Ways to Improve Your Child's Grades (9 of 10): Start Music Lessons Early & Keep Them Up Through High School!



Early & Continuous Music

Lessons Improve Grades

Evelyn Smith

M.S. In Library Science, University of North Texas (2012)

Researchers hypothesize that the earlier a child start formal music lessons the better. Indeed, educational psychologists have proven that it is best to begin formal training in playing a musical instrument by age seven and keep it up  through the teenage years. Because musicians have to multi-task while they are playing a musical instrument, this experience builds up connections in different parts of their brain, starting at a very young age. Of course, reading notes is similar to reading a language since different notes represent different sounds. Thus, it comes as no surprise that a child who learn to play an instrument early on often shines in the classroom! However, waiting until a child is in the third or fourth grade may be too late to reap all the benefits of a music education.

Brown, Laura Lewis. (n. d.). The benefits of music education. Education. PBS Parents. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/the-benefits-of-music-education/

"Music learning supports all learning" since playing music forces a young musician “to tap into multiple skill sets, often simultaneously” (Brown, n. d., para. 2-3).

Early music education, however, particularly benefits language development since a child from age two to age nine is beginning to decode sounds and words, and music reinforces these skills (Brown, n. d., para. 5).

Learning music develops the left side of the brain, which processes language. Moreover, the relationship between music and language development further develops social skills since musical education strengthens verbal competency (Brown, n. d., para. 6-7).

For example, in a University of Toronto study published in the 2004 issue of Psychological Science, six-year-old children enrolled in either voice or piano training scored three points higher on intelligence tests than their peers who received drama training or acted as controls. While the IQ's of the children taking drama classes did not increase, they did improve their social behavior (Brown, n. d., para. 8-9).

Boston College and Beth Israel Deaconess/ Harvard Medical School researchers have also found that children who took 15 months of weekly music instruction and practice improved their sound discrimination and motor tasks as shown in the brain imaging of the regions of the brain associated with these skills (Brown, n. d., para. 11). This is because a causal link between musical instruction and spatial intelligence which helps students visualize how parts of a whole fit together—a skill necessary for performing multiple-step math problems (Brown, n. d., para. 12-13).

Furthermore, elementary school students enrolled in superior music education programs scored 22 percent higher in language and 20 percent high on standardized tests than children who did not have this advantage (Brown, n. d., para. 14).

Although schools with superior music and fine art teachers most probably also have excellent teachers in other subject areas, musical training does help with verbal recall (Brown, n. d., para. 15-16).

Playing music makes kids happy.

Practicing music also students be more self-disciplined, but in the end, it keeps them “interested and happy” in school since a music education helps children better understand themselves (Brown, n. d., para. 18-19).

So how does music teach verbal skills?

Butzlaff, Ron. (2000, Autumn-Winter). Can music be used to teach reading? The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 34(3/4), 167-178. doi: 10.2307/3333642.[Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3333642?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Music improves grades and test scores.

Butzlaff argues that music can be used to teach for the following reasons:

1. Both music and reading use written notation where a symbol indicates a specific sound;
2. While reading requires a sensitivity to phonological distinctions, music requires a sensitivity to tonal distinctions;
3. When students learn the lyrics of songs, they read a written text that is often repetitive and predictable;
4. Joining a school orchestra or band requires students to learn to work together. Additionally, it puts pressure on each band or orchestra member to be responsible and work hard.

(Butzlaff, 2000, Autumn-Winter, Abstract, p. 167)

Costa-Giomi, E. (2004, April). Effects of three years of piano instruction on children's academic achievement, school performance and self esteem. Psychology of Music, 32(2), 139-152. doi:10.1177/0305735604041491. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://pom.sagepub.com/content/32/2/139.short

When 63 Montreal four-graders received three years of free-of-charge individual piano lessons and received an acoustic piano, at the end of that period, they had better self-esteem and grades in music than the 54 students that made up a control group, but this didn't affect the grades they received in math and language arts when compared with the controls (Costa-Giomi, 2004, April, Abstract, p. 139).

Fitzgerald, Kate F. (2006, spring). The effect of instrumental music participation and socioeconomic status on Ohio Fourth-, Sixth and Ninth-Grade Proficiency Test Performance. Journal of Research in Music Education, 54(1), 73-84. doi: 10.1177/002242940605400106. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://jrm.sagepub.com/content/54/1/73.short

Instrumental music students out-performed non-instrumental students in every subject and at every grade level, but since the youngest instrumental music students had higher test scores than their peers, who were not taking music, this suggested that public school instrumental music programs simply attract better students at the onset. Interestingly enough, however, lower-socioeconomic instrumental music students were academically performing all other instrumental students by ninth-grade (Fitzgerald, 2006, spring, Abstract, p. 73).

