The Arts and the Brain
June 3, 2009
According to a new study that was presented on May 6, 2009 at Johns Hopkins University’s (Learning, Arts, and the Brain) we now have the most significant evidence yet to suggest that arts education can improve learning.
The study discovered that “children who receive music instruction for just 15 months show strengthened connections in musically relevant brain areas and perform better on associated tasks, compared with students who do not learn an instrument.”
Another study presented at the Johns Hopkins University summit asserted that “children who receive training to improve their focus and attention perform better not only on attention tasks but also on intelligence tests.”
Gottfried Schlaug, a professor of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School and co-author of the music instruction study said “It’d be difficult to find another activity [besides music training] that takes up so much real estate in the brain.”
Science continues to confirm the importance of music education. Congratulation to those of you that continue to support music education in the schools, and continue to drive your child to music lessons.
Music Education Leads to Higher Quality of Life and Money – Harris Poll
September 3, 2008
“Whether it’s chorus, band or just violin lessons, music impacts Americans’ lives. While singing in a chorus or playing an instrument is fun, it can also provide important skills like creative problem solving that can help lead to higher education and incomes as well as personal fulfillment.”
Read Harris Poll
The study indicates:
1) The amount of education your child receives seem to be directly linked to their future tendancy toward earning advanced degrees.
2) Participation in music lessons or a neighborhood band had the highest impact on personal satisfaction.
3) More people participate in vocal groups than in any other of performance ensemble.
4) Almost half of people surveyed who participated in a music program say music education was important in giving them the ability to strive for personal excellence in a group situations.
Excerpt from makingmusicfun.net –
1) In a 1997 study of elementary students enrolled in an arts-based program, it was concluded that there was a definite correlation between students’ rising math test scores and the length of time invested in arts education classes.
“Arts Exposure and Class Performance,” Phi Delta Kappan, October, 1998.
2) A study published in 2000 revealed that music students possessing the ability to perform complex rhythms are also able to make faster and more accurate corrections in many physical academic and physical circumstances.
Center for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills, 2000.
3) A ten-year study indicates that students who study music achieve higher test scores, regardless of socioeconomic background.
Dr. James Catterall, UCLA
4) In a study measuring the effects of general music instruction, first grade students receiving daily music instruction scored higher on creativity tests than the control group receiving no music instruction.
K.L. Wolff, The Effects of General Music Education on the Academic Achievement, Perceptual-Motor Development, Creative Thinking, and School Attendance of First-Grade Children, 1992
5) In a study to research the influence music teachers have on African-American students, it was discovered that thirty-six percent of surveyed minority students regarded music teachers as their role models, compared to twenty-eight percent for English teachers, eleven percent for elementary teachers, and seven percent for physical education teachers.
“Music Teachers as Role Models for African-American Students,” Journal of Research in Music Education, 1993
