How Does Music Affect Education?
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Smarter Students
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In a 2004 study, E. Glenn Schellenberg of the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, reported that students who take music lessons have slightly higher IQs than students who do not. Music lessons cultivate a wide range of skills. Playing an instrument requires fine motor skills, practice, knowledge of a musical system and emotional intelligence to convey the piece's message. Developing regular practice habits in each of these areas can aid children outside the music room by reinforcing study routines that reward the time put into learning a new skill. The process is also much like going to school in that the music student is learning interactively, whether in a group or one-on-one environment. Smaller classrooms have been shown to increase learning potential, and therefore these smaller, individualized sessions help develop increased learning aptitude and attention. Not only that, music lessons can spark an interest in learning from an early age.
Considerations
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Schellenberg notes that children who take music lessons in the first place may already be those that are interested in learning, and therefore their IQs would be naturally higher despite the music education. There are also questions about whether the music itself causes a greater aptitude for learning or if the result is caused by activities outside the classroom in general. Students in other extracurricular activities were also tested and the intellectual results were similar to those involved in music. The message, Schellenberg concluded, is that outside activities (including music) help a person become well rounded and aid in the development of critical thinking.
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Concentration
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Music can also have an effect on studying and concentration even if the student isn't involved in lessons. While the belief that a quiet classroom was most likely to promote concentration, Yiftach Levy of San Diego State University points out in his article "The Effects of Background Music on Learning: A Review of Recent Literature" that the idea is being challenged. A completely quiet classroom is almost impossible because the sounds of students fidgeting, sharpening pencils, the gardener mowing the lawn outside the classroom, construction and other classes in the hallway. Levy's research indicates that calming, nonpercussive background music is effective at drowning out background noise so students can concentrate. In this sense, music can benefit learning because it allows students greater focus and fosters more valuable study sessions.
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