Brain Research and Music Education

Although many of us observe and note anecdotal evidence of the benefits of music education, it is exciting and amazing that scientists can now SEE and document how music affects our brains. Here are a few favorite research quotes about music and neuroscience:

 

“Young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year, compared to children who do not receive musical training.” Dr. Laurel Trainor, Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience,

and Behaviour at McMaster University, Canada, 2006

“The ability to recognize music is contained in the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that also plays a key role in learning and in the response and control of emotions.” - Patricia Wolfe in Building the Reading Brain, 2004

“The relationship between musical and linguistic stimulus processing has been examined on a neurophysiological level in various studies and using various techniques, which reveal that both words and musical tones caused similar activity in the left superior temporal sulcus, temporal medial gyrus, angular gyrus, and frontal lateral lobe. It has also been shown that the primary auditory regions and supplementary motor areas respond similarly to linguistic and musical stimuli.” - Binder, Frost, Hammeke, Rai & Cox, 1996

“Arts Integration techniques, which use multiple senses to repeat information, cause more information to be stored in long-term —as opposed to short-term— memory, and may actually change the structure of the neurons. “

- Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools

2010, President's Committee on the Arts andHumanities

 

“Meta-analyses indicate that there is `a strong and reliable association between the study of music and performance on standardized reading and verbal tests´… Research now offers a theoretical basis for, and growing evidence of, the significant effects of learning shared between music and other measures of academic achievement.”

                       – Dr. Larry Scripp, An Overview of Research on Music and Learning


I will be posting more music advocacy and research quotes soon : )

It is rewarding and
motivating to be a
music educator!

 

Rhythm and Fractions

Rhythm Pie

Reflecting on a couple of quotes in  previous posts prompts me to reshare them and write a bit about Rhythm Pie. Quote:

“The best way to learn is through the powerful force of rhythm.“
        - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

“Second and third grade students who were taught fractions through musical rhythms scored one hundred (100) percent higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner.”

   - Rhythm Students Learn Fractions More Easily, Neurological Research

I have had great success both in my music classes and math classes (I've taught both) by integrating pie fractions (math) with rhythm. Basically, I divide a circle ('pie') into fractions of 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16 and put a note/symbol so named on each corresponding piece. This helps students understand where the notes get their names and gives me an opportunity to clarify that a half note does not sound for 1/2 beat, but for half of a four-beat measure. This method also helps students visualize parts and wholes as they relate to math AND music. The extension of composing rhythms solidifies the concepts.

I have received several emails this past month from teachers who attended a workshop where I shared my RHYTHM PIE lesson ideas, and they've reported great success in teaching the concepts and engaging their students in meaningful and enjoyable lessons. Teachers can easily adopt / adapt this idea themselves... or save themselves prep time, trial and error by purchasing my nifty set of ready-to-go lesson plans and high quality printables (7 pages) here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhythm-Pie-Music-and-Math-Integration

P.S. A great online resource and reinforcement for this type of activity can be found here: http://philtulga.com/pie.html   Phil and his son do an amazing job with music and technology. Have you checked his site out?

Music Affects Literacy and Learning

Early in my career, I didn't understand the importance of ADVOCACY for music education. I KNEW music was making a wonderful difference in the lives of many of my students and in my school community, but I lacked the research base and determination to be vocal. I didn't want to appear self-promoting, and I assumed/hoped my administrators and students' parents would appreciate my hard work and speak up for my programs. Some did (thank goodness), but for most, music education was not a top priority. So collecting research articles and quotes became a hobby of mine. I now feel a responsibility to be an enthusiastic advocate. This blog is one way I hope to do so.

In today's post, I want to focus on how
MUSIC affects LITERACY and LEARNING

Music develops visual and auditory skills needed to read, listen and organize abstract thoughts, concepts and memories. Singing also develops speech patterns and skills needed for articulation and projection.                        

                - Dr. Dee Hansen, Music, Literacy and the Brain, U of U Conference Keynote, 2009

“Second and third grade students who were taught fractions through musical rhythms scored one hundred (100) percent higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner.”

        - Rhythm Students Learn Fractions More Easily, Neurological Research, March 15, 1999

 

Music and poetry offer tracks for fluency in speaking, reading, and writing. Music and poems facilitate flow and pacing for both articulate and expressive speech. More than perhaps any other experience, interaction with others through playful speaking, listening, singing, moving, and being immersed in sound encourages and motivates children to receive and express ideas through language – the scaffolding for literacy.                         

                                                           - Dr. Peggy Bennett, 2009,  I Can Sing! I Can Read!

 “Research now offers a theoretical basis for, and growing evidence of, the significant effects of learning shared between music and other measures of academic achievement. The ‘two-way interactionist’ position is that improvement in  learning in either of two disciplines—taught separately or together—suggests that one discipline catalyzes, reinforces, and deepens learning in the other.”                                 

         - Larry Scripp, Director of Research Center for Learning Through Music, New England        

           Conservatory of Music

 

In 2009, Montgomery County, Maryland compared three arts integration-focused schools (AIMS) to three control schools over a three-year period. They found that AIMS schools with the highest percentage of minority and low-income students reduced the reading gap by 14 percentage points and the math gap by 26 percentage points over a three-year period. In the control schools, the number of proficient students actually went down 4.5%.

        - Re-investing in Arts Education: Winning Americ's Future through Creative Schools,

               2010, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities