. S., & Lee, J.-S. (2010). “Group Music Intervention Reduces Aggression and Improves Self-Esteem in Children with Highly Aggressive Behavior: A Pilot Controlled Trial” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 7(2), 213–217 .

Source: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2010/465730/

10. Teaches planning ability

Certain activities requiring cognitive skills, including music education, can help improve planning ability.

A longitudinal analysis of the executive functions of primary school children as they relate to experience in music education divided children into four groups.

A range of neuropsychological tests administered after the exercise showed higher scores in inhibition, planning, and verbal intelligence in children in the music education group. ( Source )

Key study/paper: Jaschke, A. C., Honing, H., & Scherder, E. J. A. (2018). “Longitudinal Analysis of Music Education on Executive Functions in Primary School Children” Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12 .

Source:   https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2018.00103/full?_ga=2.63007279.122942088.1566086779-1196487477.1566086779

11. Encourages perseverance

A 1992 study measuring the attention and perseverance behaviors of preschool children taking part in Suzuki violin lessons grouped 80 children between the ages of 3 and 5 into five subgroups. The first took individual violin lessons, and the second took individual and group lessons.

Key study/paper: Scott, L. (1992). “Attention and Perseverance Behaviors of Preschool Children Enrolled in Suzuki Violin Lessons and Other Activities” Journal of Research in Music Education, 40(3), 225–235 .

Source:   https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2307/3345684

12. Improves articulation

A well-rounded vocabulary helps children to become articulate speakers, but this is only one aspect of speaking well.

In a longitudinal study of 32 children, it was demonstrated that a link between musical training and the brain plasticity that allows for pitch discrimination is likely to exist.

The children in the study, who had no previous musical training, were split into two groups; one group received painting training, while the other received musical training.

Key study/paper: Sylvain Moreno, Carlos Marques, Andreia Santos, Manuela Santos, São Luís Castro, Mireille Besson (2009). “Musical Training Influences Linguistic Abilities in 8-Year-Old Children: More Evidence for Brain Plasticity”. Cerebral Cortex, 19(3):712-713 .

Source:   https://academic.oup.com/cercor/article/19/3/712/436400

13. Protects against dementia

In addition to healthy physical activity, a good diet, and general awareness of existing health conditions, keeping the mind sharp through regular mental exercise is also a preventative measure.

As one fascinating study reveals, playing an instrument in childhood may well offer the mind that much-needed workout.

Of those pairs, 27 were also discordant for playing an instrument in childhood, meaning that one twin was non-musical. Past training in a musical instrument correlated significantly with a lowered risk of dementia or cognitive impairment later in life. ( Source )

Key study/paper : Balbag, M. A., Pedersen, N. L., & Gatz, M. (2014). “Playing a Musical Instrument as a Protective Factor against Dementia and Cognitive Impairment: A Population-Based Twin Study” International Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 2014, 1–6.

Source:   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25544932

14. Facilitates anxiety management

A 2014 study on the correlation between playing musical instruments and cortical thickness maturation assessed 232 subjects between the ages of 6 and 18.

Key study/paper: Hudziak, J. J., Albaugh, M. D., Ducharme, S., Karama, S., Spottswood, M., Crehan, E., … Botteron, K. N. (2014). “Cortical Thickness Maturation and Duration of Music Training: Health-Promoting Activities Shape Brain Development” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 53(11) .

15. Boosts standardized test scores

Every year, the faithful #2 pencil gets trotted out for another go at standardized tests.

While a week spent with test booklets and tiny bubbles to fill in isn’t much fun for kids, in comparison with their regular education, these tests play an important role in helping to demonstrate whether teachers, schools, and districts are working effectively in measuring each child’s level of general competence.

In a study that compared the Ohio Proficiency Test results of instrumental music students to those of their non-musical peers, a correlation between improved standardized test results and instrumental training was demonstrated.

Tests from fourth, sixth, and ninth graders were assessed, and instrumentally trained students scored significantly better than non-instrumental students in every subject, which included citizenship, science, reading, and math. These results held true across all grade levels. ( Source )

Key study/paper: Fitzpatrick, K. R. (2006). “The Effect of Instrumental Music Participation and Socioeconomic Status on Ohio Fourth-, Sixth-, and Ninth-Grade Proficiency Test Performance” Journal of Research in Music Education, 54(1), 73–84 .

16 Refines perceptual motor skills

Sensory play and motor skill development are tremendously important parts of early childhood education, and not without reason.

One 1981 study divided a group of children between the ages of 4 and 6 into two groups; an experimental group, which received education in an integrated musical and physical education program, and a control group, which received education solely in movement exploration.

After 24 of these sessions, assessment of the groups revealed that those in the experimental group improved significantly in motor, auditory, and language areas of perceptual motor skill. ( Source )

Key study/paper: Brown, Judy, et al. “Effects of an Integrated Physical Education/Music Program in Changing Early Childhood Perceptual-Motor Performance” Perceptual and Motor Skills, vol. 53, no. 1, 1981, pp. 151–154.

17. Creates happiness

There are numerous ways we all seek happiness, and everyone, particularly children, have a unique take on what makes us feel joyful.

These results were measured against those who listened to music not of their own choosing, noting that an autonomous choice of music was more likely to reflect on one’s personal pleasure and experience, thus leading to feelings of joy. ( Source )

Key study/paper: Morinville, A., Miranda, D., & Gaudreau, P. (2013). “Music listening motivation is associated with global happiness in Canadian late adolescents”. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 7(4), 384–390.

Wrapping up

Studying and performing music in the classroom, at private lessons, or at home, has been proven to offer a wealth of benefits to our kids, inspiring a sense of pride and fostering motivation that can benefit them throughout their lifetime.

Homeschooling can be tough on parents, especially since you can feel alone or isolated while trying to come up with curriculums

Enter the bento box! Japan’s answer to diverse, portion-controlled meals on the go. Bento boxes are an elegant solution to kids’ lunchtime.

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The Importance of Music Education

What if there was one activity that could benefit every student in every school across the nation? An activity that could improve grades and scores on standardized testing? An activity that would allow students to form lasting friendships? An activity that would help students become more disciplined and confident?

Fortunately, there is such an activity. Unfortunately, many schools will not make it a part of their curriculum, due to issues of funding and scheduling. This activity is something that everyone is aware of, but not everyone has a chance to participate in. This activity is music.

