The February 19, 1996 issue of Newsweek
magazine contains two eye-opening articles. The first article entitled, "Your
Child's Brain," revealed a study that was led by psychologists Dr. Gordon Shaw
and Dr. Frances Rauscher at UC Irvine. It was found that after giving nineteen
preschoolers either singing or piano lessons, the children's "spatial reasoning
had dramatically improved". Compared with children who had not received music
lessons, as displayed by their ability to work mazes, draw geometric figures or
shapes and copy patterns of two- color blocks "Music," says the UC team,
"excites the inherent brain patterns and enhances their use in complex reasoning
tasks."
The second article, "Why do schools flaunt
Biology?" goes into greater detail about neurons, synapses, and axonal
connections. Detailed, but not impossible to understand. We recommend that you
drop by your local library and read the articles in full
Another fascinating study done by the same UC
team revealed that, "music lessons, specifically piano instruction, is far
superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children’s abstract
reasoning skills necessary for learning math and science." Published in the
February 1997 issue of Neurological Research, these findings are the
result of a two-year experiment with four groups of preschoolers.
In the experiment, one group of preschoolers
received private piano/keyboard lessons. Another group was given singing
lessons, while the third group received private computer lessons. The fourth
group received no training. Overall, the children who received the
piano/keyboard training performed 34% higher on test measuring spatial-temporal
ability. Obviously, music enhances brain functions needed for mathematics,
science, and engineering.
These findings can change the way educators view
the core school curricula, as music tends to "nurture" the intellect and
produces long-term improvements.
Dr. Rauscher stated, "It has been clearly
documented that young students have difficulty understanding the concepts of
proportion (heavily used in math and science) and that no successful program has
been developed to teach these concepts in the school system."
As a result, Dr. Shaw added, "The high proportion
of children who evidenced dramatic improvement in spatial-temporal reasoning as
a result of music training should be of great interest to scientists and
educators."
What the UC team's studies indicate is that music
training generates the neural connections used for abstract reasoning like those
necessary for understanding mathematical concepts. Neural connections are
responsible for all types of intelligence and a child's brain will develop to
its full potential only with exposure to enriching childhood experiences. Early
experiences determine which brain cells (neurons) will connect with other brain
cells and which will die away,
Drs. Shaw and Rauscher, through earlier studies,
have reported a "casual relationship between music training and spatial-temporal
ability enhancement in preschoolers (1994) and among college students who simply
listened to a Mozart sonata (1993, 1995)!
Although piano lessons are a fundamental way to
give a child a broad appreciation of music, the benefits are largely
non-musical.
Incidentally, it is not important for a child to
play a song to perfection. What is important is for a child to develop to the
best of his or her abilities. The piano is the "educational tool" that can help
accelerate a child's development.
Children that take piano lessons learn valuable
qualities such as concentration, coordination and confidence. These qualities
have been termed the "three C's", and they can help children reach their full
potential.
Complete concentration is required when studying
piano. In lessons, a child learns to read two lines of music and uses both ears,
arms, legs, feet and all ten fingers with the brain sending a different message
to each of the body parts, causing them to work together. No other activity
allows these skills to be used so constructively!
Coordination of the mind and muscles is also
developed with piano lessons, transferring into many daily activities, which can
include improved hand-eye coordination, greater sports enjoyment, and the fuller
use of both sides of the brain.
Confidence is then developed as a child begins to
experience the benefits of concentration and coordination. It is very rewarding
for a child to complete a difficult task, allowing him or her to feel good about
the accomplishment.
In other words, the "three C's" can help build a
foundation that will cause a child to grow and benefit now and also in the
future.
In 1991, a pilot piano/keyboard project had some
remarkably convincing results. In fact, it was described boldly as, "a
revolution in the art of teaching." School officials and business leaders had
nothing but praise for the project that was started in 1990, for first and
second graders.
Davis Elementary of Greenwood, Mississippi was
chosen due to the ample room available, making it easier to implement the
program. The program was modeled after a similar program in Japan, with the
results being the same... positive.
As you can see in the bar graph, there were
substantial increases in both reading and especially math. Without lessons,
there was only a marginal increase for both. The percentile increases were based
on the SAT scores taken before and after the program.
The results were pretty amazing when you consider
that the lessons were given to a group of twelve to fifteen students just once a
week. Sound familiar? It's just like the piano lessons many students receive
today with piano teachers around the world. With private one-on-one lessons the
results would probably be even better, especially for those who are encouraged
to practice regularly.
According to an article by public relations
chairman for the Sounds of Aloha chorus and the Hawaii’s men's barbershop
chorus, Tom Hutton, entitled, "Music improves school grades," the social
development that results from a child who receives music instruction are only
the tip of the iceberg."
The real results are in academic achievement. The article
points out, "Particularly in a child's early formative years, the impact of
music instruction and activity on mental development is dramatic." There is also
some evidence that the benefits are particularly pronounced in "slow learners."
Students with music backgrounds have consistently
exceeded the national average on SAT scores by 19-31 points on the verbal
portion and 14-23 points on the math portion, according to the College Entrance
Examination Board.
The investment you make now can translate into
scholarship money later because of the higher SAT scores, saving you money in
the long run.
As a parent, you only have a short amount of time
to influence and mold your children in a positive way for the future.
We're not sure who wrote the following, but we
think it effectively sums everything up…
