The Benefits of Music on Society and the Individual

By: Benjamin LaValley

January 4, 2016
Period 5

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The Benefits of Music on Society and the Individual
Music is found in every culture discovered around the world. Every culture has had some
drum or ancient wind instrument that produces sound. In fact the oldest dated flutes have been
traced back to the time of Neanderthals, and can sustain several notes (Elena). Music was, and is,
a way of bringing people together, and is instrumental in the development of human culture.
Educating students in music is invaluable in todays society. The benefits of music are vast and
numerous, ranging from entertainment to increased brain functions. By playing a musical
instrument and being involved with music training, new skills and advantages are gained and
used to advance the brain, body, and culture.
Musical training in young children vastly increases social, and memory skills. When
engaged in a music training environment, childrens brains begin to hear and process sounds
that they couldnt otherwise hear (Locker). Clearly, children who start musical training at young
ages are hearing sounds that should not be developed until later years in life, helping when a
child begins to process language. According to Mary Luehrsen, Director of Public Affairs and
Government Relations for the National Association of Music Merchants, an organization that
advocates active participation in music by supporting scientific research and philanthropy,
Growing up in a musically rich environment is often advantageous for childrens language
development (Luehrsen quoted in Locker). She then continues to say that in order to gain the
fullest access to the skills they must be reinforced, practiced, celebrated, which can be done
through musical education (Luehrsen quoted in Locker). Musical training has been shown to
physically wire the left side of the brain in specific ways that assist in the furthering of language
comprehension. This strengthening occurs in the Wernicke area, a section of the brain that assists
in speech comprehension. Alison Balbag, a professional harpist, says playing a musical

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instrument, requires a wide array of brain regions and cognitive functions to work together
simultaneously (Quoted in Lewis), thus creating a stronger hemisphere connection. The
connections formed in the brain while learning and playing an instrument can assist in learning
and retaining new information. According to the Childrens Musical Workshop linking familiar
songs to new information helps to imprint new information on young minds (Children and
Music).
Rewiring the brain through music to better suit language comprehension is helpful in the
development of a child both, mentally and socially. An increase in language skills promotes
childrens interaction in social situations. With stronger language skills, children make friends
and build relationship skills. Some preschool settings encourage children to make music together.
By sharing and creating music together, they explore the community of social living and social
interaction. Through music children take an inner experience and create a shared experience.
Group music-making releases energy which can be channeled in creative, and productive
directions (Music and Children). Creativity and teamwork abilities learned in the music making
groups helps the brain in making new connections and developing means of interaction amongst
children. Dr. Kyle Pruett, professor of child psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, says in
Lewiss article on Public Broadcasting System, language competence is at the root of social
competence. Musical experience strengthens the capacity to be verbally competent (Pruett
quoted in Lewis), which is at the root of civilized society. Therefore societal competence is a
concept that should be taught to children from a young age and musical education is one of the
simplest and most effective ways of doing so.
Learning of language and social cues also assists in school learning environments where
children are subject to variant types of tests. For example, test scores and Intelligence Quotients

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scores also increase among children who are musically trained. A study conducted by E. Glenn
Schellenberg, Professor at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, found a small increase in the
IQ of six year olds when they participated in weekly vocal and piano lessons. The study was
conducted by testing three groups of children before the start of first grade and then at the start of
second grade. One group of six year olds was provided with vocal and piano lessons for nine
months. A second group was provided with theatre classes for nine months. Finally a third group
was not provided with either the music lesson or the theatre lessons. At the second test of IQ, the
children in the music program increased by as many as three points (Lewis). The theatre group
did not experience the increase in IQ, but did have the same increase in social ability as the
music group. The group with no musical training did worse than both the group with musical
lessons and the group with theatre lessons.
Children, in general, who participate in musical education classes gain lifelong skills. The
increased memory and social skills are proven into be true in studies that show that adults who
played a musical instrument when they were a child showed better memory skills compared to
that of non-musicians (Mannes). The increase in memory was still in effect even when the
person had not played in over ten years. An experiment conducted by Gottfried Schlaug, a
Harvard Neurologist, found that there was a larger volume of grey matter in a musicians brain,
than in a non-musicians brain. This study shows that a musicians brain physically has more
space to store information. The test also concluded that, after only 15 months of music training,
subjects showed that structural brain changes associated with motor and auditory
improvements already started to appear (Cole). The connections made during childhood, as well
as brain growth hold through adulthood.