For years, music classes have been the ugly ducklings of school curriculums—the last courses to be added, the first courses to be cut. They have always taken second place to traditional academic classes. Music, however, has proved itself to be extremely beneficial time and time again, from the undeniable improvement in grades regarding traditional academic classes to the glowing remarks from music students everywhere. In an ever-changing world, the addition of music education in schools needs to be next on the academic agenda.  Music education should be a required component in all schools due to the proven academic, social, and personal benefits that it provides.

According to the No Child Left Behind Act, the following are defined as, “core academic subjects”: English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, the arts [emphasis added], history, and geography ( Benefits of the Study 1). Although music, being a part of the arts, is supposedly on the same level as other academic subjects, it is not being treated as such.

Music education greatly enhances students’ understanding and achievement in non-musical subjects. For example, a ten-year study, which tracked over 25,000 middle and high school students, showed that students in music classes receive higher scores on standardized tests than students with little to no musical involvement. The musical students scored, on average, sixty-three points higher on the verbal section and forty-four points higher on the math sections of the SATs than non-music students (Judson). When applying to colleges, these points could be the difference between an acceptance letter and a rejection letter.

Furthermore, certain areas of musical training are tied to specific areas of academics; this concept is called transfer. According to Susan Hallam, “Transfer between tasks is a function of the degree to which the tasks share cognitive processes” (5-6). To put this simply, the more related two subjects are, the more transfer will ensue. This can be evidenced with the correlation between rhythm instruction and spatial-temporal reasoning, which is integral in the acquisition of important math skills. The transfer can be explained by the fact that rhythm training emphasizes proportions, patterns, fractions, and ratios, which are expressed as mathematical relations (Judson). Transfer can be seen in other academic subjects as well. For example, in a 2000 study of 162 sixth graders, Ron Butzlaff concluded that students with two or three years of instrumental music experience had significantly better results on the Stanford Achievement Test (a verbal and reading skills test) than their non-musical counterparts (qtd. in Judson). This experiment demonstrates that music can affect improvement in many different academic subjects. All in all, it can be shown that music education is a worthwhile investment for improving students’ understanding and achievement in academic subjects.

Related to academic achievement is success in the workforce. The Backstreet Boys state that, “Practicing music reinforces teamwork, communication skills, self-discipline, and creativity” ( Why Music? ). These qualities are all highly sought out in the workplace. Creativity, for example, is, “one of the top-five skills important for success in the workforce,” according to Lichtenberg, Woock, and Wright (Arts Education Partnership 5). Participation in music enhances a student’s creativeness. Willie Jolley, a world-class professional speaker, states that his experience with musical improvisation has benefited him greatly regarding business. Because situations do not always go as planned, one has to improvise, and come up with new strategies (Thiers, et. al). This type of situation can happen in any job; and when it does, creativity is key. Similarly, music strengthens a person’s perseverance and self-esteem—both qualities that are essential in having a successful career (Arts Education Partnership 5). Thus, music education can contribute to students’ future careers and occupational endeavors.

Participation in music also boasts social benefits for students. Music is a way to make friends. Dimitra Kokotsaki and Susan Hallam completed a study dealing with the perceived benefits of music; in their findings they wrote, “Participating in ensembles was also perceived as an opportunity to socialize with like-minded people, make new friends and meet interesting people, who without the musical engagement they would not have had the opportunity to meet” (11). Every time a student is involved in music, they have the chance to meet new people, and form lasting friendships.

Likewise, in a study by Columbia University, it was revealed that students who participate in the arts are often more cooperative with teachers and peers, have more self-confidence, and are better able to express themselves (Judson). Through one activity, a student can reap all of these benefits, as well as numerous others. Moreover, the social benefits of music education can continue throughout a student’s life in ways one would never suspect. An example of this would be that “students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs among any other group in our society” (Judson). By just participating in a fun school activity, students can change their lives for the better. Music education can help students on their journey to success.

Chinese philosopher Confucius once stated, “Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without” (Arts Education Partnership 1). Music education provides personal benefits to students that enrich their lives. In the study of perceived benefits of music by Dimitra Kokotsaki and Susan Hallam, it was found that “participating in an ensemble enhanced feelings of self-achievement for the study’s participants, assisted individuals in overcoming challenges, built self-confidence, and raised determination to make more effort to meet group expectations regarding standards of playing” (12). In an ensemble, every member is equally important, from the first chair to the last chair. Thus every person must be able to play all of their music and be ready for anything. When one person does not practice their music and comes to rehearsal unprepared, it reflects upon the whole ensemble. Needless to say, no one wants to be that person. So students take it upon themselves to show that they want to be there and come prepared. This type of attitude continues throughout students’ lives.

Furthermore, group participation in music activities can assist in the development of leadership skills (Kokotsaki and Hallam 13). One participant in the perceived benefits of music study stated that, “I have gained confidence in my leadership skills through conducting the Concert Band” (Kokotsaki and Hallam 28). Conducting an ensemble is just one of the many leadership opportunities available to music students.

Music can also be a comforting activity to many students. High school senior and school band member Manna Varghese states that for her, music is a way to relieve stress. When she is angry or frustrated, she likes to play flute or piano to relax. For students, music classes are not necessarily something they participate in for a grade, or to put on a college application. Students participate in music classes because they enjoy them and want to be there.

Even though it has been proven that music education benefits students, many people argue that it still should not be required in schools. They state that with the increasing importance placed on standardized testing, there is not enough class time to include music classes (Abril and Gault 68). However, it has been shown that the time students spend in music classes does not hinder their academic success. A study by Hodges and O’Connell found that “being excused from non-musical classes to attend instrumental lessons does not adversely affect academic performance” (Hallam 14). Thus, in reality, having students enroll in music classes would not be detrimental to their academic performance, and the students would then be able to reap all of the benefits that come with music education. Furthermore, funding for music education is an issue at many schools. The people in charge of determining funding for schools often choose to fund traditional academic classes over arts programs. Paul Harvey states, “Presently, we are spending twenty-nine times more on science than on the arts, and the result so far is worldwide intellectual embarrassment” (Hale 8). Clearly, the current system for the allocation of funds for schools is not adequate. By transferring some of the funding from traditional academic classes to music classes, this embarrassment could be avoided. Evidently, although some may try to argue against it, music education should be required in all schools.

What would life be like without music? Imagine it for a moment. No listening to music on the radio on a long drive. No music to dance to. There would not be any soundtracks in movies, and concerts and musicals would be nonexistent. Eventually, no one would even remember what music is. Many people do not realize it, but music has a bigger effect on their lives than they may think, and they would definitely care if it was to disappear. Without music, life would never be the same. To keep music alive, students must be educated about it in schools. Students will not only get to experience and enjoy what music has to offer, but will reap the innumerable benefits that come with music. Ancient Greek philosopher and teacher Plato said it best: “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to imagination, and life to everything.”

