Help me describe why music education is important please

[Michaelangelica]

. . .there is growing scientific evidence that music can be a "mega vitamin" for the developing brains of children and for adult brains as well even for individuals whose brains have been damaged by injury or disease.
. . .
a recent Harvard University study found that children who study a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children who lack such training, even on tests measuring verbal ability and visual pattern completion skills not normally associated with musical training. Music students also scored better on tests involving auditory discrimination and finger dexterity.

The longer and more intensely a child studied his or her instrument, the better he or she scored on all tests. These findings highlight the importance of music instruction for our youth.
. . .
In one Finnish study, something as simple as listening to music for several hours a day was found to enhance the recovery of stroke victims.
Musical and rhythmic cues have also helped the movement and balance of people with degenerative disorders, as well as aphasia, a disorder resulting from damage to the portions of the brain responsible for language.

BYRD'S EYE VIEW: Music is Brain Food - Huntington News Network

An interesting article that focuses on some recent research papers:-

. . . These findings are in correlation with Shaw's statements, "We suspect that complex music facilitates certain complex neuronal patterns involved in high brain activities like math and chess. By contrast, simple and repetitive music could have the opposite effect."
. . .
Age Matters

It is found that the impact music has on spatial reasoning only last from 10 to 15 minutes in adults. This is a temporary effect. However, it can have cumulative effects concurrently.
Therefore, the more you make use of this phenomenon the more readily and quicker it will manifest. It is also of note, that the younger the individual is when in a musical environment, the longer the effect has been shown to last (Schellenberg, 2005).
It is apparent that music has a cumulative effect because the younger the person is when introduced to music the longer potential they have to hold on to the benefits of this phenomenon.
. . .
Though listening is sufficient to prime the brain for a boost in spatial tasks performance, learning to play the music is significant in perpetuating longer lasting effects (Schellenberg, 2005). In a correlative test of 147 children and 150 undergraduate adults, (using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III, or WISC-III and the Wechsler Adult Intelligences Scale-III, or WAIS-III respectively). . .
Therefore, "early extensive musical training" results in a change to the cortical organization. This augments the left brain functions of the musician, while diminishing the innate musical abilities of the right brain. This is reminiscent of how in Western education, schooling may lead to strengthening the left brain while neglecting the right brain.
. . .
However, the most significant correlation was found between women and verbal reasoning. Though the other sectors had over all improvement, their amount of improvement were nominal in comparison to the increase found with women in verbal reasoning. Their study is particularly noteworthy because there is a severe lack of research on the differences of how the sexes are effected by music. . . .

http://markmaiwords.gaia.com/blog/20...-musics-effect

. . .
Involvement with the musical community

The district is grateful for the many local community arts organizations who have worked tirelessly with us as partners to provide music exposure and experiences.
Organizations such as Steinway Society, Palm Springs Opera Guild and Palm Springs Community Concerts have offered the district numerous outreach programs, concerts and field trips to support music education.
There have also been many individuals who have stepped up to generously offer their experience. Local musicians Ray Kelley and Dr. Vanessa Sheldon will provide free classical concerts at elementary sites.
The Opera Lady, Barbara Mortensen, will offer free tickets to Met Opera Simulcast performances to all interested students and teachers that book through the district.

All of those instances show the remarkable affect that a community can have upon a situation when they choose to get involved, and work toward a common goal.
Yes, times are tough! However, that is just an opportunity for us to work harder, work smarter and keep the sound of music in our children's classrooms!

Why music education is important in the valley | MyDesert.com | The Desert Sun
(page2)

[Michaelangelica]

. . .there is growing scientific evidence that music can be a "mega vitamin" for the developing brains of children and for adult brains as well even for individuals whose brains have been damaged by injury or disease.
. . .
a recent Harvard University study found that children who study a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children who lack such training, even on tests measuring verbal ability and visual pattern completion skills not normally associated with musical training. Music students also scored better on tests involving auditory discrimination and finger dexterity.

The longer and more intensely a child studied his or her instrument, the better he or she scored on all tests. These findings highlight the importance of music instruction for our youth.
. . .
In one Finnish study, something as simple as listening to music for several hours a day was found to enhance the recovery of stroke victims.
Musical and rhythmic cues have also helped the movement and balance of people with degenerative disorders, as well as aphasia, a disorder resulting from damage to the portions of the brain responsible for language.

