Benefits Of Music Education

In one school district, administrators needed to make a budget cut of about $150,000. Immediately, they turned to their music programs and cut them, firing five music teachers in the process. They did not realize that there were over 2,000 students involved in the music programs. All of these students were then placed in other classes, increasing the class sizes and forcing the school to add 29 more classrooms and teachers. They ended up spending $192,000 total, instead of cutting the original $150,000 (Dorita, Coen, & Miller, 1994). It has been over two decades and many schools and administration still do not understand or see the importance of music in schools. Music education not only benefits student’s academics, but also helps student’s social life and improves brain function as well. There are many academic benefits of music education. According to Kenneth Guilmartin, co-founder of a music development organization, being exposed to music does not necessarily make you more intelligent, but the study of music education provides you with the correct tools for a successful academic life. Making music involves

Especially in children, the effects of music education can be seen very clearly in the brain. It physically develops the left part of the brain that deals with language processing and can change the flow of the brain’s circuits in ways that cannot be done with any other process. The idea is that the brain links familiar melodies to new information, not only quickening the learning process but also improving short-term memory (Brown, 2011). The whole process of mastering an art is closely related to a greater comprehension of language skills (Do Something, n.d). Students not given the exposure to music or other arts are often left with underdeveloped left hemispheres of the brain, making other components of school later on more difficult (Nuss,