10 Facts On Music Education & How YOU Can Benefit From Learning

The benefits of an education in music are far reaching and can impact one’s life in ways most would never expect. To help express how music can assist in one’s development, here are ten very interesting and intriguing facts on music education.

1. As the musician constantly adjusts decisions on tempo, tone, style, rhythm, phrasing and feeling, he/she trains the brain to become incredibly good at organizing and conducting numerous activities at once.

2. Approximately 90% of the brain’s motor control capabilities are devoted to the hands, mouth and throat. With this in mind, experts say that the fine dexterity involved with playing a violin can exercise the entire brain and stimulate general intelligence.

3. Musical training has been found to improve how the brain processes the spoken word. This finding could lead to improving the reading ability of children who have dyslexia and other reading problems.

4. Students of lower socioeconomic status who took music lessons in grades 8-12 increased their math scores significantly as compared to non-music students. But, just as important, reading, history, geography, and even social skills soared by 40%.

5. A Columbia University study revealed that students in the arts are found to be more cooperative with teachers and peers, more self-confident and better able to express their ideas.

6. Students at risk of not successfully completing their high school educations indicate that arts participation motivates them to stay in school, and that the arts create a supportive environment that promotes constructive acceptance of criticism and one in which it is safe to take risks.

7. With music in schools, students connect to each other better-greater camaraderie, fewer fights, less racism, and reduced use of hurtful sarcasm.

8. High school students who participate in band or orchestra report the lowest lifetime and current use of all drugs.

9. New forms of entertainment, from hip hop and rock & roll to film and video games, are being created as we speak and will continue to evolve. Experts say that over the next ten years, jobs in art, music, culture, and entertainment will grow twice as many jobs as engineering will. Those who’ve been educated in the arts will have a great advantage over those who have not.

10. 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.