BYRD'S EYE VIEW: Music is Brain Food - Huntington News Network

An interesting article that focuses on some recent research papers:-

. . . These findings are in correlation with Shaw's statements, "We suspect that complex music facilitates certain complex neuronal patterns involved in high brain activities like math and chess. By contrast, simple and repetitive music could have the opposite effect."
. . .
Age Matters

It is found that the impact music has on spatial reasoning only last from 10 to 15 minutes in adults. This is a temporary effect. However, it can have cumulative effects concurrently.
Therefore, the more you make use of this phenomenon the more readily and quicker it will manifest. It is also of note, that the younger the individual is when in a musical environment, the longer the effect has been shown to last (Schellenberg, 2005).
It is apparent that music has a cumulative effect because the younger the person is when introduced to music the longer potential they have to hold on to the benefits of this phenomenon.
. . .
Though listening is sufficient to prime the brain for a boost in spatial tasks performance, learning to play the music is significant in perpetuating longer lasting effects (Schellenberg, 2005). In a correlative test of 147 children and 150 undergraduate adults, (using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III, or WISC-III and the Wechsler Adult Intelligences Scale-III, or WAIS-III respectively). . .
Therefore, "early extensive musical training" results in a change to the cortical organization. This augments the left brain functions of the musician, while diminishing the innate musical abilities of the right brain. This is reminiscent of how in Western education, schooling may lead to strengthening the left brain while neglecting the right brain.
. . .
However, the most significant correlation was found between women and verbal reasoning. Though the other sectors had over all improvement, their amount of improvement were nominal in comparison to the increase found with women in verbal reasoning. Their study is particularly noteworthy because there is a severe lack of research on the differences of how the sexes are effected by music. . . .

Influencing factors of Music's effect by Maisha Thompson Heath — Gaia Community

. . .
Involvement with the musical community

The district is grateful for the many local community arts organizations who have worked tirelessly with us as partners to provide music exposure and experiences.
Organizations such as Steinway Society, Palm Springs Opera Guild and Palm Springs Community Concerts have offered the district numerous outreach programs, concerts and field trips to support music education.
There have also been many individuals who have stepped up to generously offer their experience. Local musicians Ray Kelley and Dr. Vanessa Sheldon will provide free classical concerts at elementary sites.
The Opera Lady, Barbara Mortensen, will offer free tickets to Met Opera Simulcast performances to all interested students and teachers that book through the district.

All of those instances show the remarkable affect that a community can have upon a situation when they choose to get involved, and work toward a common goal.
Yes, times are tough! However, that is just an opportunity for us to work harder, work smarter and keep the sound of music in our children's classrooms!

Why music education is important in the valley | MyDesert.com | The Desert Sun
(page2)

[Michaelangelica]

We fail students by minimizing arts
By Millie Turek


They promised the pendulum would swing. That’s what I’ve been told for the last 29 years as an arts educator in the Georgia public school system.

Whenever the next big reform idea came out that (unintentionally) threatened arts education in the state, they said, “Don’t panic, the pendulum will swing and everything will be fine.”

Well, I disagree. The pendulum didn’t swing. Instead, it has been a long, slow, downhill slide.
. . .
My career in “aesthetic” education has been spent in the area of music. As an undergraduate music education student, I was taught to be able to articulate the need for the study of music for music’s sake. The study of music can serve other academic and social areas — extra-musical areas. I am not addressing those areas, as they can be enhanced by a number of other subjects.

• I believe the aesthetic education of every child is a fundamentally essential part of his development as a human being.
• I believe the human brain is hard-wired for the development of aesthetic expression through the arts.
• I believe artistic expression left undeveloped in a child leads to underdeveloped humanity. Scientific research on the brain and educational research is just beginning to document the facts and uncover the benefits surrounding artistic development in humans.
• At present, this research is proving what artists throughout history have known — that there is an organic connection between art and humanity.
  

. . .

Now with an economic challenge before us, we are in danger of completely losing sight of where we need to go to educate our children. As we struggle to only afford that which is essential, we better know what is essential.
We have the opportunity and will to remake ourselves into anything, not just settle for anything we can afford. We can work to make affordable that which is essential for all children.

