Posts Tagged music and art
Music Develops Human Potential and the Brain
Music has a far reaching and significant influence on human potential then what many people realize.
Today, scientists and neuromusicologist in many countries are conducting research on how music affects human development, our behavior, thinking, learning abilities and well being.
Dr Gordon Shaw and Dr Frances Rauscher, scientists at the University of California at Irvie and many others within the brain research community have shown that music has an extensive education and brain development value. Listening to classical music can increase memory and concentration, and studying a music instrument has shown to increase spatial reasoning.
When music form part of your home environment, it creates a positive and conducive atmosphere for learning and aids in the acquisition of early language. It was found that when music is taught comprehensively and sequentially in schools, it increases the children performance in math, science, reading, history and SAT score. In some cases, it also help children with learning disability to become more confidence and make their learning process much easier.
A person who study music and learn to play musical instrument tend to be more creative in their thinking, stronger in imagination, communication and team work skills. Incidentally, these are important attributes for a successful life, especially in the highly competitive twenty-first century.
Many government in the world such as Singapore and the US have recognized the importance of music education for the benefits of their citizens. They have invested a lot of financial and human resources at national level to promote music education in their countries. In these countries, collaborative efforts between schools, arts organizations and corporations are organized to make music and arts education a reality across the nation.
Recent studies show that music learning involve our bran at every level. One of the research done by Anne Blood at McGill University in Montreal found that music and the arts utilize both the cortex and limbic systems which are essential to helping us in learning that lasts. Music brings out our emotion such as joy, happiness, love, sorrow and tenderness. When we make music part of our learning process, our education becomes richer, more meaningful, long lasing and has greater impact in our lives.
Personally I discover that if you want to learn something and commit it to memory, the key is to set the information to music – majority of us learnt the alphabet by singing the ABC Song: ‘ABCDEFG-HIJKLMNOP-QRS-TUV-WXY-and-Z…’, isn’t it?
Tags: children, classical music, education, importance of music education, learning, learning disability, make music, music, music and art, music education, music instrument, music learn, music learning, musical instrument, play music, reading, school, schools, university, university ofRelated posts
Why Art and Music Education is Important
For the past ten years, public schools have had trouble funding school programs such as art class and music class. Not having at least some kind of music or art education gives kids a severe disadvantage when they enter college and the work place. In art and music classes, children learn to be creative and use other parts of their brain besides the logical part of the brain used in most school subjects. Also, studies have shown that music and art help kids in other subjects like science and math. Studies have shown, too, that art and music class can help kids gain confidence needed to succeed in school and in the professional world. Finally, in art class, students learn how to use tools like drafting chairs and drafting tables that many professionals use, such as architects and graphic designers. Therefore, it is essential that public schools make sure they get the funding they need to keep these programs alive.
Music and art classes teach kids about creativity. When children are being creative they are using a different part of their brain that they don’t use in regular classes, like math and science. It is important to develop this creative part of the brain, so kids have a better chance at being successful in their chosen career path. For example, a child who wants to go into advertising as a career choice will need to have creativity to come up with new and innovative ads for a company. If kids only have an education in science, math, English, and social studies, then they will not be prepared for life after school.
There have been many studies that have proven that art and music education help kids do better in their regular classes. It is a fact that a good music education leads to better math grades. Art education helps teach children to be creative, which then helps them learn to come up with creative solutions to problems given to them in other classes. For example, in science class being creative would help the student come up with innovative and new hypothesis in class, which may result in better grades. Art and music class are important in helping teach children tools that can be applied to other classes.
Tools that are used in the art classroom and instruments used in music class teach kids how to be responsible for expensive equipment that they will most likely be working with for future employers. For example, having a child be put in charge of a musical instrument helps teach the child responsibility and it helps teach them to be respectful of equipment that is not theirs. This is important because employers will expect there future employees to be able to be responsible and take care of any materials that will be on loan to the employee, like a computer, for example.
Public school boards need to make sure that music and art programs in their schools are well funded. Art and music education helps teach children the creativity that is needed for numerous jobs. Art and music classes also help teach children tools that can be used in other classes that will help improve their grades. Finally, using instruments and art supplies in these classes help teach kids responsibility and respect for items that are not theirs. Children who do not have any kind of music or art education will surely be at a disadvantage when entering college or the work force.
Tags: children, college, education, music, music and art, music classes, music education, musical instrument, school, schools, teachRelated posts
Art And Music Education In The Public Schools – What Importance Should Be Given To These Subjects?
During the 1960’s and 1970’s the majority of public schools in the United States had regular music and art programs as part of their curriculum. Art teachers and music teachers were employed by the schools and children as young as Kindergarten received instruction in both music and art.
Every week, children would have singing lessons, be introduced to instruments, and learned about the great composers. Art instruction included using mediums such as watercolor, charcoal, and tempura paints, as well as art history lessons and exposure to artists from across the centuries. Children were provided with all the materials they would need, and musical instruments were rented to families who did not have their own, for a nominal fee.
At some point in time around the early 1980’s, music and art instruction in the public schools came to an end. Budget cuts were blamed and schools were left scrambling to find the money to continue their art and music programs in the schools. Art and music teachers were not rehired and classroom teachers attempted to take over. Much of what they taught was based on what they had learned from the professional art and music teachers in years past. Schools in more affluent area were able to carry on with their programs, in large part because of the donations of time and supplies made by their parents who could financially sustain them.
During the 1990’s they was a resurgence of music and art programs due to the efforts of the large artistic and musical communities who saw the need for this type of instruction in the public schools. Movies like Mr. Holland’s Opus opened our eyes to the need for these programs by our young people.
Do music and art programs in the schools really help our children learn academic subjects more easily? Music is associated with mathematics, patterns, and memory function. Art stimulates a part of the brain that has been linked to writing proficiency. Music and art programs do add to our children’s academic progress and should be a regular part of their school curriculum.
Tags: children, education, music, music and art, music education, music teacher, music teachers, musical instrument, musical instruments, school, schools, singing lesson, singing lessons, teach, teacher, teachersRelated posts