Works Consulted

Abril, Carlos A., and Brent M. Gault. “The State of Music in Secondary Schools: The Principal’s Perspective.” Journal of Research in Music Education 56.1 (2008): 68-81. JSTOR . Web. 19 Oct. 2013.

Arts Education Partnership, comp. Music Matters: How Music Education Helps Students Learn, Achieve, and Succeed . Washington D.C.: n.p., 2011. Print.

Hale, Donna Sizemore. “Stay Involved to Protect the Arts.” American String Teacher 63.3 (2013): 8. ProQuest . Web. 19 Oct. 2013.

Hallam, Susan. “The power of music: its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people.” International Journal of Music Education 28.3 (2010): 269-89. Print.

Judson, Ellen. “The Importance of Music.” Music Empowers Foundation . N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2013.

Kokotsaki, Dimitra, and Susan Hallam. “Higher Education music students’ perceptions of the benefits of participative music making.” Music Education Research 9.1 (2007): n. pag. Google Scholar . Web. 26 Oct. 2013.

National Association for Music Education, comp. The Benefits of the Study of Music . N.p.: n.p., 2007. Print.

Thiers, Genevieve, et al. “Music Education and Success…From the Band Room to the Board Room.” Everything We Needed to Know About Business, We Learned Playing Music . By Craig M. Cortello. N.p.: n.p., n.d. NME.com . Web. 18 Oct. 2013.

Varghese, Manna. Personal interview. 24 Oct. 2013.

Why Music? Prod. NAfME. Radio

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The Importance of Music Education in Schools

• August 21, 2020

Home Educators Blog

The benefits of music education are immense and highly beneficial to students. Music positively impacts a child’s academic performance, assists in developing social skills, and provides an outlet for creativity that is crucial to a child’s development. Music education catapults a child’s learning to new heights, and because of this, it should always be considered a pivotal part of a child’s educational process .

Music Education and Its Impact on Student Learning

Music education improves and develops language skills in children. Music stimulates the brain, and with its varied sounds and lyrics, students are exposed to a large amount of vocabulary in a short amount of time. Music also provides exposure to other languages, which creates a foundation for the student’s ability to understand and communicate in a different language.

Music is a vehicle for excellent memory skills. Have you ever listened to a song for the first time in a long time and still remember the lyrics? Even individuals who are not musicians experience this phenomenon. Through catchy melodies and a variety of sounds, music has a way of “sticking” with us and is a powerful tool for learning when used appropriately — just think of singing the ‘A, B, Cs’ or ‘The State Capitols’ song.

On the flip side, students also increase their mental capabilities in multiple ways when participating in music education. As stated before, music fosters memorization skills. In addition to song lyrics, students must memorize all aspects of music when preparing for a performance. Students must recall rhythms, pitches, dynamics, and several other elements all at once. Students can then transfer those memory skills to the academic classroom and employ those skills in their studies.

Social Benefits of Music Education

The mental benefits of music education are extremely advantageous to students in schools; however, the social benefits are just as wonderful! Music education requires teamwork and collaboration . While playing instruments together, students develop listening skills. They must listen to others to better gage volume levels, the implementation of dynamics, and so much more. Teamwork and collaboration is also required when completing simple musical tasks such as rhythmic and melodic notation. Students quickly learn to value the opinions and ideas of others and how to efficiently combine those thoughts to complete the task at hand.

In addition to teamwork, music education creates long lasting friendships and relationships. Students involved in band or choir bond over their love and enjoyment of music. They share exciting moments together through music, help develop one another’s abilities, and become a support system for each other. This special bond also increases student engagement in school.

Music education allows students an opportunity to experience different cultures. In early music education, the use of songs and games from other countries is extremely prevalent. Students learn how other children play and compare that knowledge to their own lives. In addition, students develop an understanding of other cultures, which leads to a beautiful acceptance of others. Students realize that recognizing differences is good, and it creates a greater respect for others.

Other Benefits of Music Education

Music education promotes improved coordination, specifically hand-eye coordination. Musicians must multitask! They must do multiple things all at once, all of which improves coordination and further develops the brain. Student musicians must read music, interpret it, and physically initiate the music through the playing of their instrument. These steps are repeated continuously throughout any performance of a piece of music, and even the youngest of learners slowly develop their coordination skills through continued music practice.

Music education fosters greater work ethic and discipline in children. Students of music learn from an early age that hard work, determination, and a positive mindset are all you need to succeed, but with those characteristics, continual practice is required. Students learn that improving musical skills does not come easy, as it requires hours of study and practice. Through this, students gain a greater concept of work ethic and learn to discipline themselves to reach goals. Work ethic and discipline are huge factors of music education, and it is important to note that those life skills will positively impact a student when entering the work force, completing tasks, etc.

Because music education is an outlet for creativity, it can be a source of stress relief . Unfortunately, there are many stressors present for children at school and at home (pressure to pass the test, make the grade, make the team, exceed expectations, and so on). Music education allows students a chance to excel with fewer limits and greater possibilities. It also gives students something to look forward to during the school day (not that students do not look forward to math, science, etc.); thus, directly impacting student engagement in school. Music simply provides a different means of student expression, and there are fewer barriers to what students can do and explore. Students who are involved in music education generally have an overall increase in engagement and enjoyment in school.

The final benefit of music education may be one of the most important benefits. Music transcends the limits of language. Music has no language barrier. It is something that brings people together regardless of ethnicity or background. Music also transcends academic barriers as well. All learners can be successful in music. Sometimes, students who are not very inept academically soar in the arts! Students who cannot remember basic math skills can remember and employ the use of various rhythmic patterns effortlessly. Music literally becomes their best subject, and they shine in it! Through this, a student’s sense of self and his/her confidence is dramatically boosted. All children desire to be good at something and develop a sense of achievement for a job well done, and music education produces an outlet that is perfect for that.

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• > Journals
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• > Volume 40 Issue 2
• > Editorial: What is music education for?