(my formatting)
We fail students by minimizing arts*| ajc.com

Earlier in the summer I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Matt Giordano of Drum Echoes Inc. Matt is a fascinating young man who uses drum circles to promote fun, a feeling of community and healing. Tourette syndrom is a condition that has a great deal of misinformation and mystique. Matt helps give clarity to exactly how this may present itself, and how one young man thrives, and excels in his world of music. The portion of Nova Science Now's 'Musical Minds' which features Matt is now on YouTube and is available below. If you have not yet read what Matt has to say in our interview piece, please take the time to do so. It can be found below the YouTube video. Enjoy.

http://www.examiner.com/x-10971-Auti...-Musical-Minds


http://www.american-music.org/member...ipBenefits.php

[Michaelangelica]

THE USE OF MUSIC FOR LEARNING LANGUAGES: A REVIEW








The Use of Music for

Learning Languages: A Review of the Literature

Jon Weatherford Stansell

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Updated September 14, 2005

Click for PDF Version

Abstract

Throughout time, healers, philosophers, scientists, and teachers have recognized the place of music for therapeutic and developmental functions (Bancroft 3-7). Researchers over the last twenty years have made astounding advances in the theory of language acquisition. Many find the pedagogical conjoining of language and music compelling. The first part of this review focuses on the historical and developmental proofs of music's relationship with language learning. In part two, neurological theory on music and the mind are covered. Part three summarizes scholarly inquiry on the use of music for learning languages, especially those studies that could prove most instructive both for language teachers and for music therapists in the development of curricula.



The Use of Music for

Learning Languages: A Review of the Literature
The Use of Music in Learning Languages

http://mste.illinois.edu/courses/ci4..._Languages.pdf

[Michaelangelica]

Kyla Brettle: I suppose some of the scepticism and perceived flakiness about music therapy is engendered by...you hear these quick fixes, listen to Mozart for ten minutes a day and you'll get 20% smarter. And I heard that the Danish government were actually giving soldiers in Iraq singing pillows, with the idea that this would lessen the stress and trauma of being in a war zone. What's your stance on these sorts of claims for music therapy in a general sense, I mean what sorts of assertions do you not support?

Helen Shoemark: Well I think that there's been a real populist application, just like, you know, people grab an idea and they run with it. And it's quite a superficial application. And indeed Frances Rauscher, who did the original piece of research about the impact of the Mozart, is not part of that popular explosion of usage for Mozart. She is much more concerned with the impact of music lessons on the development of the brain and those sorts of issues, and really said that this was a very small project and she hasn't supported the broad application that has arisen. And it's not really a scientific application at all and it's certainly no part of music therapy.

Kyla Brettle: And I suppose in those sorts of examples there seems to be an underlying assumption that people respond equally to all sorts of different music and...I mean personally I'd go insane if new agey pan pipes were piped to me through my pillow.

Helen Shoemark: Absolutely, we all have very individual tastes and certainly in the situation that I'm in sometimes they look at me and say, do we have to have some Mozart or Beethoven or, you know, what do we have to listen to? And as I say to them, this is not about what about other people deem to be the right music, this is about your music, this is about the music that you find relaxing. And so the notion that you can, as Beth says, apply two Beethovens and call me in the morning, is ludicrous.

Hospital reception: Good evening, Peter MacCallum, Nadia speaking.

Clare O'Callahan: We're in the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and we are coming into the social work department, which manages music therapy.

All In The Mind - 31 January 2009 - Music: Is it really therapeutic?
I'd go insane if new-agey pan pipes were piped to me through my pillow.
What's wrong with pan pipes? I suppose she is prejudiced against the banjo too?

[maikeru]

I'm coming late into the discussion, but I think music and arts are absolutely necessary to realizing the potential of a human being. I wish I'd had more musical training when I was a child. I learned to play piano when I was about 15 or 16, and I noticed that it helped improve my ability to think, learn, and feel. I was able to concentrate more fully and in general many efforts, like reading or typing, seemed much easier after musical training. I still play a bit but not as much as I used to.

Like InfinityNow says, it's absolutely wonderful for a child's brain. When or if I have children, I would love for them to be involved in playing, listening, and celebrating the joys of music. Music opens up and realizes the possibilities of the mind. I'd like them to go one step further than me.

This is nerdy, but for The Lord of the Rings lovers, check out the first couple pages of The Silmarillion and the music of the Ainur. It always struck me as a moving and lyrical description of creation: that beautiful music breathes things into being, into new life. And I think Tolkien had a very deep appreciation for music and the arts that was reflected in his writings.

