Music Advocacy Project

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Students involved in art-based curriculums have a more positive attitude about their academic abilities than comparison groups (Ashbacher and Herman, Humanitas Program Evaluation, 1991).

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Surveys of educators, students, and parents revealed that most believe students in music programs receive the benefits of accomplishment, appreciation, mature relationships, a sense of belonging, self-confidence, self-esteem, companionship, and fun (Gemeinhardt, 1980s).

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The Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities found a connection between students involved in music education and positive self-perception, self-motivation, self-esteem, self-awareness, and interest in school and varied activities (Lillemyr, 1983).

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In the U.S., involvement and achievement in school music has been found to build positive self-image and to motivate academic learning among urban black middle-school students (Marshall, 1978).

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For years, music educators and parents have observed that music education improves thinking, listening, and interpersonal skills as well as dexterity, creativity, self-discipline, and self-expression. According to Dr. Wilson*, “Musical activities provide children with important experiences that can help them develop physical coordination, timing, memory, visual, aural, and language skills. When they work to increase their command of music and exercise musical skills in the company of others, they gain important experience with self-paced learning, mental concentration, and heightened personal and social awareness (AMC, 1998).”

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Musical practice and performance also encourage excellence–a trait that serves one well during both childhood and adulthood. (Dynamic Presentations Unlimited Research, Band Director Focus Group, 1998.) As Dr. Rauscher explains, “During musical performance, children must constantly turn their thoughts into action. Thought structures continually have to be updated and adjusted. The combination of constant vigilance and forethought coupled with ever-changing physical responses is an education experience of unique value.”

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Neurological research revealed that playing musical instruments connects and develops the motor systems of the brain, enhancing coordination, concentration, memory, eyesight, and hearing (Wilson, University of Ca1ifornia San Francisco, 1989)

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“...that there is an area in the right half of the brain that interprets written musical notes and passages of notes, that is known to interpret written letters, and words. Moreover, they report an overall, strong activation in the cerebellum, a brain area traditionally thought to coordinate only fine movement or motor behavior.”
http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/brain.html

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“The findings suggest that a music intervention that strengthens the basic auditory music perception skills of children with dyslexia may also remediate some of their language deficits”

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Learning to play a musical instrument helps students to develop faster physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. Dr. Frank R. Wilson, assistant clinical professor of neurology at the University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco, reports that research shows instrumental practice to enhance coordination, concentration, memory, improvement of eyesight and hearing acuity. He concluded that learning to play an instrument progressively refines the development of the brain and entire neuromuscular system. (Mueller, 1984)

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Skills that are crucial to the productivity and competitiveness of the workforce
ability to think creatively
Communicate effectively
Work collaboratively (Teamwork)
deal with ambiguityDeal with complexity
Work with others (no matter how different they are)

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A 1991 U.S. Department of Labor (workforce) report urged schools to teach for the future workplace, citing the need for teamwork, communication, self-esteem, problem-solving, imagination, and invention abilities–exactly those skills enhanced through music education.

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Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs). Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report. Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998

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The U.S. Department of Education lists the arts as subjects that college-bound middle and junior high school students should take, stating "Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a valuable experience that broadens students' understanding and appreciation of the world around them. In addition, one year of Visual and Performing Arts is recommended for college-bound high school students. Getting Ready for College Early: A Handbook for Parents of Students in the Middle and Junior High School Years, U.S. Department of Education, 1997

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The College Board identifies the arts as one of the six basic academic subject areas students should study in order to succeed in college. Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do, 1983 [still in use], The College Board, New York

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In a 1997 Gallup Poll, 95% of respondents agreed that playing in a school band is a good way to develop teamwork skills. Cooperation is a hallmark of music instruction, whereas cooperation is lacking or replaced with competition in most other subjects (Rauscher, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh). “[Music] students learn that cooperation is a means to an end, which can be applied to other goals,” Dr. Rauscher explains.

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To enhance children’ social skills, music provides not only the opportunities for aesthetic and creative development, but social development and social skills (Seefeldt & Barbour, 1998; Isenberg & Jalongo, 1997, 2002). Leonhard (1983) regards that ‘music is by its very nature a social art’. It serves to unite social groups because it helps each feel a part of a group. Hence, social skills develop once children feel a part of a group. Music can draw the shy, withdrawn child into a group, and encourage all to comeinto closer contact with their peers and support social relationship’’ (Spodek, Saracho, and Lee, 1983).