Article contents

Editorial: what is music education for.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

One of the privileges of being an academic is being able to attend international conferences. Now that the world is returning to some sort of normality following COVID and lockdowns, these are increasingly happening in-person. What this means is that it is not just in the presentations that we get to meet and talk to people from countries other than our own, but especially in the coffee breaks and food opportunities that are vital aspects of such gatherings. What can be a common feeling at these events is to talk to people whose everyday lived experiences of music education can be so far from our own as to be almost unrecognisable. Take the case of the USA and the UK. In the USA, as far as we can understand it, the music education system at what they call ‘high school’ is predicated on what Butler and Wright ( Reference BUTLER and WRIGHT 2020 , p. 100) referred to as the ‘…triumvirate of wind band, choir, and orchestra, the omniscient conductor/pedagogue, and the associated Western Art music repertoire’. This is a long way away from the English National Curriculum (DfE [Department for Education], 2013 ), founded as it is on the three main musical components of composing, performing and listening, and taken by all children (in schools that are obliged to follow the National Curriculum) up until the age of 14 years old. From talking to American academic colleagues, it would seem to be the case that success in US terms is often measured by how many trophies the performing ensemble can display in the trophy cabinet. In England, success in music education is not measured by collections of silverware but by how well pupils do in public examinations. Comparing the USA and UK in this way is not meant to be judgemental, it is done simply to show very obvious and possibly surface-level differences. Similar comments could probably be made about any two given music education systems the world over.

But what happens when you start do dig a little deeper, and ask difficult questions about what music education is for in various different jurisdictions? We know that learning to play an instrument and/or sing is a major component of music education internationally, but scratch this surface and ask another question – ‘why’? This becomes much harder to answer. When we add what we might term generalist classroom music education into this mix, the issue is compound further still. This gives rise to the very important question ‘why are children learning music?’

In England currently, there are national funding debates taking place concerning elite musical performing ensembles, as the fundholder, Arts Council England (ACE), is faced with the inevitable problem of not having enough money to go round. Consequently, ACE is having to make difficult redistributive monetary decisions, which those faced with a reduction in their central funding obviously see as being cuts. Likewise, the national broadcaster, the BBC, encountering the same problems, is considering scrapping its centrally funded choir, one of the few such professional outfits in the country. Such decisions are met with cries of concern in the media, and people then move, almost in a single bound, to talking about the role that music education has to play in this. Listening to some of the arguments put forward it might be thought that the whole purpose of music education is to provide an audience for existing (mostly western classical, it seems) ensembles to sell more tickets, or to put ‘bums on seats’, as is said in the vernacular. This seems problematic. Is the purpose of physical education and sport in schools to provide an audience for major and minor sporting fixtures, is that the main reason why children and young people study the subject in school? What about active participation? This could be seen to be another example of where vested interests cannot see beyond their own immediacy of funding issues and assume a universality of their own problems, to which education appears to be the answer.

But again, if we take yet another step back and consider music education on the world stage, what commonalities does music education in Brighton, Birmingham (UK), Birmingham (USA), Bloemfontein, Brisbane, Beijing, Bogota, Brussels, Bordeaux and Bergen (to name but a few beginning with ‘B’) possess? Indeed, are there any commonalties at all? We know that in some places music education is free at the point of delivery when part of the state-run school system, and in other places it is a paid-for add-on. In some places, it is all about one-to-one instrumental lessons, and in others a generalist classroom approach is taken. There are so many variations that producing simple answers to this issue is fraught with problematic issues. Some years ago, at the 2017 International Symposium on Assessment in Music Education, one of the co-editors of the British Journal of Music Education (Fautley) and the distinguished American Academic Timothy S Brophy were involved in the creation of a set of international principles for assessment in music education (Brophy & Fautley, Reference BROPHY, FAUTLEY, Brophy and Fautley 2018 ; Brophy, Reference BROPHY 2019 ). This was a complex task and highly problematic to try to make the principles work for international audiences. It is mentioned here in order to provoke thoughts about yet another stepping back – a ‘golden thread’ running through this editorial. Would it be possible to construct a set of international principles for music education itself? What would such a thing entail? Would such a set of principles be considered desirable, or useful, even? How could it ensure inclusion across all the range of various music and educational systems? Intriguingly, at the time of writing, the website search engine Google Scholar produces zero hits for the string ‘international principles for music education’, so clearly this is either so difficult that no-one has attempted it or so overwhelming that people have shied away from it! However, we do know that the European Association for Music in Schools (EAS) have been working in this area for some years, so maybe on a pan-European basis there might well be such a project.

But this is the whole point and purpose of our profession, we are concerned with research into music and music education, and yet it seems to be so broad, so diffuse, so different, so contextually entwined with location and place that, as Lincoln and Guba ( Reference LINCOLN, GUBA, Gomm, Hammersley and Foster 2000 ) observed in the title of their article, ‘The only generalization is: There is no generalization’! Does this matter for us? Maybe it does, and, as the attendance at international conferences shows, we cannot take for granted international reception and understanding of our work in any meaningful way. Our context is not someone else’s context, and their context may be unique. The list of places beginning with the letter ‘B’ above should show us that there is more to what is going on than we can see on a day to day basis, and, as with travel to academic conferences, maybe we can learn something about ourselves from the ways others do things, and maybe too this helps us step back (yet again) from our quotidian existence, and really give some thought to the question that forms the title of this editorial, what is music education for ?

All of which brings us neatly to this present issue of the British Journal of Music Education , which, as ever is jam-packed with articles highlighting the breadth of music education and music educators; each article could also be considered as a provocation for us to keep the consideration of ‘what is music education for’ central to our own reflections.

This edition opens with an appreciation of William (Bill) Salaman, former editor of the British Journal of Music Education who sadly passed away at the start of 2023. It is written by Bill’s BJME co-editor, Piers Spencer. We are very grateful to Piers for writing this piece and particularly to Bill and Piers for the work they did in developing the journal during their editorship, taking over the reins of the journal in 1998 from the founding editors, John Paynter and Keith Swanwick. We send our condolences to Bill’s family and friends.

This current edition is packed with 10 articles which, as ever, highlight the broad church of music education. The first of these is a fascinating article from Susan Young: ‘Where neoliberalism and neoconservatism meet: the inception and reception of a Model Music Curriculum for English Schools’. As the title outlines, this article makes the case for the importance of ‘analysis that explicitly focuses on political ideologies and their present-day rhetoric and discourses’. Young notes that the Department for Education’s non-statutory Model Music Curriculum ‘reveals both the power held by the minister to dictate the direction of the curriculum and how that power is dispersed to a diversity of interested parties whose values are those of the market rather than common good’. Having explored this in detail, particularly in relation to the current direction of travel in music education in England, the article goes on to consider ‘the general early years sector in England is an illustration for how to respond to state interventions in curriculum that might be emulated by the music education sector’. As the author points out, the issues raised in this this article have much relevance across music education within and beyond the UK. More articles about music in early childhood can be accessed in the excellent special edition of the British Journal of Music Education, guest edited by Susan Young and published in 2022 (Volume 39, Issue 3, November 2022).

