“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.” –
Beethoven
Music is a profound gift to humanity, a unique passion that inspires many. Whether you are a listener or player, music plays a significant, often inescapable, role in most lives. According to an article by PBS, “Music learning supports all learning. Not that Mozart makes you smarter, but it’s a very integrating, stimulating pastime or activity” (PBS). Besides learning how to play the piano, guitar, or whatever your instrument of choice is, music has the potential to benefit a person in more ways than you would think. It can help with creativity, emotion, education, and more.
Educational Benefits
Music lessons may also lead to higher test scores, improved memory, and higher concentration levels (PBS). Apparently, “the brain of a musician, even a young one, works differently than that of a nonmusician” (PBS). Christopher Johnson of the University of Kansas explains this with his claim elementary students who attended a school that offered an in-depth music education department ended up scoring higher in both english and math during testing than students from schools with “low quality music programs, regardless of socioeconomic disparities among the schools or school districts” (PBS). Students also often score high on certain sections of the SATs compared to those who have not studied music (Campbellsville). Finally, further studies show where children took either music lessons (specifically, voice and piano), drama lessons, and no lessons at all, the children who took music lessons had higher IQs than the other two groups (PBS). There is a direct correlation between a student’s music studies and their test scores, etc.
Children who are active in learning musical skills “have larger growth of neural activity” than those not involved in music studies (PBS). Music education leads to improved cognitive skills and spatial intelligence as students can better “visualize elements that go together” (Campbellsville). As Dr. Eric Rasmussen of John Hopkins University explains, “When you’re a musician and you’re playing an instrument, you have to be using more of your brain” (PBS). Music requires a lot of coordination between reading sheet music and chord sheets, playing the different notes and chords on an instrument, making sure things sound in tune, and often, singing along with an instrument. It is a busy, yet rewarding job. Speaking of sound, students may also portray “improved sound discrimination and fine motor tasks” (PBS). In addition to all of this, music training can lead to better concentration and memory (PBS).
Enhanced Social Skills and Psychological Aspects
Social skills are a must, something that often grows over time. Music students appear to maintain better social skills than non-musicians. One study that was performed revealed “students in the arts were more cooperative with teachers and peers, more self-confident and better able to express their ideas” (Campbellsville). Music offers a better way to connect with those around us. It also helps with communication and attention skills among children who have autism (GetHealthyStayHealthy). Besides confidence, music comforts us, improves our mood, and reduces both stress and anxiety (GetHealthyStayHealthy). It regulates emotions, has been proven to help calm those in medical situations, and and “has also been used to help enhance communication, coping, and expression of feelings such as fear, loneliness and anger in patients who have a serious illness, and who are in end-of-life care” (GetHealthyStayHealthy). Overall, it is a beautiful outlet of expression and creativity for one to perform or relate to.
The psychological effects of music are great. There’s no doubt that musical provides an escape, a creative outlet for one to channel feelings through or a distraction from harsh realities. Songwriting, playing, and listening can all bring great joy, sadness, and a variety of emotions. Learning music theory and accomplishing new heights with songs we play can give us a great feeling of accomplishment and productivity. These are just some of the ways listening to music and learning about music can help us out psychologically. Though, there are more serious ways as well: “the U.S. House of Representatives reported that students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs among any group in society” (Campbellsville). So not only does music education improve our mood, but it also keeps us out of dangerous situations.
Physical Benefits
Music provides physical benefits to many. One obvious way music can help improve our physical health is by exercise. Whether it’s jumping around at a concert, dancing to music at home or while cleaning, or working out to some songs at the gym, music can encourage us to move and improve our physical health. Music “can enhance aerobic exercise, boost mental and physical stimulation, and increase overall performance” (GetHealthyStayHealthy). Music also tends to ease pain, helping with the healing process as one endures a surgery and improves after (GetHealthyStayHealthy).
Language Development
Music is something everyone has the capacity to enjoy and appreciate, though some claim the skills required for music mature slower than language acquisition and require much learning, leading to the assumption that music comes specifically from a language development when we are young (USA.gov). An opposing view offers the belief that music is active within one’s childhood, developing alongside with language acquisition on “parallel tracks” (USA.gov). Instead of “describing music as a ‘universal language,’ we find it more productive from a developmental perspective to describe language as a special type of music in which referential discourse is bootstrapped onto a musical framework” (USA.gov).
There are many examples of this. For example, a director at MIT, Robert Desimone, says, “There are positive benefits to piano education in young kids, and it looks like for recognizing differences between sounds including speech sounds, it’s better than extra reading. That means schools could invest in music and there will be generalization to speech sounds” (Psychology Today). Furthermore, starting music education when a child is about 5 years old turns into a “unique ability to enhance kindergartners’ speech perception and language skills” (Psychology Today). Music helps improve the “natural abilities” to “decode sounds and words” at an early age as the left side, which is related to language processing and development, of the brain is developed further as a result of music education (PBS). Those who have been trained in music as a kid have also “experienced less decay in their speech-listening skills much later in life” (Psychology Today).
Creativity
Music education encourages creativity in several ways. It encourages experimentation, exploration in writing, and more. It is a very fun, creative outlet for people to do what they love, write songs, experiment with musical knowledge, and more. The creativity that comes from music can even extend itself into other nonmusical areas. Music, in certain studies, has proven to encourage inventiveness and imagination as people listening come up with more creative, innovative ideas and consider various solutions, concepts, and perspectives, allowing for one to come up with better ideas and solutions as the person is considering all angles of a problem (Berkeley).
“Music is for music’s sake,”
– Rasmussen (PBS).
According to PBS, “the benefit of music education for me is about being musical. It gives you a better understanding of yourself. The horizons are higher when you are involved in music . . . Your understanding of art and the world, and how you can think and express yourself, are enhanced” (PBS). Furthermore, “the many intrinsic benefits to music education include being disciplined, learning a skill, being part of the music world, managing performance, being part of something you can be proud of,” and more (PBS). The focus of music should not become an attempt to become smarter since it’s important to note the happiness music brings as well (PBS). With that being said, feel free to check out the variety of instruments you can learn at Bravo with our wonderful teachers and book lessons today!
Bibliography
Bergland, Christopher. “How Does Musical Training Improve Language Skills?.” Psychology Today. June 26, 2018. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201806/how-does-musical-training-improve-language-skills#:~:text=Musical%20training%20around%20the%20age%20of%20five%
20has,Desimone%20of%20the%20Massachusetts%20Institute%20of%20Technology%20%28MIT%29.
Brandt, Anthony, Molly Gebrian, and L. Robert Slevc. “Music and Early Language Acquisition.” Frontiers in Psychology. September 11, 2012. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3439120/
Brown, Laura L. “The Benefits of Music Education.” PBS. May 7, 2012. https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/the-benefits-of-music-education
Pfizer Medical Team. “10 Health Benefits of Music.” Get Healthy Stay Healthy. August 30, 2017. https://www.gethealthystayhealthy.com/articles/10-health-benefits-of-music
Suttie, Jill. “How Music Helps Us Be More Creative.” Greater Good Magazine. November 17, 2017. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_music_helps_us_be_more_creative
“3 Benefits of Music Education.” Campbellsville University. N.d.
https://online.campbellsville.edu/program-resources/benefits-of-music-education/