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Marching Band programs also offer some of the best learning environments in the realm
of music education. Before starting a show the students must: have their music memorized, their
locations on the field memorized, their feet moving at the correct time, the constant adjustment
in case of a mistake, playing complex rhythms while knowing where to stand, and all while
watching the drum major. For children to perform on the field, they must rely on each other to
know their field points and music, which all together takes an impressive amount of memory,
coordination, and multitasking. The neuronal connections grown in marching band will benefit
the students throughout life, for multi-tasking through college, and notes that students are better
prepared to handle reality and are better suited to function autonomously (Ray). Trust is also one
of the many advantages acquired during the marching band experience. The trust built during the
many practices also serves as a way for more social learning and bonding, and better preparation
for real world problems. A single marching band practice gives the brain a much harder work out
than any football, baseball, or soccer practice.
Unfortunately school systems are making large budget cuts and many of the programs to
go first are fine art. Eradication of fine arts in schools systems causes more problems than
solutions. Cutting music leaves no room for creative ability development and forces students to
focus on tests instead of enjoying a stimulating learning environment. The eradication of art
programs and massive funding cuts will not help more children get into college or help them find
a job. Music and the fine arts as a whole offer a creative outlet for children to express themselves
and show the side of them that colleges really need to see. According to US Magazine writer
Stacey Boyd, over 80% of schools in the country have cut music or art programs in their
schools since 2008 (Anthony). Schools nationwide are cutting back music education programs
because schools are still focused on academic ability, not the capacity for creative thought

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(Anthony). The school systems are still functioning on the outdated belief that standardized tests
and athletic extracurriculars will be sufficient in creating an effective learning environment.
Some students cannot play sports or are terrible at taking standardized tests, but they play piano,
oboe, or tuba exquisitely.
According to a study conducted by Dr. Hanna-Pladdy, a researcher at the University of
Baltimore who specializes in cognitive psychology and biological psychology, the optimum age
for retaining skills gained during music training is nine years old. She goes on to point out the
important role of musical education, especially at a time when music curricula is falling prey to
school system budget cuts (Cole). Similar studies have been, and are currently being, conducted
that concur with her findings and only prove that schools should not be cutting music education
budgets. Students might be the next Mozart, Bach, or Whitacre on the planet, but because of the
stifled music programs they would not have the chance to explore the music industry. Many
schools still defend their decision to cut music and art programs, but defend sports at all costs.
They claim that there is little difference in the lessons learned, and effort required for a team to
score a touchdown and what goes into working together to make a particular sound (Gerdy).
This notion is preposterous for sports may provide bonding and social interaction that a music
program bids, but there is no data to support that by playing a sport will increase memory, help
with language skills, bridge communication barriers, or raise IQ scores. With science backing up
the facts music programs should not be cut, rather financed.
Sports are still a vital part of the education system. They offer a community for many
athletes and their families. For a student who is not built for music or the arts, but excels at being
a football star or an astounding pitcher, then athletics are the right place for them. Sports should
not be cut totally from the education systems just as the arts should not be cut, but there needs to

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be a redistribution of wealth and ideals in the education system. The reinvigoration of fine art
programs, specifically music in the United States public school systems, would further students
self-expression and education, while providing necessary real world abilities. In order to keep
both programs alive, each must be given equal access to equal funds so that they can both thrive
and support children in either endeavor they so choose to peruse.
Children have complete control to choose the path they want to follow, but music still
reigns supreme as best provider of everlasting effects on growing minds. Research validates
children who are exposed to music, perform better in school and in society. Students with music
education do not all go into a music field, but the increased memory, IQ, and social skills will
help in any career path. Such skills are essential to maintaining the societal structure of the
modern era. Society cannot let music education be eradicated in the school systems and budget
cuts of music programs should immediately be halted. If schools cut music programs, the
rewards of music education will be lost and students will be unable to perform to their fullest
potential. The schools will be setting up the children for failure in an already competitive world.