The benefits of music when it comes to stimulating a child’s brain development has long been acknowledged. Musical education helps students improve cognitive ability and language skills, can teach discipline and relieve stress, and also help people connect with each other. Music is a cornerstone to a holistic approach to education.
The schools which make up the International School environment in Singapore have comprehensive and diverse music programs. Passionate specialist teachers deliver personalised musical programs to promote the highest standards of artistic excellence that enable children to become accomplished musicians. With dedicated programs covering more than 21 instruments and extensive choir and voice opportunities, students have every opportunity to participate.
Music performances in the form of Music Ensembles provide students with performance opportunities. Playing or singing together not only improves musical skills, but also involves the students socially, promotes teamwork and contributes to the development of their emotional intelligence.
Here are 10 benefits of music education that highlight why it should be an integral part of students’ lives—whether inside or outside of school.
1. Language skills. According to PBS, “Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways.” Learning a musical instrument also improves how the brain understands human language, which can help students learn a second language.
2. Improved test scores. Studies have shown that students who are involved with a high-quality music education program in school perform better on tests than students who don’t engage in music. PBS reports, “A study published in 2007 by Christopher Johnson, professor of music education and music therapy at the University of Kansas, revealed that students in elementary schools with superior music education programs scored around 22 percent higher in English and 20 percent higher in math scores on standardized tests, compared to schools with low-quality music programs.”
3. Self-esteem. Music allows students to try something new and develop confidence as they master singing or playing an instrument. “When students are working towards a common goal, they appreciate that their ‘voice’ and interests are heard and understood by others. This joint effort creates a sense of secure acceptance that is critical to their self-esteem,” states PBS.
4. Listening skills. Music involves listening to yourself and to the rest of the ensemble. Musicians need to hear tempos, dynamics, tuning, and harmonies. This helps auditory development in the brain.
5. Math skills. Reading music includes learning quarter, half, and whole notes, which are essentially fractions. As Getting Smart explains, “When a music pupil has spent time learning about rhythm, he has learned to count. He is not counting numbers, per se, but he is most certainly using logic to count out the rhythms and bars, and working his way methodically through the piece. Many musical concepts have mathematical counterparts.”
6. Making the brain work harder. Research shows that the brain of a musician works differently than a non-musician, according to PBS. ‘There’s some good neuroscience research that children involved in music have larger growth of neural activity than people not in music training,” says Dr. Eric Rasmussen, chair of the Early Childhood Music Department at the Peabody Preparatory of The Johns Hopkins University. “When you’re a musician and you’re playing an instrument, you have to be using more of your brain.”
7. Relieving stress. We all know that listening to a favorite artist or song can lift a mood and relax us. The same goes for creating music. It gives kids a great release, allowing them to immerse themselves in something that’s fulfilling and calming. I know that no matter how stressed I was in school, I would always come out happy and relaxed after choir practice.
8. Creativity. Music certainly nurtures kids’ creative side. This can have an impact on their futures. The Arts Education Partnership states, “Employers identify creativity as one of the top five skills important for success in the workforce (Lichtenberg, Woock, & Wright, 2008).” The partnership also suggests originality and flexibility are benefits of music education because they are key components of the creativity and innovation music requires. Finally, graduates from music programs report that creativity, teamwork, communication, and critical thinking are skills and competencies necessary in their work, regardless of whether they are working in music or in other fields.
9. Helping special needs children. Music can have a powerful impact on kids with special needs. It helps them find a way to communicate and open up, which they may struggle with otherwise. For this reason, and despite cuts to music programs, schools are increasingly implementing music therapy after-school programs to benefit students with disabilities.
10. Higher graduation rates. Schools with music programs have higher graduation rates. DoSomething.org reports, “Schools with music programs have an estimated 90.2 percent graduation rate and 93.9 percent attendance rate compared to schools without music education who average 72.9 percent graduation and 84.9 percent attendance.”
