Repeatedly, neurological research proved the TREMENDOUS IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC LEARNING TO BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT.  Studies, including one by the University of California at Irvine, showed that LEARNING MUSIC INCREASES THE ABILITY OF YOUNG CHILDREN TO CREATE MENTAL IMAGES BY OVER 80%.  This ability is THE ESSENTIAL of MATHEMATICAL and ANALYTICAL THINKING!

One of the most recent studies, conducted upon request of the US Department of Education, included 28000 students seriously involved in study of different musical instruments.  Students were of different ages, social and cultural background with a minimum of 2 years of continued PRIVATE musical instrument study (various instruments).

AGAIN, the result was: Students seriously involved in private study of any musical instrument scored highest on mathematical AND verbal aptitude tests, outperforming their classmates not involved in study of music!

Music doesn't just soothe the soul , it also raises the IQ!

In recently published study, the University of Toronto professor and his team conducted a study in which some 6-year-old children were given piano or voice lessons, other received drama lessons and others received no lessons. He found the IQ of the music students rose nearly three points higher than those in other groups.( Article published in the Psychological Science, August 2004)

(click on .jpg image for article in full)

This study, as many other did, once again has confirmed the ASTONISHING impact of MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STUDY on a child's development. 

WHAT DOES MUSIC REALLY DO TO OUR CHILDREN?

Not only will music study help YOUR CHILD in the area of MATHEMATICS but also in READING, COMMUNICATIONS AND MEMORY!!!  And, aside from its academic value, there are MORE REASONS to give your child (OR YOURSELF) a music education:

• to develop A LOVE FOR MUSIC
• for an OUTLET for Energies and Emotion
• for SELF-EXPRESSION
• for the SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
• for the building of SELF-CONFIDENCE, SELF-ESTEEM and SELF-DISCIPLINE
• to HAVE FUN LEARNING EXPERIENCE
• to help CREATIVITY and TALENT EMERGE
• to establish and/or increase ability to grasp TIME/SPACE relations
• to teach the values of punctuality, practice and perfection

• ... what is inexpressible in WORDS ... is expressible in... ...SOUNDS

WHAT CHILD DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS THINK ABOUT PIANO TRAINING...

• For the SHY child, piano is SELF-EXPRESSION

• For the AWKWARD child, it is COORDINATION

• For the IMPULSIVE child, it is a way to CHANNEL ENERGY
      INTO A REWARDING ACCOMPLISHMENT

• For the EASILY DISTRACTED child, it is CONCENTRATION

• For the UNCERTAIN child, it is POISE and CONFIDENCE

• For the child who GIVES UP EASILY, it is PERSEVERANCE

• For All CHILDREN, the MAGIC, the BEAUTY of MUSIC...

   ...and the JOY of MUSIC Making are simply GIFTS for LIFE!  

From recent issue of USA TODAY: "Musical training can be a big help in getting to the top of business and politics, according to most congressmen and Chief Executive Officers of Fortune 500 companies.  Ninety three percent of more than 1,000 CEO's and congressmen interviewed during this survey said playing a musical instrument as a child helped them develop "character and leadership skills."

A recent Rockefeller Foundation Study concluded that students seriously trained in music (for minimum of 10 years) have the highest rate of admittance to medical schools, followed by biochemistry and the humanities.

A comprehensive series of skill tests were run on 5,154 fifth graders in 75 of the Boston, MA elementary schools.  In EVERY SINGLE TEST AREA, kids who were learning to play a musical instrument received higher marks than their classmates.  And, the longer the school children had been in the instrumental programs, the higher they scored. 

The American Music Conference reports that music-makers are more likely to go on to college and other higher education than non-music music makers...52% more likely. The AMC also reports that music-makers watch less TV and are more optimistic about their futures than non-music makers.

It is also interesting to note that music making is being found to benefit the seniors as well. A survey of people in their 70’s showed that those who regularly participated in hobbies that were intellectually challenging, like reading or playing a musical instrument, during their younger adult years tended to be protected from Alzheimer’s disease. This research was done by Dr. Robert Friedland, whose study appeared this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Zaven Khachaturian, senior medical adviser to the Alzheimer’s Association, said the study is important because it supports other research showing that the onset of Alzheimer’s is delayed by education and by intellectually demanding activities like music making.

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE related to the benefits of piano/music study...

Those and numerous other studies conducted all over the world, are  unanimously confirming the ASTONISHING impact of MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STUDY on child's development.

It has long been maintained that music training produces significant non-musical educational benefits. In the last ten years, important scientific and educational research has provided convincing evidence of the extrinsic value of music education. Numerous neurological research studies published in the last few years show that children who participate in piano instruction demonstrate a dramatic improvement in spatial-temporal reasoning abilities - abilities crucial to the comprehension of math and science concepts. This is understood to be a result of the visual-linear representation of the spatial relationships between pitches found on the keyboard, and the fact that two significantly different and challenging mental processes are working simultaneously while playing a piano keyboard.

Reading and interpreting abstract musical symbols from a two handed piano arrangement is a challenging 'receptive' process while playing the music on the keyboard is a challenging 'productive' process. A piano player learns to handle both these complex processes concurrently. Still, it may be surprising to discover that concert pianists enjoy, on average, 30% more grey-matter ( the thinking part of the brain ) than people without musical background who are considered intellectuals.

Child development research has also established a clear connection between early involvement in the study of piano and the development of healthy self-esteem and self-confidence.

► A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that piano training is superior to computer or singing instruction in enhancing children’s abstract reasoning skills. Neurological Research, Vol. 19, Feb. 1997, Shaw, Rauscher, et al

Success in society, of course, is predicated on success in school. Any music teacher or parent of a music student can call to mind anecdotes about effectiveness of music study in helping children become better students. Skills learned through the discipline of music, these stories commonly point out, transfer to study skills, communication skills, and cognitive skills useful in every part of the curriculum. Another common variety of story emphasizes the way that the discipline of music study  — helps students learn to work effectively in the school environment without resorting to violent or inappropriate behavior. And there are a number of hard facts that we can report about the ways that music study is correlated with success in school:

According to statistics compiled by the National Data Resource Center, students who can be classified as "disruptive" (based on factors such as frequent skipping of classes, times in trouble, in-school suspensions, disciplinary reasons given, arrests, and drop-outs) total 12.14 percent of the total school population. In contrast, only 8.08 percent of students involved in private music classes meet the same criteria as "disruptive." — Based on data from the NELS:88 (National Education Longitudinal Study), second follow-up, 1992.

Students with coursework/experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT: 52 points higher on the verbal and 36 points higher on the math for music performance, and 60 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math for music appreciation than students with no music study participation. — 1998 College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers, The College Entrance Examination Board, Princeton, New Jersey

A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science. — Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb, "Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning," Neurological Research, Vol. 19, February 1997