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Music's effect on the brain
Important aspects of music education
Music's effect on the brain
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Music is a form of life that has a variety of purposes; even the human mind cannot comprehend them all. It should be considered a need but because of the economy and its hardship it has bestowed upon people, when school budgets tighten, music programs feel the pressure early and brace for a potential beating (Jennings). Our education system should allow children to express themselves through efficacious learning experiences, giving them the opportunity them to get in-touch with, and strengthen, their creativity (Lim and Chung, S60, Terrance). There is no doubt other programs includes this, but when it comes to music, people question its capability and it is considered “not cool”. Without music in our education programs, children are mislead and cheated from their futures (Music 110), and the focus wonders towards the opposing spectrum. We need musical instruction because it can play an important role in brain development, help achieve academic success, preserve the past, and most importantly, provide opportunities to build our character in a positive, and meaningful, environment, even through the hardship
Music teaching is an important aspect that music educators believe is important to the brain development of a child (Music 42). This is displayed in recent behavioral studies and the neurological research that links the study of music to brain development. In early childhood, motor and auditory skills are developed from musical training just after fifteen months (Hyde, Music 50), and the cerebellum has been found to work balance and muscle coordination, also noted for its involvement with interpreting rhythm (Holden), the life and blood of music. The cerebellum has also been involved in experiments, such as...
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...nnoticed. Give a hungry child broccoli, and it will be eaten. Give a school the piece of cake, and it gets stale.
Change is imminent, and the best is yet to come. General Ford, former President of the USA, once said, “Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them—a world around them—a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes just this,” (Music 8). Children should not only be able to grow as a person, but as a prominent figure that could become the next eminent composer, such as Bach. A simple sound such as his can sooth the soul and provide us a promising future. However, notation is nothing more than symbolism and never fully expresses meaning beyond a simple penstroke.
Throughout history music has played an important role in society, whether it was Mozart moving people with his newest opera or the latest album from the Beatles. Where would society be today without music? With schools cutting their music programs, the next Mozart may not get his chance to discover his amazing talent. Music programs are essential to education. To fully understand this one must understand how music helps the human body, why schools have cut music programs, and why people should learn music.
We are all familiar with the way children interact and play together. Through these interactions, it is clear to see their curiosity, energetic attitude, and friendliness. However there is one important part of their interactions that is overlooked. We often do not think much of kids humming a tune or combining small syllables into a little song, but if we paid close attention, we could see how music is so thoroughly integrated into a child’s life. After reading “Songs in Their Heads: Music and its Meaning in Children’s Lives” by Patricia Shehan Campbell, it became clear to me how children have a concept of music from such a young age, and in a lot of cases, their knowledge of music is not taught to them through school.
Once this is accomplished, students gain personal pride in achieving this new skill. Music programs offer lots of chances for students to develop new talents, whether that is playing an instrument or singing a song. “Music programs in public schools help to foster a student’s sense of pride and self-confidence” (Hoffman 1), and with this newfound pride, students will develop more experience in other areas, like working with others and communicating with different people. Music plays an active role in student’s lives, and as core subject grades begin to rise, “music education remains a key component in a student’s academic success and in positive social and emotional growth” (Hoffman 1). Music forms dignity in a students abilities, offering to give the students a chance to develop their communication and social skills in a safe environment, and give themselves positive feelings about their accomplishments. Without music programs in schools, students will have less pride in their abilities and will not let them gain that safe environment to achieve these experiences with
If one were to look back into the world’s history, one would find that an important and consistent element is the world of music. Music has presented itself in various forms throughout its spread and through our identification of its magical realm, people have been fortunate enough to come across a means of relation. Whether it is blues and reggae or rap and pop rock, there is music out there for everyone. Music can serve as a stabilizer for some, a relaxant to others, and to many a form of inspiration.
There have been many studies done to find how music influences a child’s development. The College Entrance Examination Board discovered that students who took music appreciation classes had higher verbal and math scores than those who did not take the classes. (Stephens 2003) The U.S. Department of Education found that in 25,000 secondary schools, students who were highly involved in the music program did much better in math than any other students. (Stephens 2003) These studies and more have found that involvement in music increases chi...
Music has become increasingly popular in today’s society. When we are listening to music, our brain does much more than just process the sound. Music has been known to be able to affect human emotions and moods. The brain first categorizes sound into music through interactions between the low-level and high-level processing units (“How Our Brains Process Music”). The whole task begins with the auditory cortex in the brain which first receives a signal from the eardrum which in turn activates the cerebellum (“How Our Brains Process Music”). The cerebellum is the part of the brain that assists in coordination, precision, and timing of movement (“How Our Brains Process Music”). The ear and the cerebellum together as the low-level processing units allow the brain to start analyzing the sounds and break down the auditory stimulus into pitch, amplitude, timing of different notes, etc (“How Our Brains Process Music”).
