Why Music Lessons

Music Students Are Scoring. Music students are outperforming non-music students on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). College-bound seniors with coursework or experience in music performance scored 52 points higher on the verbal portion and 37 points higher on the math portion of the SAT than students with no coursework or experience in the arts.

(Source: The College Board, September 1997)

Music Is Beating Computers at Enhancing Early Childhood Development. Music training, specifically piano instruction, is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills necessary for learning math and science. Learning music at an early age causes long-term enhancement of spatial- temporal reasoning.

(Source: Frances Rauscher, Ph.D., Gordon Shaw, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1997)

Music Enhances Linguistic Skills. Music -- specifically song -- is one of the best training grounds for babies learning to recognize the tones that add up to spoken language.

(Source: Sandra Trehub, University of Toronto, 1997)

Americans Say Schools Should Offer Instrumental Music Instruction as part of the regular curriculum. 88% of respondents indicated this in a 1997 "American Attitudes Towards Music" Gallup poll.

(Source: Music Trades, September 1997)

Scientists, Therapists Agree: Music Heals More Than Just The Spirit.
Music benefits older adults. Active music-making positively affects the biology and behavior of Alzheimer's patients.

(Source: Music Making and Wellness Project, a study conducted at the University of Miami)

The Window Of Opportunity For Studying Music is between the ages of three and ten. This is the time when we are the most receptive to and able to process music.

(Source: Newsweek, February 19, 1996)

Studying Music Strengthens Students' Academic Performance.
Rhode Island studies have indicated that sequential, skill-building instruction in art and music integrated with the rest of the curriculum can greatly improve children's performance in readi ng and math.

(Source: "Learning Improved by Arts Training" by Martin Gardiner, Alan Fox, Faith Knowles, and Donna Jeffrey, Nature, May 23, 1996)

Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship. Music lessons, and even simply listening to music, can enhance spatial reasoning performance, a critical higher-brain function necessary to perform complex tasks including mathematics.

(Source: Frances Fauscher, Ph.D., Gordon Shaw, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1994)

The Mozart Effect surfaced about four years ago when research uncovered that adults who listened to music of complexity for ten minutes or so experienced temporary increases in their spatial IQ scores.

(Source: Frances Rauscher, Ph.D.,Gordon Shaw, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine,1993-1994)

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.