Education is the foundation of our lives. As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” It is what can define a child's future and change the course of lives. In order to have a successful education, though, the proper support and amenities must be provided; such as access to the boundless benefits of music. In this argumentative essay, I will explain how music education can benefit a child educationally, cognitively and socially. Music education has the ability to implement valuable skills such as perseverance and teamwork, when learning to play an instrument. This is an example of the social benefit of the influence of music. On the more physical beneficial aspect of instrument-playing, this musical ability improves hand-eye coordination which helps one during numerous activities, such as tying one's shoes to playing competitive sports. Relationally, music bonds individuals and promotes people of numerous backgrounds and personalities to come together in a natural and light hearted way. The benefits of music education go beyond just what’s on the surface and digs deep into human connection and success.

Over the past decade, research studies lead by numerous distinguished and notable companies and universities, such as the National Association for Music Education and John Hopkins School of Education, have been investigating the correlation between music and education.  Studies show children are more willing to participate and engage in a subject they are learning if they can connect what they’re learning to something they are familiar with. For instance, when trying to remember the 50 states or an equation to a math problem, some people will make a song of out what they’re learning to better remember it when tested on it. Listening to music activates both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Rhythm and pitch are processed in the left where melody and timbre are processed in the right. Think about a symphony or an orchestra, every instrument playing is a different part of your brain and each note or chord is distinguished, but they all work together to make one euphonious sound. We all have one brain, but all the parts are interconnected and work in an individual way to complete a task. 

In 1993 Gordon Shaw, from the University of California-Irvine and Frances Rauscher, from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh found a connection between listening to 10 minutes of a Mozart piano sonata and how an individual preformed while preforming simple spatial-reasoning tasks, i.e.- finding patterns in objects or numbers. After sharing their results with a group of college students, a follow-up study was conducted in which 78 preschoolers were given tests designed to measure spatial abilities. About 20 of the preschoolers were given a 15-minute private piano lesson once a week for six months. At the end of the six months, the test was given again and sure enough children who were given the piano lesson did significantly better on questions asking to point of patterns than those who did not receive the lesson. This became known as the “Mozart Effect”; could listening to this type of music for ten minutes at a time enhance spatial reasoning skills and lead to significantly higher scores in math and reading or other areas of education? Another study, published by Martin Gardiner, who worked at Brown University’s Center for the Study of Human Development, concentrated on a group of first graders who received music instruction and participated in musical games that involved rhythm and pitch.  Results showed that after six months, students again did significantly better in reading and math skills than those who received just traditional music instruction. 

Learning how to play percussion instruments can also help students improve their math skills. By understanding how to write and read music and comprehend the way rhythms and beats work together, children learn how to divide, create fractions and recognize patterns more easily.  Lawrence Parsons, from the University of Texas-San Antonio, used magnetic imaging technology to show how much of the brain is in use when making music. In his results, Parson’s concluded that “Music is represented in mechanisms widely distributed throughout the brain rather than localized in a single region…such as visual or movement information.”. Basically, what he says is that, an individual doesn’t only use one part of his or her brain when processing music, he/she uses their auditory cortex, cerebrum, cerebellum, limbic system and so on. 

Incorporating music into a learning environment brings the material to life. It provides a stimulating sound break to increase attention levels as well as improve retention and memory. Listening to it can extend focused learning time and expand thinking and critical skills as well. It establishes a positive learning state where kids are more willing to participate and engage in activities. As previously said, by connecting the learning material to something a child is familiar with, it increases their chances of retaining it which in turn allows them to expand their knowledge of a subject.    

Music’s Influence on Cognitive Development is both essential and enriching. For many years’ researchers, have gone back and forth on the idea that music can stimulate brain development. Research has shown that when both sides of our brain work in collaboration when an individual is learning it allows one to take in what is happening more efficiently. N.L. Davies explains in The beat goes on, on Childhood Education that “Optimal learning occurs when the two hemispheres of the brain work together. Brain function is increased when listening to music and studies have shown that music promotes more complex thinking.” (pg. 148). Children can experience a wholeness of a language through learning and processing music.