Gaddy, Jamie. (2013, July 14). How music boosts learning and grades. HowToLearn.com. Retrieved from http://www.howtolearn.com/2013/07/how-music-boosts-learning-and-grades/

Teachers often use calming, peaceful instrumental music in the classroom to help students relax and focus (Gaddy, 2013, July 14, para. 2). Moreover students who received early music instruction have a head start in their studies since learning to play a musical instrument improves fine motor skills, prompts memory, and boosts thinking ability (Gaddy, 2013, July 14, para. 3). For example, research studies have shown that young pupils who took piano lessons scored higher in reading and math and had higher IQ's than their non-music-taking controls (Gaddy, 2013, July 14, para. 4).

Moreover, the National Association of Music Educators notes that students with a musical background score 56 points higher on the verbal section of the Sat and 39 points higher on the SAT math section than their non-musical peers (Gaddy, 2013, July 14, para. 5). Instrumental music students often outperform their counterparts in algebras as well as excelling in reading, research, and writing (Gaddy, 2013, July 14, para. 6). Music also improves memory skils whle relieving stress and fatigue and boosting energy (Gaddy, 2013, July 14, para. 7-8).

Gaser, C. and Schlaug, G. (2003, October 8). Brain structures differ between musicians and non-musicians. Journal of Neuroscience, 23(27), pp. 9240-9245. [Full text]. Retrieved from http://www.jneurosci.org/content/23/27/9240.full.pdf+html

Gaser and Schlaug found more gray matter in the motor, auditory and visual-spatial regions of the brain when comparing adult professional keyboard players  with amateur musicians and non-musicians. They hypothesize that this represents adaptions in response to long-term skill acquisition and repetitive rehearsals (Gaser, 2003, October 8, Abstract, p. 9240).

Hicks, George. (2014, July 17). How playing music affects the developing brain. Wbur's Common Health: Reform and Reality. Retrieved from http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2014/07/music-language-brain

While listening to music can help students relax and concentrate, it does not make students more intelligent. However, playing a musical instrument does hone abilities such as speech perception the ability to understand emotion in a voice, and multi-tasking (Hicks, 2014, July 17, para. 5-6). Evidence also exists that playing a musical instrument early in life improves math and reading skills (Hicks, 2014, July 17, para 19). This is because researchers have discovered a connection between learning to play a musical instrument and improved executive functioning, which includes such skills as problem solving, the ability to switch tasks, and focus (Hicks, 2014, July 17, para. 21).

These executive skills are perhaps enhanced since musicians use the auditory motor emotional, and executive centers of the brain when playing a musical instrument with a higher degree of precision than is necessary when processing speech (Hicks, 2014, July 17, para. 32 & 34).

This added practice, in turn, improves other learning processes since there is an over lap because the brain networks that process music also handles language, memory and attention (Hicks, 2014, July 17, para. 33).

Additionally, playing a musical instrument requires the musician to control emotion, understand the importance of repetition and attention—all of which promote brain plasticity (Hicks, 2014, July 17, para. 35).

Actual classroom experience back these findings since early elementary school students who have problems remembering the rhythm in musical sequences also usually have problems in reading and math (Hicks, 2014, July 17, para. 4-45).

Hyde, K. L., Lerch, J., and Norton, A. (2009, March 11). Musical training shapes structural brain development. Journal of Neuroscience, 29(10), pp. 3019-3025. [Full-text]. doi: 10:1523/NEURSCI.5118=08:2009. Retrieved from http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/10/3019.full

Just 15 months of instrumental musical training in early childhood correlates with the enhancement of musically relevant motor and auditory skills. Thus, researchers conjecture that similarly brain malleability in adult musicians as well as experts in other fields is most likely the result of training-induced brain plasticity” (Hyde, 2009,March 11, Abstract, p. 3019).

Make sure your teen keeps up music lessons through high school.

Jacobs, Tom. (2013, August 26). New evidence links music education, higher test scores. Pacific Standard. Retrieved from http://www.psmag.com/books-and-culture/new-evidence-links-music-education-higher-test-scores-64980

A Quebec study finds that for every year high-performing high school students in an International Baccalaureate program stayed in music classes beyond their compulsory two years, their mean grades were higher (Jacobs, 2013, August 26, para. 1-3). Nevertheless, these results do not prove casualty since it is possible that these students might otherwise be the smartest and most highly motivated students in a highly-motivated set of students (Jacobs, 2013, August 26, para. 5).

