Woods- 1

Does Musical Training Increase the Chances of One’s Success?

Thesis: Musical training leads to success by reinforcing one’s confidence in the ability to create,

improving brain function, and improving sensory and motor function.

I. Reinforced confidence in the ability to create.

A. Music is a creative impulse meant to express emotion.

1. Musicians push themselves to look beyond what already exists to discover

something new. This opens up the mind to conceive of numerous

possibilities in the real world, which leads to a strong creative intelligence.

2. It is creative thinking and the ability to listen that are strengthened through

the discipline of intense musical study, which gives musicians greater

capacity for thought processing and more imaginative minds.

B. Being able to study, understand and perform music is a skill set that is bound to

benefit anyone who is willing to engage with it and be persistent.

1. Music expands and strengthens the cognitive functions of the brain and

this, in turn, can translate into providing the tools for success in the real

world.

2. Music has the ability to make human life more beautiful and enriching,

and when these abilities are actualized, humanity feels fulfilled and alive.

II. Improved brain function.

A. More and more studies are linking musical training with improved brain function

and higher academic achievement.

 Woods- 2

1. Practicing a musical instrument regularly engages all four hemispheres of

the brain at an electrical, chemical and architectural level which optimizes

brain power.

2. Musical training improves focus, reduces stress, and could be an antidote

for the pressure that children feel to do well on standardized testing as part

of No Child Left Behind and the Common Core Standards.

B. Musical training improves the brain’s ability to hardwire connections between

various brain regions.

1. Musical training improves brain power across the board and also nurtures

one's ability to be creative and think outside the box.

2. An October 2013 study found that Albert Einstein's brilliance may be

linked to the fact that his brain hemispheres were extremely

well-connected. The ability to use right brain creativity and left brain logic

simultaneously may have been part of what made Einstein an incredible

genius.

III. Improved sensory and motor function.

A. Skills learned during musical training further develop the areas of the brain

responsible for independent motor movements and auditory differentiation.

1. The brains of well-trained musicians have their motor and multisensory

systems cooperate together on a higher level than those of non-musicians.

 Woods- 3

2. The ability to use small, acute muscle movements to write, use a

computer, and perform other physical activities essential for classroom

learning are enhanced through music education.

B. Playing an instrument changes how the brain interprets and integrates a wide

range of sensory information, especially for those who start before age 7.

1. Since musicians have to simultaneously work their instrument, read sheet

music and listen to the tones they produce, the researchers predicted that

they would be better at differentiating sound from touch. Their hypothesis

was correct.

2. "Musicians are able to ignore the auditory stimuli and only report what

they are feeling," Roy said, adding "that this is solid evidence of an

improved ability to process information from more than one sense at the

same time."
 Woods- 4

Katlyne Woods

AP English IV

Mr. Cullen

04/27/18

Does Musical Training Increase the Chances of One’s Success?

Einstein once said, “Life without playing music is inconceivable to me. I live my

daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music...I get most of my joy in life out of music.”

A 2013 study conducted by Florida State University evolutionary anthropologist Dean Falk,

revealed that the left and right hemispheres of Albert Einstein’s brain were unusually well

connected to each other and may have contributed to his brilliance. The study, “The Corpus

Callosum of Albert Einstein’s Brain: Another Clue to His High Intelligence,” was published in

the journal “Brain”. Lead author Weiwei Men of East China Normal University’s Department of

Physics developed a new technique to conduct the study. Men’s technique measures and

color-codes the varying thicknesses of subdivisions of the corpus callosum along its length,

where nerves cross from one side of the brain to the other. These thicknesses indicate the number

of nerves that cross and therefore how “connected” the two sides of the brain are in particular

regions, which facilitate different functions depending on where the fibers cross along the length.

This new technique permitted registration and comparison of Einstein’s measurements with

those of two samples — one of 15 elderly men and one of 52 men Einstein’s age in 1905. The

research team’s findings show that Einstein had more extensive connections between certain

parts of his cerebral hemispheres compared to both younger and older control
 Woods- 5

groups(news.fsu.edu). ​Musical training leads to success by reinforcing one’s confidence in the

ability to create, improving brain function, and improving sensory and motor function.