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“The intrinsic value of music for each individual is widely recognized in the many cultures that make up American life; indeed, every human culture uses music to carry forward its ideas and ideals.”

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“The truth is, music's intrinsic values are second to none. We teach a language that begins where all other languages end. Music has the ability to express every nuanced emotion of the human experience. Music's range of expression is almost without limits. Musical sonorities, rhythms and melodies can express the deepest, darkest despair to the most exhilarating, ecstatic joy. Music can quietly share intimate personal feelings and it can trumpet the grandeur of nature's most spectacular creations.”

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Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. It is thought that brain development continues for many years after birth (This is taken from Carolyn Phillips research on the Twelve Benefits of Music Education. She is the Former Executive Director of the Norwalk Youth Symphony, CT) Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain's circuits in specific ways. (I’m not really sure what that means and I can’t really find more research on it, so you can just use this quote if you want and take that part out.) Linking familiar songs to new information can also help imprint information on young minds.

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There is also a causal link between music and spatial intelligence (the ability to perceive the world accurately and to form mental pictures of things). This kind of intelligence, by which one can visualize various elements that should go together, is critical to the sort of thinking necessary for everything from solving advanced mathematics problems to being able to pack a book-bag with everything that will be needed for the day (Music lessons, and even simply listening to music, can enhance spatial reasoning2 performance, according to research presented at the 102nd Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. The new findings were presented by psychologist Frances Rauscher, Ph.D. and neuroscientist Gordon Shaw, Ph.D., representing a research team from the University of California at Irvine. Dr. Rauscher and Dr. Shaw's studies confirm, and substantially extend their earlier research which demonstrated an unmistakable causal link between music and spatial intelligence. This further research

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Students of the arts learn to think creatively and to solve problems by imagining various solutions, rejecting outdated rules and assumptions. Questions about the arts do not have only one right answer (Music students do this by improvising, and analyzing their own playing/singing).

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Students who can perform complex rhythms can also make faster and more precise corrections in many academic and physical situations, according to the Center for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills
- Rhythm seen as key to music’s evolutionary role in human intellectual development, Center for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills, 2000.

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As a student of music, one must practice to get better. Perserverance, work ethic and discipline are gained in the study of music. Students realize they must work hard to gain the results that they wish to achieve.

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High school music students have been shown to hold higher grade point averages (GPA) than non-musicians in the same school. At Mission Viejo High School in 1981-82, music students averaged 3.57 GPA, non-music students averaged 2.91. Further, 16% of the music students held 4.0 GPA. Of the non-music students, 5% held 4.0 GPA. (Horned, 1983)

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There is a high relationship between high self perception, high cognitive competence scores, general self-esteem and interest in school music. In a study by the Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities, a connection was found between students having musical competence and high motivation to achieve success in school. Students with interest and competence in school music were found to have positive correlation with cognitive competence scores. (Lillemyre, 1983) cognitive competencies is the framework for examining how a task is completed, either in the abstract or for a specific individual, and breaking that complex task into its constituent parts. By breaking a complex task into its parts, inefficiencies can be resolved and errors corrected.

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Achievement in school music builds student self-image which is a motivation for academic learning among urban Black middle school students. (Marshall, 1978) The Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities has found a connection between students having musical competence and high motivation in that they were more likely to achieve success in school. They concluded that there is a high correlation between positive self-perception, high cognitive competence scores, self-esteem and interest and involvement in school music. Whitwell came to much the same conclusion and contends that creative participation in music improves self-image, self-awareness and creates positive attitudes about oneself. Marshall found that involvement and achievement in school music builds positive self-image which is a motivation for academic learning among urban black middle school students.) Marshall, A. T. (1978). An analysis of music curricula and its relationship to the self image of urban black middle school age child

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Music lessons can lead to interest in academics. Underachieving, disadvantaged youth were given music lessons and developed improvement in their academic attitude and aspirations; they were motivated to learn academic subjects. (Olanoff & Kirschner, 1969)

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In music, a mistake is a mistake; the instrument is in tune or not, the notes are well played or not, the entrance is made or not. It is only by much hard work that a successful performance is possible. Through music study, students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence and the concrete rewards of hard work.

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Students with band and orchestra experience attend college at a rate twice the national average. (Excellent!)
- Bands Across the USA.