Munsey, C. (2006, June). Music lessons may boost IQ and grades. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun06/iq.aspx

Building on a study in which six-year-old pupils who took voice or music lessons did better than a control group who did not take music lessons, E. Glenn Schellenberer argues that studying music initiates a dose-response association in which the longer a child takes music lessons, the higher his or her IQ and school grades will eventually be (Munsey, 2006, June, para. 1-2 & 5). To obtain these results, Schellenberger studied children age 6 through ll as well as university freshman (Munsey, 2006, June, para. 6).

Accordingly to Schellenberger for each additional month of music lesson a young child takes, he or she increases his or her IQ By 1/6^th of a point, so six years of continuous music lessons would raise an IQ by 7.5 points when compared with students who do not study music (Munsey, 2006, Jun, para. 9). Moreover, university students who spent six years playing music regularly increased their IQ's by two points over their non-music playing university peers (Munsey, 2006, June, para. 10).

Indeed, Schellenberger argued that taking music lessons during childhood was a “significant predicator” of a higher IQ in young adulthood and higher grades while younger children who took music lessons are more likely to make higher grades as well as higher scores on achievement tests in math, spelling, and reading (Munsey, 2006, June, para. 11).

Schellenberger research indicates that after controlling for a student's family income, parents' level of education, and the student's gender, playing music regularly from kindergarten through high school correlates with a “small but significant” bump in grades and IQ (Munsey, 2006, June, para. 12).

Music and brain development.(2015). Kids Health & Wellness. Le Bonheur Children's Hospital. Retrieved from http://www.lebonheur.org/kids-health-wellness/practical-parenting/blog-entries/2013/11/music-and-brain-development.dot

Just as the brains of older adults who had music lessons as children respond faster than their counterparts who did not learn how to play a musical instrument, formal musical traning also accelerates the brain development in children since more areas of the brain are at work when playing a musical instrument than when speaking (Music & brain development, 2015, para 3-4).

Thus, following these suggestions, parents should make music an important part of their preschool and early-elementary school children's lives:

• Expose children to live and recorded musical performances as well as to different styles and types of music;
• Start formal instruction in learning to play an instrument early;
• Sing with young children and play musical games with them;
• Support local music education programs.

(Music & brain development, 2015, para. 5)

Piro, J. M. and Ortiz, C. (2009, March 16). The effect of piano lessons on the vocabulary and verbal sequencing skills of primary grade students. Psychology of Music, 37(3), pp. 325-347. doi: 10.1177/0305735608097248. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://pom.sagepub.com/content/37/3/325.short

When researchers compared a group of 46 second-grade students who had formally studied piano for three years with a control group of their peers who had no formal musical instruction, they discovered that the students who had taken piano lessons possessed “significantly better” vocabulary and verbal sequencing skills (Piro, 2009, March 16, Abstract, p. 325).

Schlaug, G., Norton, A., and Overy, K., et al. (2005, December). Effects of musical training on the child's brain and cognitive developments. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 1060, pp. 219-230. doi: 1-.1196/annals.1360.015. [Full PDF Text]. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1196/annals.1360.015/abstract;jsessionid=F0327365AF23117256D754DD00F7BF97.f04t04?userIsAuthenticated=false&deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=

Research has revealed differences in the brains of adult instrumental musicians when compared with their non-musical controls since "musicians acquire and continually practice a variety of complex motor, auditory, multiple-modal skills." Similarly, early instrumental training in children improves their long-term visual, spatial, verbal, and mathematical performances (Schlaug, 2005, December, Abstract, p. 219).

Steele, C. J., Bailey, J. A. and Zatorre, R. J., et al. (2013, January 16). Early musical training and white-matter plasticity in the corpus callosum: Evidence for a sensitive period. Journal of Neuroscience, 3(3), pp. 1282-1290. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3578-12.2013. [Full text]. Retrieved from http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/3/1282.full

When Concordia University, McGill University, and Max Planck Institute researchers compared the white-matter organization in the brains of early and late-trained musicians matched for years and experience, they found that those musicians that formally studied music before age seven possessed "greater connectivity" in the region of the brain related to sensory motor synchronization experience. The researchers posit that early musical training results in more white matter connectivity, which will, in turn, serve as a scaffold on which to build future skills (Steele, 2013, January 16, Abstract).

The researchers reached this conclusion after testing 36 musicians, dividing them into two groups, those who began formal training before age seven and those who started later. All of the musicians had at least seven years of formal musical training and were either enrolled in a university music program or were performing professionals. The researchers then compared these two groups to six controls, who did play music (Steele, 2013, January 16, para. 6).

