Music for ages has entertained and delighted everyone. Almost everyone listens to music, whatever the genre may be. It is no surprise that music and band is often an offered credit at most high schools, music education is considered a very important part of the curriculum. It also comes to no surprise that the majority of students often have headphones in listening to some kind of music, regardless of socioeconomic background, personality, or intelligence level.
As it turns out, music education classes and music, in general, can be more beneficial for adolescents than just a fun elective to take or a way to fill the silence, it can be extremely beneficial to the development of other academic skills and processes.
For years there was a trend to have your baby start listening to Mozart even before they were born. Listening to classical music was advertised to boost baby brain function and improve their cognitive skills, while this is proven to have some merit there are other cognitive benefits to music that take place the older the child gets. Music education introduction in adolescence can actually alter the course of brain development.
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Studies show that music education in adolescence can lead to better neural sound processing and more developed language skills as well as other areas. In fact, teaching them music may help them in other subject areas including mathematics and science. Music and mathematics have been known to be linked for centuries, musical individuals are known to be mathematically inclined and vice versa. This may be because of the direct relationship between the two subjects, music is based on mathematical principles.
Rhythms are just mathematical sequences strung together, and it is plausible to assume that most music is based on ratios, that is to say, knowing the difference between 3/4 and 4/4 time. Because of this connection, it is assumed that as you increase strength in one subject area, the other will also show improvement. It comes as no surprise that usually the most intelligent kids also happen to be music students. Increased education in music or higher levels of musical appreciation is linked to higher levels of creativity, ingenuity, and productiveness in adolescents.
However, this argument is often criticized. In a study conducted by the Journal of Research in Music Education, they found that there is no direct correlation between SAT math scores and students who take a music elective. Many people just don’t understand how this could be, it seems as if there should be some kind of connection to explain why music students also happen to be more academically successful. This is just one of many studies that have determined that music has no effect on other “core” subject areas, yet why do people still argue that music does have an effect? It is because there are many more studies that seem to agree that music is beneficial to the cognitive development of adolescents.
So, although there doesn’t seem to be a correlation with SAT scores, there is still a definite connection between cognitive skills and music. The physical benefits of a music education are much harder to see. As it turns out, music might actually impact some of our biological structures and processes. Neuroimaging studies have shown that musical processing is deeply embedded within complex pathways in the brain. Music is actually shown to activate neurotransmitters involved in pleasure (dopamine), stress relief, and social bonding.
There have also been studies showing that listening to music can actually act as a painkiller in some instances, this is because the part of the brain that regulates emotions and pain is deeply affected by music, music seems to activate this part of the brain partly because music elicits an emotional response. Music also has actually been linked to our evolution increasing our fitness for survival in terms of selecting mates, better-connected groups, motor skill development, conflict reduction, communication of culture, and self-regulation. This may be related in part to the fact that listening to music affects the way the brain may develop.
So although it is harder to measure these impacts made by music, it is still safe to say that music seems to contribute a fair amount to our physical development. As for the social-emotional impact that music has on students, this is much easier to see than the physical impact. Not only do the connections and relationships you make last a lifetime, but so does the appreciation of music and the stress relief it provides. It is no secret that many people listen turn to music for stress relief.
Even people who have no interest in having a music education still listen to music, probably on a daily basis. Music seems to connect all of us on one level or another, whether we know it or not. In fact, it is said that lullabies in infancy help create bonds between parents and children. Not only that but when people start to become acquainted they often use music to manage their impressions of another person, evaluating similarities in preference and acquiring a subtle perception of the other person’s personality.
Music production connects us as a society as they become “celebrities” and influencers in our culture. Singers, songwriters, and performers all help to shape the future of America through influencing the adolescents of our nation in both good and bad ways. As a future educator, I am not sure if there IS a definite connection between music and academic performance in school, however, I do think that having a music education like band is beneficial for students. Being apart of a band or choir teaches you things wouldn’t learn in another class.
These are things like responsibility, confidence, time management, leadership, drive and helps you to make lifelong connections and friends. I know that many of these can not be measured by any given study, but they all are clearly positive outcomes of a good music education. However, you do not need to study music to reap its benefits. Just listening to music may help students to unwind, relax, and relieve stress. Listening to classical music while you study has also been shown to increase focus and productivity while you work.
And it seems the lack of data or collective studies on the benefits of music on an adolescent seem to underestimated by developmental psychologists is because of lack of scientific communication. Scientists can’t seem to agree one way or the other if music benefits adolescents or not. So, it is my hope that over time they may come to a conclusion that music really does benefit adolescents, in more ways than as a way to drown out other people at the gym or as a fun elective to take, because music is so much more than that.