The next two articles are concerned with different aspects of studying instrumental music. Karenda Devroop’s article, ‘Impact of studying practical instrumental music on the psychological well-being of disadvantaged university students’, reports on a study from a large university department in South Africa and explores the possible relationships between optimism, self-esteem, happiness and participation in an instrumental music ensemble. It shows promising findings relating to the potential of engagement in instrumental music that ‘can be viewed as a potential intervention in bringing about social and psychological change in disadvantaged university-level students’. Ida Knutsson’s article ‘Challenges and tension fields in classical instrumental group tuition: interviews with Swedish Art and Music School teachers’ explores the shift in 1:1 teaching towards models of group tuition. The tensions it highlights between ‘progression’ and ‘inclusion’ will no doubt resonate with many teachers and programmes around the world. The article offers some interesting findings about what measures for successful teaching could be useful beyond the usual quantitative measures that are concerned with continuation rates and measuring skill level.

A fascinating historical and personal reflection provided by Nicholas Bannan on three operas written for the young choristers of Canterbury Cathedral during the 1960s follows. Bannan’s article, ‘Signs of the times: the Canterbury children’s operas of Alan Ridout’, explores the potential relevance of these operas in the modern day and provides a timely reminder that ‘children readily accept the medium of sung drama as a means of self-expression’.

Two articles offer different perspectives on listening to music. Vesna Svalina’s article ‘The impact of teachers’ listening habits on how much listening activity is used in music lessons’ reports on research in Croatian primary schools that maps the importance of listening in relation to other music activities. It explores the prevalence and importance that teachers place on listening in relation to singing, playing instruments, musical play and creativity, as well as considering the influence of the amount and type of music that teachers listen to in their leisure time. Koji Matsunobu, Robert Davidson and Khin Yee Lo’s article ‘The role of negative emotions in learning music: qualitative understanding of Australian undergraduate students’ listening experience of unfamiliar music’ follows this. This research explores the impact of developing music students’ familiarity with music that they initially report as ‘sounding unpleasant’ and consider the impact on their motivation and cognitive reflection. It provides a welcome opportunity for us to consider how…‘individual processes of music learning and emotional reactions therefore also need to be understood within broader cultural conditions’.

Staying with higher education, Beth Pickard and Rosie Rushton’s article ‘Investigating the impact of volunteering with Melody Music Birmingham on the professional development and career pathways of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire students’ reports on a partnership between these two organisations and the work they jointly facilitate in order to diversify the experiences within music education for students involved in the project. It explores the impact on these musicians, as well as their career trajectory, and considers how a project model that provides opportunities for musicians at this stage in their career to work alongside established tutors with children and adults with learning disabilities is ‘viable, effective and necessary’. Stephen Tatlow’s article ‘Exploring issues in categorisation of higher music education courses through FOI surveys of gender demographics in UK higher education institutions’ considers gender demographics of six different types of courses as categorised by the author. It concludes with some suggestions about how the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s data collection could be adapted in order to address some of the issues emergent from the data analysis in this article.

In the final two articles, we return to music in the classroom and the importance of developing expertise and confidence of teachers in different ways. Reporting on research from New Zealand, ‘Developing teacher curriculum design expertise: using the CDC Model in the music classroom’ by Graham McPhail, Sally Tibbles and Mary Cornish, explores the impact of using the ‘Curriculum Design Coherence (CDC) Model’ with two middle school music teachers on a song writing unit with 10- to 12-year-old students. The article offers a unique perspective since it is co-authored with the teachers involved in the study. The conclusion reminds us of the need to be flexible with tools and models, pointing out that … ‘there is a danger, however, that in its idealised form, the model can appear like a template demanding obedience’. We stay in Australasia/Oceania for the final article – ‘Because I’m not musical’: A critical case study of music education training for pre-service generalist primary teachers in Australia’ by Christine Carroll and Joanne Harris. The research shared in this article sought to address the frequently reported long-standing challenges faced by beginner and early career generalist primary school teachers. It reports on the gains in self-esteem from this training programme and urges us to consider how ‘the power for technology to facilitate creative music-making activities integrating listening, composing and both live and digital performance skills offers a practical solution to enduring problems of inequity of access in school music education’. It also ponders the long-term impact of such interventions, something that has significant importance throughout much educational research and practice.

All of these articles show that thinking about music education and researching it in a variety of contexts are alive and well internationally. Long may this continue!

British Journal of Music Education , Volume 39, 3, November 2022

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• Volume 40, Issue 2
• Martin Fautley and Alison Daubney
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S026505172300013X

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Tuning In: Six Benefits of Music Education for Kids

Posted June 19, 2018

By Jenny Silverstone

In this worthwhile pursuit, many creative school programs such as art and music are deemed unnecessary and cut from the curriculum.

What many schools do not realize, however, is that programs such as music education can have major positive impacts on growth and development.

In fact, these six benefits of music education not only show how music can benefit children now, but how it goes hand-in-hand with their preparation for future endeavors.

Enhanced language capabilities

Would you like your child to have larger vocabulary and enhanced reading comprehension skills? Studies show consistent music education improves both areas. How does it work?

Emerging evidence suggests the area of the brain controlling both musical ability and language comprehension are more related than previously thought. Music education requires students to recognize and repeat pitch, tone or enunciation of words.

Especially in young children, music directly benefits the ability to learn words, speak them correctly, and process the many new sounds they hear from others.

Improved memory

Music education involves a high level of memorization. Students must be able to read music by sight, play the proper notes on their instrument or recall lyrics. This process benefits the overall memory center of the brain.

In one study , musicians outperformed non-musicians in auditory, visual, and memory tests.

Music is also easily stored in our memory. Have you ever had a song stuck in your head? You can use music to help children remember things. Examples include using common tunes to memorize facts, playing meditative music during study time, and using music resources when presenting materials.

Strengthened hand-eye coordination

Playing a musical instrument has long been known to enhance dexterity and hand-eye coordination.

When playing an instrument, a musician must be able to create the correct notes through the proper hand motions, whether it be hitting keys, closing valves or using another apparatus to produce sound. In addition, the musician is also required to read the sheet music and follow the conductor.

This opportunity to grow motor skills is especially significant in younger children. Even a basic introduction to an instrument, such as a hitting a triangle or learning a song on a recorder, can be beneficial.

Powerful study habits

As children grow and are exposed to more rigorous courses of study, time spent reviewing and retaining is essential to success. More and more time in the classroom is spent on introducing new subjects and ideas, requiring students to work at home to ensure they have grasped onto the necessary information.

