Collecting, summarising and sharing evidence of the impact of music education
Music sessions with orchestral players appear to reduce agitation and medication of patients, while improving mood and posture. To read more, click anywhere on this excerpt …
A year-long study by the Institute of Education, University of London, found that older people who are part of music groups are more likely to be happier – and even healthier – than their peers who opt for alternative leisure pursuits. To read more click anywhere on this excerpt …
Anita Collins of the University of Canberra explains the fireworks that go off in musicians’ brains when they play, and examines some of the long-term positive effects of this mental workout. To read more click anywhere on this excerpt …
In August 2010, Professor Susan Hallam of the Institute of Education at the University of London, published an overview paper on the impact of music on intellectual, personal and social development. She concludes that playing an instrument can lead to a sense of achievement; an increase in self-esteem; increased confidence; self-discipline; and provide a means of self-expression. While participating in musical groups promotes friendships; social skills; a sense of belonging; team-work; co-operation; commitment; mutual support; increased concentration and provides an outlet for relaxation. To read more click anywhere on this excerpt …
Adolescents involved with music do better in school according to research by The Ohio State University. Taking part in music lessons in or out of school, and parents attending concerts with their children, has a positive effect on reading and mathematic achievement. To read more click anywhere on this excerpt …
A Harris Poll reported that music education provides skills that people may need for success in a job or career outside of music, eg working towards common goals, striving for individual excellence in a group setting, and providing them with a disciplined approach to solving problems. To read more click anywhere on this excerpt …
Research from Quebec in Canada, by Harvard University, found that high-performing students did even better when they were enrolled in ongoing music classes. To read more click anywhere on this excerpt …
A study by Northwestern University, led by Dr Nina Kraus, found that musical ability is biologically linked to literacy. Children – aged between 8 and 13 – who performed well in reading tests were also good at discerning rhythm and tone, and they also did better than average in tests of verbal memory. To read more click anywhere on this excerpt …
A study by Dr Nina Kraus’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University, showed that musicians suffer less from ageing-related memory and hearing losses than non-musicians. It is believed to be the first study to provide biological evidence that lifelong musical experience has a good impact on the ageing process. To read more click anywhere on this excerpt …
A study led by Ingo Roden of Carl von Ossietzky University in Oldenburg, Germany found that young children who took instrumental music lessons did better than their peers on verbal memory tests. For more click anywhere on this excerpt …
The Music Empowers Foundation provides funding to nonprofit organisations which offer engaging and innovative music instruction to children in communities where music education either does not exist
Researchers from Cambridge University have found that regularly playing music in groups may improve children’s ability to empathise with others. They compared empathy skills in children who played weekly music-based games for a year with those who did not. The musical group scored higher in end-of-year tests of how well they recognised other people’s emotions. Click anywhere to read more …