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Music provides children with a means of self-expression. Now that there is relative security in the basics of existence, the challenge is to make life meaningful and to reach for a higher stage of development. Everyone needs to be in touch at some time in his life with his core, with what he is and what he feels. Self-esteem is a by-product of this self-expression (How is self-esteem a by-product of self-expression? Self-esteem encompasses beliefs (for example, "I am competent", "I am worthy") and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame. As music students succeed and achieve in music class, or overcome a struggle, their self-esteem will heighten).

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First-grade students who had daily music instruction scored higher on creativity tests than a control group without 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.

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Students will improvise, play with different sounds, and practice team-work with other students in which they will discover strengths and weaknesses. Music allows students to learn what they like and dislike and explore themselves. They will be exposed to more creative aspects like dance, acting, and singing in different ways which promotes creativity. This is important because it helps the students remain balanced. Research has shown that the cultivation of creativity is a key component of programs and strategies to produce positive outcomes for youth. Programs that teach children creative problem-solving skills help them to become successful adults who can question the accuracy of information and put information to constructive use (Todd & Shinzato, 1999). Moreover, student involvement in creative activities (such as performing arts and group activities) has been found to reduce drop out rates and to improve student motivation (Sautter, 1994). Mental health practitioners have also discovered that creative

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The more experience children have exploring and learning, the better developed and more aware of themselves and their environment they become. Music is unique in that it allows them to combine visual and aural stimulation into one experience. Examples of this are following a piece of music as they listen, audiating, and connecting music they hear with ideas (seen or unseen), either ones created by someone else or ones the imagine. Regardless, music provides children with the opportunity to imagine, explore and create using combinations of senses not found in any other disipline.

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Making mistakes is how we learn. How often do we get the opportunity to make mistakes in an environment where we feel safe? What would we attempt if we knew we couldn’t fail? How much more would children attempt (and therefore learn) if they knew they wouldn’t be bullied? In the music classrooms, children are given a safe environment to experiment and create without fear of ridicule and embarrassment. In math, the answer is right or wrong. In science, everything must have a logical process or explanation, and in social studies, history has already been written, but in music, children can explore and express and experiment freely.

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“Music students increase fine motor skills and dexterity in instrumental classes while using gross motor skills in choreography in vocal classes.  Performing and moving in a non-traditional way gives students a chance to express themselves.  Many students find their music class to be a physical “release” during the school day.  The work music students do is hands-on and active.  Students don’t sit in desks and work with paper and pencil in music class; music students move, play, sing, dance, perform, and create in an energetic way.  Music is fun!”
2009-12-02 (TallahasseeBravo)

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Students who can perform complex rhythms can also make faster and more precise corrections in many academic and physical situations, according to the Center for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills
- Rhythm seen as key to music’s evolutionary role in human intellectual development, Center for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills, 2000.

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Students participating in Achieving Through Music average absences 10.8
Students not participating – absences 21.8

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96% of principals said they strongly agree that being involved in a music program encourages and motivates students to stay in school.

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The Georgia Project found that school districts in Georgia that made staffing and funding of their arts programs a priority tended to have higher overall rates of student participation in the arts, and higher rates of arts student retention. Such districts tend to have lower dropout rates in grades 9 – 12 and thus keep their students in school longer and graduate more of them. Students tended to score higher on achievement and performance tests, such as the SAT and Georgia High School Graduation Test. They tended to graduate more of their students with college prep diplomas, percentages increasing with diversity of arts curriculum and percent of students participating. While these findings do not prove a cause and effect relationship, they do indicate “strong arts programs need not come at the expense of academic achievement. Rather, the arts are an important factor in achieving academic excellence.” – Executive Summary, The Georgia Project: A Status Report on Arts Education in the State of Georgia,

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"People are the same all over the world. There may be religious, cultural, philosophical, and racial barriers, but they are transcended when you get up and play some music."
http://www.menc.org/supportmusic_cases/view/830

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“Singing in the choir at school helped me learn English when I came back to the country as a child after living abroad. Singing a solo at the school concert was the first thing I did that got me recognition from my peers and led to many friendships.”
http://www.menc.org/supportmusic_cases/view/795

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A two-year Swiss study involving 1,200 children in 50 schools showed that students involved in the music program were better at languages, learned to read more easily, showed an improved social climate, showed more enjoyment in school, and had a lower level of stress than non-music students.
-Weber, E.W., Spychiger, M. & Patry, J.L. (1993)

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“Every human culture uses music to carry forward its ideas and ideals.”