When children are exposed to proper music education , they learn powerful study habits. Mastering their specific musical craft takes a concerted effort, consistent practice and patience. These disciplined habits translate into other areas of study.

Music is often thought of as a way to foster individual expression. While it definitely is that, music can also teach teamwork. No place is this more evident or powerful than in schools.

Students work together to create a cohesive, technically correct performance. Together, they form a community of like-minded individuals who can help each other reach goals. Many students find a sense of belonging in school music programs.

Mental processing & problem-solving heightened

In the end, one of the most useful benefits of music education is the increased ability to process situations and find solutions mentally. Those with musical training have been found to have higher levels of grey matter volume in their brains , which are directly tied to auditory processing and comprehension.

Surprisingly, one of the areas of life this is most important for is forming relationships. Musicians learn to listen to others, sense emotion,and react with greater depth and understanding.

Music education for kids

Music education is an important aspect of providing children with a well-rounded education. When allowed to work in harmony with other subjects and areas of study, music helps children grow in self-esteem, build essential skills and prepare for bright futures.

Jenny Silverstone is the writer at Studyclerk and the primary author of Mom Loves Best , a research-driven parenting blog that covers important topics such as education, child safety and healthy childhood development milestones.

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5 Responses to “Tuning In: Six Benefits of Music Education for Kids”

Agreed, all six benefits matter to enhance level of learning.

Interesting and useful article to read. There are several other recommended articles that also discuss similar things on the following website http://ners.unair.ac.id/site/index.php/news-fkp-unair/30-lihat/1550-manfaat-musik-untuk-kesehatan-ternyata-tidak-sedikit

The benefits of musical education for kids include: It helps students improve there memorization because students are recommended to read music by sight, play the proper notes and sing the right lyrics. The second reason it is good for students is it helps kids with there hand eye coordination. Playing an instrument is very hard because it takes a lot of practicing and hard work to become a good musician and it requires students to read the sheet of music and follow the music conductor. These are my reasons why I think that all schools should teach music.

I love that you talked about how our hand-eye coordination could be enhanced by watching and understanding performance arts theaters. My companion mentioned a few nights ago that he wanted us to attend a performing arts musical theater to experience outstanding educational programs for our children. He asked if I had opinions on the best option to gather details about their programs. I’m thankful for this helpful article.

Thanks to you. Those tips are very helpful for me to raise my child in a good way.

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Student Opinion

Do We Need Better Music Education?

A guest essay argues that we are teaching music the wrong way. Do you agree?

By Jeremy Engle

Do you play any musical instrument — or have you ever? Do you think music should be an essential part of every child’s education?

In “ We’re Teaching Music to Kids All Wrong ,” Sammy Miller, a Grammy-nominated drummer and the founder of a music education company, writes:

Each fall, as school starts up again, music educators witness a familiar ritual: Eager first-time students squeak on a clarinet, suppress giggles at the noises coming from the tubas and zealously hit a bass drum a little too hard. It’s a moment characterized by excitement, enthusiasm and the anticipation of new beginnings — which is why it’s so disheartening to know that many of those kids will eventually quit their instruments. The fact that many children don’t stick with music is bad news not only for the state of self-expression and joy but also for education. Studies show that students who play an instrument do better in science, English and math and are more likely to want to attend college . They also may have less anxiety and be more conscientious — they are the kids you want your kids to be friends with. I have never met an adult who is expressly thankful to have quit music as a child, but I’ve met many who have regrets. So why haven’t we, as parents and educators, been better able to encourage our own kids to continue? In my 15 years as a musical educator, talking to countless teachers, I’ve learned one thing: There is no magical fix. Making music education more successful doesn’t need to involve expensive digital accessories or fancy educational platforms (and I say that as someone who developed an online educational platform). There’s no technological or financial program that will convert children into lifelong music lovers. Instead, we need to start by rethinking how we teach music from the ground up, both at home and in the classroom. The onus is on parents and educators to raise the next generation of lifelong musicians — not just for music’s sake, but to build richer, more vibrant inner personal lives for our children and a more beautiful and expressive world.

Mr. Miller urges parents and educators to take a new approach to musical education:

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The Power of Music Education

Take a trial online instrument lesson at lucy moses school.

Have you always wanted to learn an instrument, or return to one you used to play? Would you like to introduce your child or grandchild to instrument lessons and help them start building a lifetime of music? Now’s the perfect time! Sign up for 1, 2 or 3 trial online lessons with an expert and supportive faculty member at Lucy Moses School , Manhattan’s largest community arts school, and learn safely at home. All ages, instruments and skill levels are welcome, including beginners! Call us at 212 501 3360 or email [email protected] to get started today! Learn more

Music Education in THE News  

Music Training Strengthens Children's Brains, Decision-Making Network University of Southern California, MedicaXpress, 11/14/17 If the brain is a muscle, then learning to play an instrument and read music is the ultimate exercise. Two new studies from the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC show that as little as two years of music instruction has multiple benefits. Music training can change both the structure of the brain's white matter, which carries signals through the brain, and gray matter, which contains most of the brain's neurons that are active in processing information. Music instruction also boosts engagement of brain networks that are responsible for decision making and the ability to focus attention and inhibit impulses.

The Joy of Learning to Play an Instrument Later in Life Diane Cole, The Wall Street Journal, 4/23/17 More people in their 50s and 60s are finding that taking up a musical instrument or singing improves their lives in many ways. There used to be a “widespread belief that if you did not begin learning a musical instrument in your childhood or school years, you had missed your chance,” says Roy Ernst, professor emeritus at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. “The field of music education didn’t offer many opportunities” for adults to learn, he says. Now such attitudes have changed with gusto. “People of any age can learn to play and [gain] a level of satisfaction,” says Dr. Ernst,

NYC's only K-12 school with music as core subject sees high outcomes Tara García Mathewson, EducationDIVE, 1/17/17 The school's leaders believe intensive music instruction is a direct contributor to academic success. Some of New York City’s highest-performing students spend much of their time studying music. These students attend Special Music School at Kaufman Music Center, a public school founded in 1996 as a public-private partnership. Want to 'train your brain'? Forget apps, learn a musical instrument Mo Costandi, The Guardian, 10/24/16 While brain training games and apps may not live up to their hype, it is well established that certain other activities and lifestyle choices can have neurological benefits that promote overall brain health and may help to keep the mind sharp as we get older. One of these is musical training. Research shows that learning to play a musical instrument is beneficial for children and adults alike, and may even be helpful to patients recovering from brain injuries.