According to Bennet Reimer, a famous music educator and specialist in the philosophy of music education, argued in his book “why Music matters” that music is a “basic mode of cognition” (p. 11) and a “complex function of the mind” (p.83). In his book, Reimer claims that self-knowledge is educable and can be developed only through music. Another music education researcher, James Daugherty explains in the Australian Journal of Music Education, 1996 that music should be taught alongside other subjects in schools because “the primary values of music itself, i.e., self-growth, self-knowledge…coincide with and overlap values beneficial to individuals and societies. Teaching music is a means of enculturation.”. Children who take and participate in music classes show better development and improved memory over years as to children to don’t.

 Music has always been known to have an influential and emotional impact. When music is involved in our lives, there isn’t only one part of our brain affected. To be exact music stimulates the sensory cortex, auditory cortex, hippocampus, visual cortex, cerebellum, the amygdala, the prefrontal cortex and the motor cortex. This in turn creates a healthy and active young mind and builds a foundation starting from a young age. 

Playing an instrument can strengthen hand-eye coordination which helps an individual in an any number of activities such as tying shoe laces, writing or even playing sports. Per a study published in the Psychology of Music “Children exposed to a multi-year program of music tuition involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills”. 

Finally, the social aspect of music education. Music education has proved to be just as impactful and valuable in the social aspect of a child’s life as it is educationally and cognitively. Music not only allows an individual to bond with others, but also teaches him or her valuable skills breaching off from bonding such as cooperation, compromise, and creativity. For example, when playing in a band or singing in a choir at school everyone has a different voice or a different instrument to play but all the voices and sounds must be in sync to make it work. 

In a band, you can have many different instruments playing at one time such as the guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, etc.; if those instruments are not all in sync, the song doesn’t flow. The same can be said about singing in a choir. You can be alto, a soprano or a mezzo-soprano, but all the voices must work together to reach/accomplish harmony. Making music is when creativity comes into play. Creating a rhythm or a tempo that hasn’t yet been created exercises an individual’s use of critical thinking and individualism. Practicing instruments, children can pick up on another valuable skill: self-discipline. Learning how to utilize all these skills at such a vulnerable age increases the likelihood of retention and allows for further application later in life such as a workplace or educational environment. 

Additionally, research has shown that dancing to music allows children to practice self-expression and can increase one’s mood and help him or her to become more confident in themselves. Most people have that one song they play to excite them or calm them down. A playlist you made for working out might be significantly different from a playlist made to help relax you. By going to a concert or a music festival, you instantly create a bond with everyone there because you’re all listening to and enjoying the same type of music. You thrive off the different sounds and tempo’s and it inspires you and allows you to connect with other individuals on a personal level. By connecting with others, we are introduced to a multitude of emotions such as trust and empathy, understanding of one another, etc. No matter what age, music bonds us all together in a way. Through music we express ourselves and can internalize what we feel and communicate it in a way that words can’t. Hans Christian Andersen said “where words fail, music speaks” and that statement could not be more true. Music is a universal language understood by every culture and allows individuals to push past differences and disagreements and connect with each other. 

Much like a language, music allows us to speak and communicate how we feel without ever saying anything. Individuals who suffer from Nonverbal and Anxiety disorders can interact with others and convey what they are feeling using different sounds, rhythms, and beats.

In the words of Brad Henry, “A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination and instill a love of learning.” Research has proven that music is an important part of a young child’s growth and development. Studies have shown that learning music at a young age enhances and stimulates the brain which in turn beneficially impacts other areas of a child’s education. Over the years, the budget of schools has decreased significantly and musical programs are usually the first to go because education officials believe music doesn’t have a lasting impact on a child’s education. The point of this argumentative essay was to investigate and elaborate on research that has been conducted regarding the educational, cognitive and social benefits of incorporating music into education. The studies in this research paper prove that music can significantly impact reading and math skills. Playing an instrument can instill self-discipline, perseverance and creativity; all skills that can be used throughout an individual’s life in almost every task one strives to accomplish. The social aspect of music also bonds us all together in some way or another. It allows each person to express oneself individually through the emotion and passion connected to music. It can also generate similarities between cultures and individuals that otherwise night not feel connected. Integrating music into education should not be a burden, it should be another way of teaching students. Just like how some kids are visual or auditory learners, some students might learn better through the use of music. Something as simple as putting a math formula in a rhyme or a rhythm to help a student remember the equation better is promoting music education. Instead of perceiving musical programs as financial wastes, they should be viewed as what they truly are: a proven way of ameliorating the productivity, happiness, and skills of humans enduring all aspects of life.
