"The skills gained through sequential music instruction, including discipline and the ability to
analyze, solve problems, communicate and work cooperatively, are vital for success in the 21st century
workplace."
- U.S. House of Representatives, 2006
Why Music Education is IMPORTANT
Sequential Music Instruction is not only hearing and enjoying music,
but the ability to read, understand and to play musical instruments had been proven by many research
foundations, either independent or government related, to have major benefits to the brain developments
of both children and adults. Abreast with this finding, the result still proves to be more effective for
children if a child begins formal music education in the early age.
What happens when a young child exposes to music and begins music education? Here are some of the
compiled discoveries from both the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory of Northwestern University, Chicago
and the National Center for Biotechnology Information, USA:
- Infants Babies tend to be able to distinguish differences
in pitch, melody and rhythm from very early on. They even seem to be able to recognize music they
were exposed to repeatedly in the mother's womb.
- Pre-schoolers As a child ages between 3 to 5 years old,
they were able to learn body parts better in a lesson that used music and dance as opposed to
conventional lessons, or even one including movement but without music. In addition, we've
discovered that those who had music keyboard training did better at math reasoning than another
group that had computer training instead.
- Primary and Secondary school students As a child
gradually grows into maturity, those who received daily music training for seven months had higher
reading scores. This result proves to be consistent for every year when they were tested.
- College students As young adults, those who had received
musical training before age 12 remembered significantly more words from a list than other students.
- Adults In the workplace, a general discover suggest that
those with formal music education tends to have calmer and better sequence of approach in problem
solving than their peers.
You may be asking, what makes music contribute to such immense improvement in personal development?
How It Happened?
The answer is quite simple but relates complicatedly with many other subjects of the human body. When a
person begins music education, a student will first be taught to read a music notes written in the
manuscript score. On every time when a person plays music, he or she would have to identify first, the
cleffs; second, key signatures; then the time signatures, tempo, rhythm and later notes and time
interval one by one, etc. Amazingly, it will eventually cultivate as a discipline that helps to break
down big problems into smaller pieces and handle them one by one.
Nature has made our mouth to be able to pronounce a word one by one when we read. However, when a person
begins to read the music score and plays the piano for example, with both hands and all fingers working
differently in harmony, it is like telling the brains to process and mouth to speak ten words at the
very same time. Thus contributing to immense ability in reading and comprehension in due time.
Furthermore, there are many other factors of music education contributing to the building positive
emotions of a person such as calmness, harmony, constructive responses, etc. These benefits mentioned
are just a tip of the ice berg and it doesn't happen overnight. Music education requires long term study
and discipline, consistency and persistency; it is these attributes that further mold a person to excel
in many other areas of life.
Is Music Education Only Beneficial For Children?
Absolutely Not! When adults make the decision to learn a new skill, it is solely because they want to.
There is no driving force telling them they have to. They rely on self-motivation as well as the desire
to be a part of a community. This is where learning to play an instrument comes in. In addition to being
part of a team of other musicians, the benefits of music education for adults includes improved quality of life by relieving stress and improving the brain's
cognitive function.
Dr. Roy Ernst is the founder of the New Horizons International Music Association (NHIMA), which supports
a number of organizations nationwide. These organizations provide music education for retired adults in
group settings. "People make strong connections to life through
music... most importantly, group music makes connections to other people. They are part of a team
working towards goals," says Ernst. He points out that the people who participate make new friends who
share a common interest, and that socialization is an important aspect of good physical and mental
health.
Stress plays a big part on both physical and mental health. When it comes
to making music, the intention is to engage in a recreational activity that makes you feel comfortable
and relaxed, thus reducing the stress factor. In addition, learning notes and rhythm requires an
individual's full attention., which improves concentration and cognitive skills. Dr Ernst states "Think
of reading notes at perhaps four notes per second, with each note having many qualities such as pitch,
duration, articulation, dynamics and context. Then, that all needs to be processed into motor skills.
After all that, it still needs to become an artistic expression." That being said, it is stated on
numerous pages of NHIMA's website that absolutely everyone has the ability to learn music, and that
everyone has musical talent in them.