A Musical Fix for American Schools Joanne Lipman, The Wall Street Journal, 10/10/14 A growing body of evidence suggests that music could trump many of the much more expensive “fixes” that we have thrown at the education system. Research shows that music training boosts IQ, focus and persistence.

Music Education and the Multiplier Effect Huff Post, Katherine Damkohler, 6/17/2015 The value of incorporating music into a child's education cannot be understated. There is a heap of incontestable research showing that an education rich in music improves students' cognitive function and academic performance. Simply put, children learn better when music is part of their school curriculum. The science of why music improves our memory and verbal intelligence Amy Spray, The Washington Post, 7/21/15 Musical training has shown to lead to improvements in a wide variety of different skills, including memory and spatial learning for example. In addition, language skills such as verbal memory, literacy and verbal intelligence have been shown to strongly benefit from musical training. Is Music the Key to Success?” The New York Times, Joanne Lipman, 10/12/13 Multiple studies link music study to academic achievement. But what is it about serious music training that seems to correlate with outsize success in other fields? .. The phenomenon extends beyond the math-music association. Strikingly, many high achievers told me music opened up the pathways to creative thinking. And their experiences suggest that music training sharpens other qualities: Collaboration. The ability to listen. A way of thinking that weaves together disparate ideas. The power to focus on the present and the future simultaneously. Music Lessons Were the Best Thing Your Parents Ever Did for You, According to Science Tom Barnes, Music.Mic Music improves cognitive and non-cognitive skills more than twice as much as sports, theater or dance. Kids who take music lessons have better cognitive skills and school grades and are more conscientious, open and ambitious. And that's just the beginning.

Beyond the Classroom: If Shakespeare lives, why not Beethoven? Laurie Futterman, Miani Herald, 7/7/15 . Study after study about education reveals the importance of art and music classes. And yet budget after budget, states keep cutting back the arts. So if we still ask our students to read and interpret Shakespeare, shouldn’t we be teaching the same for Mozart?

Music lessons spur emotional and behavioral growth in children, new study says Amy Ellis Nutt, Washington Post, 1/7/2015 Music training not only helps children develop fine motor skills, but aids emotional and behavioral maturation as well, according to a new study, one of the largest to investigate the effects of playing an instrument on brain development.

Could playing Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" and other music improve children's brains? Science Daily, 12/23/2014 A University of Vermont College of Medicine child psychiatry team has found that musical training might also help kids focus their attention, control their emotions and diminish their anxiety.

Your Aging Brain Will Be in Better Shape If You've Taken Music Lessons Diane Cole, National Geographic, 1/3/14 A growing number of studies show that music lessons in childhood can do something perhaps more valuable for the brain than childhood gains: provide benefits for the long run, as we age, in the form of an added defense against memory loss, cognitive decline, and diminished ability to distinguish consonants and spoken words.

Here's What Happens Inside Your Brain When You Listen to Music, in 3 Mind-Blowing GIFs Tom Barnes, Music.Mic, 6/3/15 Every time you listen to a piece of music, you're actually giving yourself a deep, full-brain workout.

mUSIC Education Studies

Music instruction improves cognitive, socio-emotional development in young children Medical News, Life Sciences & Medicine, 6/16/16 Music instruction appears to accelerate brain development in young children, particularly in the areas of the brain that are responsible for processing sound, language development, speech perception and reading skills, according to initial results of a five-year study by USC neuroscientists. How Learning a Musical Instrument Affects the Development of Skills The German Socio-Economic Panel Study at DIW Berlin, 9/25/13 Adolescents with music training have better cognitive skills and school grades and are more conscientious, open and ambitious. These effects do not differ by socio-economic status. Music improves cognitive and non-cognitive skills more than twice as much as sports, theater or dance. The Impact of Music on Childhood and Adolescent Achievement Social Science Quarterly, 1/15/09 Music participation, both inside and outside of school, is associated with measures of academic achievement among children and adolescents. Cortical Thickness Maturation and Duration of Music Training: Health-Promoting Activities Shape Brain Development Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 9/3/14 Playing a musical instrument was associated with more rapid cortical thickness maturation within areas implicated in motor planning and coordination, visuospatial ability, and emotion and impulse regulation.

Music training alters the course of adolescent auditory development PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 6/19/15 Music training initiated as late as adolescence can enhance neural processing of sound and confer benefits for language skills. These results establish the potential for experience-driven brain plasticity during adolescence and demonstrate that in-school programs can engender these changes.

How Children, Adults, and Communities Benefit from Choruses: The Chorus Impact Study Chorus America , 2009 Children who sing in choruses get significantly better grades in school than kids who have never been part of a choir, according to their parents, and substantial majorities of parents with children in choirs say their child’s ability or performance in English/language arts, mathematics, and academics overall improved after their child joined a choir.

Music Benefits Across Lifespan: Enhanced Processing of Speech in Noise The Hearing Review , 7/29/14 Intriguing research continues to focus on music, the brain, and music’s potential in honing auditory acuity, including speech-in-noise performance and the enhancement of listening abilities. This article reviews many of these exciting findings and looks at clinical implications for auditory training and aural rehabilitation.

Cognitive Control in Auditory Working Memory Is Enhanced in Musicians PLoS One, 1/15/10 Musical competence may confer cognitive advantages that extend beyond processing of familiar musical sounds. Behavioural evidence indicates a general enhancement of both working memory and attention in musicians. It is possible that musicians, due to their training, are better able to maintain focus on task-relevant stimuli, a skill which is crucial to working memory. The Glee Effect? More Americans Say Music Education Prepares People for Their Careers and Problem Solving Than in 2007 The Harris Poll , 7/24/14 The more time one spends in a music program, the more they are to say it has been influential in contributing to their current level of personal fulfillment. Music education can provide more than just learning how to sing and/or play an instrument. It also has the ability to provide various skills that people may need for success in a job or career outside of music.  

Arts Education Studies

Involvement in the Arts and Human Development The Imagination Project at UCLA Graduate School of Education and Informaiton Studies, September 1999 Positive academic developments for children engaged in the arts are seen at each step in the research. Students who report consisten high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show significntly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12. The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies National Endowment for the Arts , March 2012 The report’s authors use four large national databases to analyze the relationship between arts involvement and academic and social achievements. The Well-Rounded Curriculum Secretary Arne Duncan's Remarks at the Arts Education Partnership National Forum, 4/9/10 The arts significantly boost student achievement, reduce discipline problems, and increase the odds that students will go on to graduate from college. Second, arts education is essential to stimulating the creativity and innovation that will prove critical to young Americans competing in a global economy. And last, but not least, the arts are valuable for their own sake.... Low-income students who play in the orchestra or band are more than twice as likely to perform at the highest levels in math as peers who do not play music.

