The benefits of music education have been researched for decades and there’s quite a lot of consensus that music and music education have a lot of benefits, even beyond the pure enjoyment of it all. Most recently, neuroscientists have been excited about the significant differences they have seen between the brain functions of musicians, when compared with non-musicians.
It has become clear that music education before the age of 7 has the greatest benefits to brain development. Furthermore it has been found that it only takes, at the very least, an hour a week of structured, formal music education to make permanent and positive changes to the brain functions of every child. Does this mean that there are no benefits for older children? No indeed! Music has significant benefits for older children and teens as well.
So how does music make a difference?
Dr Nina Kraus led a research project at Northwestern University that reported that musically-trained children were found to be better at processing sounds and language. This research was presented to the American Psychological Association. Additionally, they found that musical training can alter the nervous system to create a better learner. Learning music improves the concentration, memory and focus of children in the classroom by improving their neural functions. Dr Kraus also said that music appears to remodel the brain allowing for improvement in the connections between sounds and meaning, the very process by which babies learn to speak. "Music automatically sharpens the nervous system's response to sounds," Dr Kraus explains.
Additionally, moving in time to a steady beat is closely linked to better language skills, a study suggests by researchers at McMasters University. People who performed better on rhythmic tests during this study also showed enhanced neural responses to speech sounds. The researchers suggest that practicing music could improve other skills, particularly reading. They also found that the musical group that they studied performed better on memory tests, literacy and math abilities. The authors argue that rhythm is an integral part of language and music exercises that ability. This study was reported in the Journal of Neurosciences and the journal Brain.
Is there a difference between listening to music and actually playing a musical instrument?
When you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout. Educator Anita Collins explains that fireworks go off in musicians’ brains when they play, and there are long-term positive effects of this mental workout. Practice strengthens those functions and allows the musician to apply that strength to other activities as well. Music enhances memory functions and strengthens the important ability to multi-task. Just 1 hour a week of musical training: singing, playing instruments, learning how to read music, learning to understand musical concepts, that’s enough to see a change in test scores, classroom performance, behavior, and even the structure of the brain itself over time.
Here is a fabulous animated TED-ED video by Anita Collins that will convince you to include music in your day.
Think that music is a waste of time because it’s too unlikely that your child will turn it into a career? Well, not only is that wrong thinking but that’s not the point. Music is the gift you give to your child for their life.
It has become clear that music education before the age of 7 has the greatest benefits to brain development. Furthermore it has been found that it only takes, at the very least, an hour a week of structured, formal music education to make permanent and positive changes to the brain functions of every child. Does this mean that there are no benefits for older children? No indeed! Music has significant benefits for older children and teens as well.
So how does music make a difference?
Dr Nina Kraus led a research project at Northwestern University that reported that musically-trained children were found to be better at processing sounds and language. This research was presented to the American Psychological Association. Additionally, they found that musical training can alter the nervous system to create a better learner. Learning music improves the concentration, memory and focus of children in the classroom by improving their neural functions. Dr Kraus also said that music appears to remodel the brain allowing for improvement in the connections between sounds and meaning, the very process by which babies learn to speak. "Music automatically sharpens the nervous system's response to sounds," Dr Kraus explains.
Additionally, moving in time to a steady beat is closely linked to better language skills, a study suggests by researchers at McMasters University. People who performed better on rhythmic tests during this study also showed enhanced neural responses to speech sounds. The researchers suggest that practicing music could improve other skills, particularly reading. They also found that the musical group that they studied performed better on memory tests, literacy and math abilities. The authors argue that rhythm is an integral part of language and music exercises that ability. This study was reported in the Journal of Neurosciences and the journal Brain.
Is there a difference between listening to music and actually playing a musical instrument?
When you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout. Educator Anita Collins explains that fireworks go off in musicians’ brains when they play, and there are long-term positive effects of this mental workout. Practice strengthens those functions and allows the musician to apply that strength to other activities as well. Music enhances memory functions and strengthens the important ability to multi-task. Just 1 hour a week of musical training: singing, playing instruments, learning how to read music, learning to understand musical concepts, that’s enough to see a change in test scores, classroom performance, behavior, and even the structure of the brain itself over time.
Here is a fabulous animated TED-ED video by Anita Collins that will convince you to include music in your day.
Think that music is a waste of time because it’s too unlikely that your child will turn it into a career? Well, not only is that wrong thinking but that’s not the point. Music is the gift you give to your child for their life.
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