All participants then completed a motor sequencing task, synchronizing a ten-element sequence of short and long visual cues that formed a temporal sequence or rhythm by tapping out the beats (Steele, 2013, January 16, para. 7).

Researchers theorized that playing a musical instrument necessitates hand coordination with inter-hemispheric interaction—a task that requires bi-manual skills. This places more demands on inter-hemispheric interactions between sensory-motor regions at a critical time in life for learning music (Steele, 2013, January 16, para. 26).

Wan, C. Y. and Schlaug, G. (2010, October). Music making as a tool for promoting brain plasticity across the life span. The Neuroscientist, 16(5), pp. 566-577. doi: 10.1177/1073858410377805. [Full text]. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996135/

Musicians learn and repeatedly practice motor actions that cause specific sound and visual patterns while receiving constant and immediate feedback on their performance. This combination of factions strengthens the connections between the auditory and motor regions of the brain while activating the region of the brain that integrates these various skills. Wan and Schlaug therefore argue that the training of this neural network also heightens other cognitive skills and behavioral reactions (Wan, 2010, October, Abstract, p. 566).

White, Jenny. (2013, August 30). Does music help teens get good grades in school? Livestrong. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/1007310-music-teens-good-grades-school/

Some musical beats encourage critical thinking and develop math concepts (2013, August 30, para. 1).

Organized Music

Since taking music lessons for a longer period of time increases their effect, teens should continue to take music lessons as long as possible, for doing so will increase their chances of making better grades (White, 2013, August 30, para. 2).

Background Music

Playing [instrumental] music in the background while studying may help students feel more comfortable; and if they are studying in a group, music creates a “privacy barrier” that helps some student more willing to contribute (White, 2013, August 30, para. 3).

__________

Musical Training Starts in

Nursery School

Kids need to be a part of music.

Starting in nursery-school, children can benefit from exposure to music if they participate in making it—singing songs with hand motions, moving their bodies to the beat, and playing in a rhythm band. However, listening to music at this stage can be important too since it can either energize the children or put them to sleep. Music also helps children diagnosed autism spectrum disorder to concentrate and better relate to others.

Chaloux, Stacy. (2016). Music and brain development in young children. Everyday Life. Global Post. Retrieved from http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/music-brain-development-young-children-4365.html

Incorporating music into early childhood experiences enhances children's ability to learn, sharpens their mental focus, and adds to a “sensory-rich” environment that promotes the development of neural pathways (Chaloux, 2016, para. 1).

Actively Experience

Preschoolers and early elementary school students respond best to music when they actively participate in making it. Accordingly, show them how to move to both slow and fast-moving beats and then use different tempos to help them build their listening skills.  Also, sing songs together that include hand motions and finger plays since combing music and movement helps children coordinate and control body movements while they develop self-control and learn to concentrate (Chaloux, 2016, para. 2).

Academic Concepts

Teach academic concepts like the alphabet, counting, and the multiplication tables through music, handing out tambourines, shakers, and drums to have children tap to a beat. This incidentally builds auditory discrimination, which helps children learn to sound out words. Sing together a variety of song to build vocabulary and language skills, and help them learn to recognize mathematical pattern and reasoning skills by having them tap and clap out a rhythm (Chaloux, 2016, para. 3).

Comfort

Children often use music to comfort and soothe themselves, so incorporate music into their daily routines; for example, singing songs on the way to a new school to ease their anxiety, humming a lullaby at bedtime to lull them to sleep, or popping an appropriate CD into the CD player to spur them to clean up their toys (Chaloux, 2016, para. 4).

Provide Variety

Expose children to different genres and styles of music, like classical, folk,  and jazz, while incorporating singing, dance, and music into many of their daily activities. Checking out music CD's at the public library [as well as playing previewed and age-appropriate YouTube videos] are free-of-charge ways to expose young children to music (Chaloux, 2016, para. 5).

Gruhn W. (2002). Phases and stages in early musical learning: A longitudinal study on the development of young children's musical potential. Music Education Research, 4(1), pp. 51-71. [Abstract only]. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14613800220119778

Gruhn separated twelve urban, upper middle class German one- and two- year-old children into experimental and control groups, and for the next 15 months, the children in the control group had no exposure to music apart from the songs sung in a local daycare program while the children in the experimental group were place in a stimulating musical environment. At the end of this period, the control group's body movements and vocal performance were significantly less developed than their experimental counterparts, who showed more adroit motor co-ordination and voiced more sophisticated tonal and rhythm patterns (Gruhn, 2002, Abstract, p. 51).