ArtsEdSearch - Research Overview ArtsEdSearch summarizes the results of studies exploring the link between arts education and academic, cognitive, personal, social and civic outcomes. National Guild for Community Arts Education Resource Center Arts education programs that are responsive to community needs foster cognitive development, increase creativity, improve self-esteem, and promote better health. They can also advance economic growth, promote a sense of shared culture and community belonging, and be a valuable and enriching part of K–12 education.

Critical Evidence: How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement Sandra S. Ruppert, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies 2006. Washington, DC Students with high arts involvement perform better on standardized achievement tests; develop stronger academic skills including math, reading, writing and language development; and participate in more community service. Learning to play an instrument or participating in dance classes has been shown to help at-risk youth develop confidence and self-esteem.

Staying in School: Arts Education and New York City High School Graduation Rates. The Center for Arts Education, October 2009 The arts play a key role in keeping students in high school and graduating on time. Access to arts education in school offers distinct benefits to economically disadvantaged youth and students at risk of dropping out.

SAT Scores of Students Who Study the Arts: What We Can and Cannot Conclude about the Association Kathryn Vaughn and Ellen Winner (Fall 2000) Students engaged in arts learning for all four years of high school scored substantially higher on the SAT than students with six months or less training in the arts.

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June 27, 2024

The Importance of Design Thinking in Education: Sparking Creativity in Children

The Creativity Crisis

Every generation has fond memories of how much better it was when they were kids. Just 40 short years ago, children didn’t come home from playing until the street lights came on. They drank from the water hose, and an advertisement at 10:00 pm reminded parents to make sure their children were home. Kids played make-believe with friends in the sandbox, built forts, and creatively figured out how to not be bored, all while trying not to get into too much trouble.

Today’s youth are very different. Raised in a world of on-demand video, cell phones, and non-stop digital entertainment, kids have little opportunity to be bored. Without boredom, creativity is diminished. However, in today’s rapidly evolving world, creativity is no longer just a desirable skill; it is essential. Many educators and parents are increasingly concerned that children are not developing their creative potential either in school or during play. This deficiency can be attributed to an overly structured educational system and the pervasive influence of instant gratification culture. 

Recent research indicates a worrying decline in children’s creativity. A study by Kyung Hee Kim found that while IQ scores have been rising, creativity scores have been decreasing since the 1990s. This phenomenon, known as the “creativity crisis,” can be partly attributed to the structured nature of modern education systems, which often prioritize standardized testing over creative exploration.

Children today spend less time in unstructured play, which is crucial for developing creativity. Instead, they are often engaged with digital devices that provide constant stimulation and limit opportunities for imaginative thinking. To address this issue, integrating design thinking into education can be a powerful solution.

Understanding Design Thinking

Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that involves empathizing with users, defining problems, ideating, prototyping, and testing. This process, originally developed for the design and business sectors, has been increasingly recognized for its potential in education. Encouraging students to think like designers fosters creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.

How Design Thinking Can Help with the Creativity Crisis

• Fostering Empathy and Understanding: The first stage in design thinking is empathy. Children learn to understand the needs and perspectives of others, which enhances their emotional intelligence and creativity. By empathizing with end-users, they can develop more innovative and relative solutions to problems.
• Encouraging Problem Definition and Exploration: Design thinking teaches children to define problems clearly. This process involves exploring various aspects of a problem and asking critical questions. The define stage helps children develop a deeper understanding of issues and encourages them to think critically.
• Promoting Ideation and Brainstorming: In the ideation stage, children are encouraged to brainstorm multiple solutions without the fear of failure . This stage is vital for creativity as it allows children to explore a wide range of ideas and approaches without fear of criticism or reproach.
• Hands-On Prototyping and Experimentation: The prototyping stage involves creating tangible representations of ideas. This hands-on approach helps children learn by doing, which is essential for developing creative problem-solving skills. Experimentation and iteration are key components, teaching children that failure is part of the learning process.
• Iterative Testing and Feedback: Testing is the final stage in design thinking. This stage involves testing prototypes and gathering feedback from multiple stakeholders and potential end users. This iterative process helps children refine their ideas and learn from their mistakes, fostering resilience and adaptability.

Evidence of Effectiveness

Several studies highlight the benefits of design thinking in education. For instance, a 2010 study by Carroll et al. found that incorporating design thinking into the curriculum improved students’ engagement, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. Another study, this one by Henriksen et al ., demonstrated that design thinking projects enhanced students’ creative confidence and ability to innovate.

Additionally, research by Rauth et al. showed that students who participated in design thinking workshops exhibited greater creativity and critical thinking abilities compared to those who did not participate. These findings underscore the potential of design thinking to reinvigorate creativity in children.

Practical Implementation

To effectively integrate design thinking into education, schools and educators can:

• Encourage Interdisciplinary Projects: Design thinking works best when applied to real-world problems that require knowledge from various disciplines. Interdisciplinary projects help students see the connections between different subjects and develop a more holistic understanding of issues.
• Provide Time for Unstructured Play: Allowing children time for unstructured play is crucial for fostering creativity. Schools can create maker spaces or innovation labs where students can experiment with materials and ideas without the confines of a traditional classroom setting.
• Train Teachers in Design Thinking: Educators need to be trained in design thinking principles and practices. Professional development programs can equip teachers with the skills and knowledge to effectively implement design thinking in their classrooms. Design thinking is not just for STEM or elective courses. It can be integrated into lessons in core content areas, and is a great tool for encouraging students to develop relevant and meaningful connections to content beyond test preparation.
• Incorporate Technology Mindfully: While technology can be a powerful tool for learning, it should be used with educated intentionality to enhance creativity. Educators should look for digital tools that support design thinking, such as 3D modeling software or collaborative platforms.

Creating a Culture of Creativity, Together

In a world where creative problem-solving is increasingly important, design thinking offers a valuable approach to reinvigorating children’s creative potential. By fostering empathy, critical thinking, and hands-on experimentation, design thinking can help address the creativity crisis in education. It encourages children to explore, innovate, and develop the skills needed to thrive in the 21st century. As educators and parents, it is our responsibility to provide opportunities for children to unleash their creativity and become the problem-solvers of tomorrow.

Learn more about design thinking with our training and development resources . 

Also, read our previous blog on free STEM resources , including design thinking lessons.

And if you would like to learn more about resources and programs to integrate design thinking into your school, classroom or homeschool group, please contact us at [email protected] .

Kim Reynolds

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