Benefits of
Music
AT THE FRISCO SCHOOL OF
MUSIC
How Playing Music
Enhances Your Life
12 IMPORTANT SKILLS YOUR CHILD
LEARNS BY STUDYING MUSIC
TEN-YEAR STUDY SHOWS MUSIC IMPROVES TEST
SCORES
MUSIC LESSONS HELP STUDENTS MORE THAN
COMPUTER TRAINING
MUSIC TRAINING HELPS
UNDERACHIEVERS
PIANO BOOSTS STUDENT MATH
ACHIEVEMENT
MUSIC STUDENTS SCORE HIGHER ON
SATs
SUBSTANCE ABUSE LOWEST IN MUSIC
STUDENTS
12 IMPORTANT SKILLS YOUR CHILD LEARNS
BY STUDYING MUSIC
Self-Confidence: Being able to go from learning
notes and rhythms to producing meaningful music instills in your child a sense of accomplishment and
self-confidence.
Coordination: Hand, eye, body posture and thought
all working together are the ingredients of playing an instrument. These coordination skills transfer to many other
aspects of life.
Teamwork: Every child wants to be part of a group.
Theory and musicianship classes, in addition to group performances and recitals provide just such unique
opportunities.
Comprehension: Learning to perceive and derive
meaning from musical sounds sharpens your child's ability to comprehend abstractions.
Problem-Solving: Learning the basics of musical
language and interpreting a work through performance teaches your child the ability to understand a problem and
reach an appropriate solution.
Discipline: Learning all of the basics of music and
applying them correctly takes perception and discipline.
Art Appreciation: The words beauty, serenity and
excitement come to life with each musical experience. These feelings help every child appreciate all forms of the
arts.
Logical Reasoning: When your child learns to analyze
a musical work from all perspectives or to improvise within a certain musical style, both inductive and deductive
reasoning grows stronger.
Communication: Music offers the ability to cultivate
our feelings and thoughts through nonverbal means and to respond to these nonverbal thoughts in others.
Conceptualization: Your child learns to classify by
learning to identify different types and styles of music and to recognize how cultures use music for personal
expression.
Making Value Judgments: Learning to comprehend,
consider and evaluate in music can help your child make informed decisions and uphold value judgments in other
aspects of life.
Using Symbols: Learning to read, write and interpret
musical notation strengthens the use of other symbol systems such as mathematics and language.
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TEN-YEAR STUDY SHOWS MUSIC IMPROVES
TEST SCORES
Regardless of socioeconomic background, music-making students get
higher marks in standardized tests. UCLA professor, Dr. James Catterall, led an analysis of a U.S. Department of
Education database. Called NELLs88, the database was used to track more than 25,000 students over a period of ten
years.
The study showed that students involved in music generally tested
higher than those who had no music involvement. The test scores studied were not only standardized tests, such as
the SAT, but also in reading proficiency exams. The study also noted that the musicians scored higher, no matter
what socioeconomic group was being studied.
Reference: Dr. James Catterall, UCLA, 1997.
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MUSIC LESSONS HELP STUDENTS MORE THAN
COMPUTER TRAINING
Research shows piano students are better equipped to comprehend
mathematical and scientific concepts. Preschoolers were divided into three groups: One group received private piano
keyboard lessons and singing lessons. A second group received private computer lessons. The third group received no
training. Those children who received piano/keyboard training performed 34% higher on tests measuring
spatial-temporal ability than the others - even those who received computer training. "Spatial-temporal" is
basically proportional reasoning - ratios, fractions, proportions and thinking in space and time. This concept has
long been considered a major obstacle in the teaching of elementary math and science.
Reference: Neurological Research February 28, 1997
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MUSIC TRAINING HELPS
UNDERACHIEVERS
Researchers find arts training not only raises scholastic
performance, but also improves student behavior and attitude. In Rhode Island, researchers studied eight public
school first grade classes. Half of the classes became "test arts" groups, receiving ongoing music and visual arts
training. In kindergarten, this group had lagged behind in scholastic performance.
After seven months, the students were given a standardized test. The
"test arts" group had caught up to their fellow students in reading and surpassed their classmates in math by 22%.
In the second year of the project, the arts students widened this margin even further. Students were also evaluated
on attitude and behavior. Classroom teachers noted improvement in these areas also.
Reference: Nature May 23, 1996
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PIANO BOOSTS STUDENT MATH
ACHIEVEMENT
Taking piano lessons and using math puzzle software significantly
improves math skills of elementary school children. Second-grade students were given four months of piano keyboard
training, as well as time using newly designed math software. The group scored over 27% higher on proportional math
and fractions tests than children who used only the math software.
Music involves ratios, fractions, proportions and thinking in space
and time. The software - called Spatial-Temporal Animation Reasoning (STAR) - allows children to solve geometric
and math puzzles that boost their ability to manipulate shapes in their minds. The findings are significant because
a grasp of proportional math and fractions is a prerequisite to math at higher levels, and children who do not
master these areas of math cannot understand more advanced math critical to high-tech fields.
Reference: Neurological Research March, 1999
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MUSIC STUDENTS SCORE HIGHER ON
SATs
In both verbal and math scores, high school student-musicians outpace
peers. The College Entrance Examination Board reports, "Students of the arts continue to outperform their non-arts
peers on the SAT®. In 1998, SAT takers with coursework/experience in music performance scored 52 points higher on
the verbal portion of the test and 37 points higher on the math portion than students with no coursework/experience
in the arts."
Longer arts study proved to parlay into even higher test scores. The
1996 report observed, "Those who studied the arts four or more years scored 59 points higher and 41 points higher
on the verbal and math portions respectively than students with no coursework or experience in the
arts."
Reference: Profile of SAT and Achievement Test Takers, The College
Board, compiled by Music Educators National Conference, 1998, 1996.
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SUBSTANCE ABUSE LOWEST IN MUSIC
STUDENTS
College-age musicians emotionally healthier than non-musician
counterparts. According to a study conducted at the University of Texas, college-aged music students have fewer
problems with alcohol, are emotionally healthier, and concentrate better than their non-musical counterparts. "This
study is interesting on many levels," commented Dr. Kris Chesky, one of the study's researchers. "First of all, it
flies in the face of all the stereotypes out there about musicians. It also seems to support the assertion that
studying music helps people learn to concentrate."
The study looked at 362 students who were in their first semester of
college. They were given three tests, measuring performance anxiety, emotional concerns and alcohol related
problems. In addition to having fewer battles with the bottle, researchers also noted that the musicians seemed to
have surer footing when facing tests.
Reference: Houston Chronicle, January 11, 1998
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