[Michaelangelica]

Music in Reducing Anxiety and Pain in Adult Patients Undergoing Bone Marrow Biopsy for Hematologic Cancers or Other Diseases
This study is ongoing, but not recruiting participants.
First Received: September 13, 2006 Last Updated: July 20, 2009

Music in Reducing Anxiety and Pain in Adult Patients Undergoing Bone Marrow Biopsy for Hematologic Cancers or Other Diseases - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov

[Michaelangelica]

'Music And Medicine' Launched By SAGE

Main Category: Pain / Anesthetics
Also Included In: Anxiety / Stress; Psychology / Psychiatry; Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 10 Aug 2009 - 0:00 PDT



In response to a recent surge in studies that integrate medicine and music, SAGE, the world's leading independent academic and professional publisher, is pleased to launch Music and Medicine in July, a new interdisciplinary journal that will incorporate the research that combines the two disciplines.

This new official Journal of the International Association for Music and Medicine is peer reviewed and edited by Joanne Loewy, DA, LCAT, MT-BC, Director of the distinguished Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, and David Aldridge, PhD, FRSM, Director of the notable Nordoff-Robbins Zentrum, Witten, for applied music in health care practice and research, Germany. With the goal of bringing together information that is currently scattered across many disciplines and throughout many publications, Music and Medicine will focus on studies that integrate the science of medicine with the art of music, and the art of medicine with the science of music.

The journal covers a number of subjects about how music and medicine interact, including:

• Analgesia and music sedation
  
• Cancer care: active and receptive music approaches
  
• Cardiology and rhythm
  
• Dementia, stroke and music memory
  
• Infant stimulation
  
• Music during surgery
  
• Stress response and music relaxation

"Our intention is to provide a venue for the development of theory based on practice, and we will draw on specific research in music and medicine," said co-editor Loewy.

"We invite participation through dialogue about the impact that music has upon the brain, for human physiology, and in developing unique clinical areas, such as sleep investigations and pain management," said co-editor Aldridge.

Music and Medicine will be published bi-annually in 2009 and quarterly beginning in 2010 with an innovative journal launch strategy - free online access for the first three years for individuals through December 2011.

Source:
Jim Gilden
SAGE Publications
'Music And Medicine' Launched By SAGE

[freeztar]

A friend sent me this moving speech as a word document. With some searching, I found that it was originally a speech given by Pianoist, Karl Paulnack, at an opening ceremony for the freshmen of the Boston Conservatory of Music.

It is a moving speech and I think it gets to the heart of the OP. Make sure to read the whole speech at the link, it is wonderful. Enjoy!

Originally Posted by excerpt

“If we were a medical school, and you were here as a med student practicing appendectomies, you’d take your work very seriously because you would imagine that some night at two AM someone is going to waltz into your emergency room and you’re going to have to save their life. Well, my friends, someday at 8 PM someone is going to walk into your concert hall and bring you a mind that is confused, a heart that is overwhelmed, a soul that is weary. Whether they go out whole again will depend partly on how well you do your craft.

You’re not here to become an entertainer, and you don’t have to sell yourself. The truth is you don’t have anything to sell; being a musician isn’t about dispensing a product, like selling used Chevies. I’m not an entertainer; I’m a lot closer to a paramedic, a firefighter, a rescue worker. You’re here to become a sort of therapist for the human soul, a spiritual version of a chiropractor, physical therapist, someone who works with our insides to see if they get things to line up, to see if we can come into harmony with ourselves and be healthy and happy and well.

Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, I expect you not only to master music; I expect you to save the planet. If there is a future wave of wellness on this planet, of harmony, of peace, of an end to war, of mutual understanding, of equality, of fairness, I don’t expect it will come from a government, a military force or a corporation. I no longer even expect it to come from the religions of the world, which together seem to have brought us as much war as they have peace. If there is a future of peace for humankind, if there is to be an understanding of how these invisible, internal things should fit together, I expect it will come from the artists, because that’s what we do. As in the concentration camp and the evening of 9/11, the artists are the ones who might be able to help us with our internal, invisible lives.”

Welcome Address, by Karl Paulnack

[Moontanman]

I managed to raise too fine young men and I honestly think music had a lot to do with it. They both play the trumpet, are very good at it, even made money playing the trumpet. I think it gave them a sense of self worth and accomplishment it would have been difficult to get any other way.