Condoleezza Rice trained to be a concert pianist. Alan Greenspan, former chairman of

the Federal Reserve, was a professional clarinet and saxophone player. The hedge fund

billionaire Bruce Kovner is a pianist who took classes at Juilliard. Multiple studies link music

study to academic achievement. But what is it about serious music training that seems to

correlate with outsize success in other fields? Almost all made a connection between their music

training and their professional achievements. The phenomenon extends beyond the math-music

association. Strikingly, many high achievers have said that music opened up the pathways to

creative thinking. And their experiences suggest that music training sharpens other qualities:

Collaboration. The ability to listen. A way of thinking that weaves together disparate ideas. The

power to focus on the present and the future simultaneously. Musicians can be found at the top

of almost any industry. Woody Allen performs weekly with a jazz band. The television

broadcaster Paula Zahn (cello) and the NBC chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd

(French horn) attended college on music scholarships; NBC’s Andrea Mitchell trained to become

a professional violinist. Both Microsoft’s Mr. Allen and the venture capitalist Roger McNamee

have rock bands. Larry Page, a co-founder of Google, played saxophone in high school. Steven

Spielberg is a clarinetist and son of a pianist. The former World Bank president James D.

Wolfensohn has played cello at Carnegie Hall. “It is not a coincidence,” says Mr. Greenspan,

who gave up jazz clarinet but still dabbles at the baby grand in his living room. “I can tell you as

a statistician, the probability that that is mere chance is extremely small.” The cautious former

Fed chief adds, “That is all that you can judge about the facts. The crucial question is: why does
 Woods- 6

that connection exist?” Paul Allen offers an answer. He says music “reinforces your confidence

in the ability to create” (Lipman).

People can certainly be successful without a musical background, but success in the real

world and musical study go hand in hand. Music is a creative impulse meant to express emotion.

Musicians push themselves to look beyond what already exists to discover something new, this

opens up the mind to conceive of numerous possibilities in the real world, which leads to a

strong creative intelligence. It is creative thinking and the ability to listen that are strengthened

through the discipline of intense musical study, which gives musicians greater capacity for

thought processing and more imaginative minds. New ways of thinking, communicating and

problem solving are cultivated by musical minds. Music has the ability to make human life more

beautiful and enriching, and when these abilities are actualized, humanity feels fulfilled and alive

(Kettinger).

Musical training improves brain function by laying down neural scaffolding that

improves the brain’s ability to hardwire connections between various brain regions. Practicing a

musical instrument engages all four hemispheres of the brain at an electrical, chemical and

architectural level which optimizes brain power. Neuroscientists are discovering multiple ways

that musical training improves the function and connectivity of different brain regions

(Bergland). A study published in 2007 by Christopher Johnson, professor of music education

and music therapy at the University of Kansas, revealed that students in elementary schools with

superior music education programs scored around 22 percent higher in English and 20 percent

higher in math scores on standardized tests, compared to schools with low-quality music

programs, regardless of socioeconomic disparities among the schools or school districts. Johnson
 Woods- 7

compares the concentration that music training requires to the focus needed to perform well on a

standardized test (Brown).

According to the Children’s Music Workshop, the effect of music education on language

development can be seen in the brain. “Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical

training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with

processing language, and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways. Linking familiar

songs to new information can also help imprint information on young minds,” the group claims.

This relationship between music and language development is also socially advantageous to

young children. “The development of language over time tends to enhance parts of the brain that

help process music,” says Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of child psychiatry at Yale School

of Medicine and a practicing musician. “Language competence is at the root of social

competence. Musical experience strengthens the capacity to be verbally competent” (Brown).

The ability to use small, acute muscle movements to write, use a computer, and perform

other physical activities essential for classroom learning are enhanced through music education.

The parts of the brain associated with sensory and motor function are developed through music

instruction, and musically trained children have better motor function than non-musically trained

children. Thinking skills such as abstract reasoning are integral to students’ ability to apply

knowledge and visualize solutions. Studies have shown that young children who take keyboard

lessons have greater abstract reasoning abilities than their peers, and these abilities improve over

time with sustained training in music. Students who study music surpass non-music students in

assessments of writing, using information resources, reading and responding, and proofreading.