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“Music students are engaged daily in reading of notation and lyrics, and they use music vocabulary for interpreting the scores.  These music-reading skills help develop and reinforce the text-reading skills of tracking, fluency, and vocabulary.  Students also participate in the counting of notation and must become fluent in the duration of notes and rests in music class.  Because of this, in many ways music is math!  Students develop their understanding of symbol interpretation, fractions, and pattern recognition through reading and interpreting musical symbols.  IN addition, music students study historical periods and world music for large groups and small ensembles.  They explore the science of sound as well.  Music is academic!”

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Students who can perform complex rhythms can also make faster and more precise corrections in many academic and physical situations, according to the Center for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills
- Rhythm seen as key to music’s evolutionary role in human intellectual development, Center for Timing, Coordination, and Motor Skills, 2000.

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Children with music training had significantly better verbal memory than those without such training, and the longer the training, the better the verbal memory. Researchers studied 90 boys between the ages of 6 and 15. Half had musical training as members of their school's string orchestra program, plus lessons in playing classical music on Western instruments like the flute or violin for one to five years. The other 45 students had no training. Students with musical training recalled more words in a verbal memory test than did untrained students, and after a 30-minute delay, students with training also retained more words than the control group. In a follow-up one year later, students who continued training and beginners who had just started learning to play both showed improvement in verbal learning and retention. -- Summary by MENC. Original source: Ho, Y. C., Cheung, M. C., & Chan, A. Music training improves verbal but not visual memory: cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations in children (2003) N

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I bet you can remember the jingle from McDonald’s “Have you had your break today?” but can you remember how many chromosomes a human has or the capitol of New York (Albany)? Thanks to School House Rock, you can probably recite the Preamble to our Constitution, but can you remember who wrote it? Music has the unique ability to enhance our memory skills, not only by putting facts to music, but also by encouraging the marriage of right and left brain activity.

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“When I hear people asking how do we fix the education system, I tell them we need to do the opposite of what is happening, cutting budgets by cutting music programs…. Nothing could be stupider than removing the ability for the left and right brains to function. Ask a CEO what they are looking for in an employee and they say they need people who understand teamwork, people who are disciplined, people who understand the big picture. You know what they need? They need musicians.” – Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, MENC Centennial Congress, Orlando, Florida, June 2007

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The Lozanov method used in the U.S. resulted in higher achievement for students in reading and math, as well as in writing and composition. Class room behavior was greatly improved, allowing for effective improved time on task. 850 students of the Paradise California Elementary School participated in the School Experiment in Accelerated Learning Program in 1981-82 and 1982-83. Music was used to adjust the classroom atmosphere, as well as in the curriculum. (Paradise, 1984) (What is the Lozanov Method? The Lozanov method is a teaching method developed by the Bulgarian psychotherapist Georgi Lozanov. It is used in different fields, but mostly in the field of foreign language learning. Lozanov has claimed that by using this method a teacher's students can learn a language approximately three to five times as quickly as through conventional teaching methods.

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Keyboard training for disadvantaged children is beneficial for their overall education. An ESEA Title I program to improve academic achievement found that students who had participated in keyboard lessons scored higher in mathematics and history than students who had not, although their IQ scores were not higher than that of other students. (ESEA, 1969)

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Achievement in music allows mentally handicapped students to achieve in other areas. Music education, performance and therapy used to treat the handicapped helps them to develop self-confidence. This confidence leads to other achievements. (Reingold, 1987)

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Handicapped students achieve significantly through music education. A three year Arts in Education project in five elementary schools in the Clover Park School District, Tacoma, Washington demonstrated that when the basic academic skills were learned through music, a consistent gain of achievement score points was made. Music was found to be highly useful in teaching perceptual skills, and brought a greater interest in language development. (Appell & Goldberg, 1979)

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K student basic skills achievement increases when music and other arts are added to the curriculum. In 1981-82, the California Arts Council contracted with the educational Testing Service to run comprehensive tests on the impact of the arts on pre-learning skills. For each of the five years since 1976, basic skills have been shown to increase when the arts are added to the curriculum. (Minicucci, 1981)

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Music included in reading curriculum can bring a rise in student reading achievement test scores. A Title I reading program at Public School No. 9 in Brooklyn, New York included music and the arts in the curriculum, resulting in a dramatic rise in student reading achievement test scores. (Learning, 1980)