Lehman, Paul R. et all. The School Music Program: A New Vision. (1994). Reston, VA. Music Educators National Conference.
Much too often in America today, modern music and art programs in schools are perceived to many as extracurricular activities rather than important subjects that are vital to a students learning and skill development. The truth of the matter is that encouraging music and art education in public schools has a much larger impact on student’s grades, academic performance, and the economy than the majority people realize. Within the next year city school budgets will be dropping by twenty five percent, and despite the fact that music and art programs have been showing a dramatic contribution to student’s learning, this substantial drop in funding for the programs will lead to no dedicated money for art or music programs (Mezzacappa). There is no doubt that a cut in funding for art programs will take a huge toll on students overall grades and test scores. Research has found that the studying of music and art facilitates learning in other subjects and enhances children’s skills in other areas (Brown). Furthermore, providing students with a creative outlet can do great justice in reducing the stress from many other classes and even offer insight for students in possible career paths involving the art field. The art industry today currently supports 4.1 million full-time jobs (Dorfman). By increasing the funding of music and art programs for students preschool through twelfth grade we can see a dramatic increase in the education of children across the United States, assist with skill development in young students, and greatly benefit the economy at the same time.
The position that is being argued is that music should stay in schools. This author is making the claim that music makes children excel in their education. This author uses many different sources. The author relies mainly on studies to back up his argument. The article is recent.
Schlaug, Gottfried, Andrea Norton, Kate Overy, and Ellen Winner. Effects of Music Training on the Child’s Brain. The Musician's Brain. New York Academy Of Sciences, 2005. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. .
Students need to be introduced to the power that music has on people. Music allows students to find a whole new confidence when it comes to interaction with other people. Students, especially in the earlier years of education, need to be able to advance these skills in order to make sustainable relationships. These skills can be translated to skills that society uses everyday. Therefore, students must be able to have access to musical
The once formerly instructional and practice time for music performance of 30 minutes per day has been shortened in schools or completely eliminated. The amount of time in which music instructors are present to a class immensely shortens their effectiveness capability to teach music material. Nevertheless, the reductions in their profession to teach, elementary school music instructors are still expected to yield similar results within students and their achievements. The main argument behind budget cuts for fine arts departments in elementary schools has been caused by an ever growing focus on higher test results in core curriculum subjects, such as language arts, social studies, science, and math. This logic is highly mistaken; the correlation between early childhood exposure to music and scholastic excellence have been proved and has been acceptable for a vast amount time. “Music competencies achieved from birth to age five assist students in later school experience ” (Colwell 1721), concluded a research conducted by the Perry Early Childhood Education Program. Amy Graziano has proven music education to enhance intellectual ability in abstract fields such as math when entering into early elementary years. Therefore, ongoing budget cuts and layoffs within the fine arts departments of public school systems is inexcusable and absurd. Hypothetically speaking, if school systems proceeded to hire more
Music elicits a very complicated response in the brain. From the fairly concrete physical process of hearing to the nebulous process of interpreting sound, melody, pitch etc. in the brain. This is still a developing field especially since the brain is not well understood yet. There are many intricacies in the brain that have to do with music and the processes by which music is heard, understood, and how the brain reacts. Music has a evermore known role in the brain. It has moved from something never mentioned in cognitive neuroscience to something that is regarded as an important component of the brain’s abilities. Music elicits a holistic response from the brain causing activity all over the brain and it is proving as an important tool in understanding the brain as medical technology advances and we gain better looks at the brain in work.
Music education plays an enormous role in student’s overall well being, outweighing the costs of it. In 1994, Congress passed the Improving America’s Schools Act, concluding that “...the arts are forms of understanding and ways of knowing that are fundamentally important to education” (Ford, AdamMcMahon, Maureen). Congress recognized the importance of music education. Now the effort must be made to make a difference. If people really do want the best for the future, music education is key. Ramon Cortines, former chancellor of the New York City public schools stated, “We engage in the arts, we ought to teach the arts, because this is part of what it means to be human” (“Arts Education”). When people eventually realize this, the benefits will be vast.
As a matter of fact, all of these other disciplines can be assimilated into music!” said Ariel Templeton, a music teacher from Greenfield Middle School. According to studies, previous exposure to music impacts areas of the cerebrum related to reasoning and language. When the left area of the brain is exposed to music, it is better developed and can make imprinting information to the brain much more efficiently. This successively exceedingly affects our vocabulary and memory.