Music education benefits show that gains in achievement of music students increase over time as
 Woods- 8

compared to non-music students. something new. This opens up the mind to conceive of

numerous possibilities in the real world, which leads to a strong creative intelligence. Skills

learned during musical training further develop the areas of the brain responsible for independent

motor movements and auditory differentiation. The brains of well-trained musicians have their

motor and multisensory systems cooperate together on a higher level than those of

non-musicians. The ability to use small, acute muscle movements to write, use a computer, and

perform other physical activities essential for classroom learning are enhanced through music

education. Playing an instrument changes how the brain interprets and integrates a wide range of

sensory information, especially for those who start before age 7. Since musicians have to

simultaneously work their instrument, read sheet music and listen to the tones they produce, the

researchers predicted that they would be better at differentiating sound from touch. Their

hypothesis was correct. "Musicians are able to ignore the auditory stimuli and only report what

they are feeling," Roy said, adding "that this is solid evidence of an improved ability to process

information from more than one sense at the same time" (ArtsBridge.com).

To be a musician means to be proficient in auditory and visual perception, pattern

recognition and memory. These skills make cognitive demands that breach across several

sensory systems in the mind, which can give scientists a great opportunity to study

brain-behavior and change over time. Recent neuroimaging has shown that the brains of highly

trained musicians, as compared to those of non-musicians, have structural differences, most

notably in the form of increased gray matter volume. The skills also learned during musical

training further develop the areas in the brain responsible for independent motor movements and
 Woods- 9

auditory differentiation. The brains of well-trained musicians have their motor and multisensory

systems cooperate together on a higher level than those of non-musicians (Kettinger).

The No Child Left Behind law is uniformly blamed for stripping curriculum

opportunities, including art, music, physical education and more, and imposing a brutal testing

regime that has forced educators to focus their time and energy on preparing for tests in a narrow

range of subjects: namely, English/language arts and math (Walker). Some may argue that

musical training is a waste of money and shifts the focus from the “more important” subjects in

school. This, however, is not true. Research has found that learning music facilitates learning

other subjects and enhances skills that children inevitably use in other areas. “A music-rich

experience for children of singing, listening and moving is really bringing a very serious benefit

to children as they progress into more formal learning,” says Mary Luehrisen, executive director

of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation, a not-for-profit

association that promotes the benefits of making music. Making music involves more than the

voice or fingers playing an instrument; a child learning about music has to tap into multiple skill

sets, often simultaneously. For instance, people use their ears and eyes, as well as large and small

muscles, says Kenneth Guilmartin, cofounder of Music Together, an early childhood music

development program for infants through kindergarteners that involves parents or caregivers in

the classes. “Music learning supports all learning. Not that Mozart makes you smarter, but it is a

very integrating, stimulating pastime or activity,” Guilmartin says (Brown).

Musical study and training cultivates the mind and can help someone be successful in the

world. Being able to study, understand and perform music is a skill set that is bound to benefit

anyone who is willing to engage with it and be persistent. Music expands and strengthens the
 Woods- 10

cognitive functions of the brain and this, in turn, can translate into providing the tools for success

in the real world. Music has the ability to make human life more beautiful and enriching, and

when these abilities are actualized, humanity feels fulfilled and alive (Kettinger).
 Woods- 11

Works Cited

Bergland, Christopher. "10 Ways Musical Training Boosts Brain Power." ​Psychology Today​.

N.p., 23 Mar. 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

Bergland, Christopher. "Musical Training Optimizes Brain Function." ​Psychology Today​. Sussex

Publishers, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Brown, Laura Lewis. "The Benefits of Music Education." ​PBS​. Public Broadcasting Service, 25

May 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

"Well-connected Hemispheres of Einstein's..." ​Florida State University News​.

Florida State University, 24 Oct. 2016. Web. 19 May 2017.

"How Musical Training Trains The Brain For Success." ​ArtsBridge​. N.p., 30 May 2014. Web. 07

Apr. 2017.

Kettinger, Charles. "Is There A Link Between Musical Training and Success?" ​Odyssey​.

Odyssey, 25 Jan. 2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

Lipman, Joanne. "Is Music the Key to Success?" ​The New York Times​. The New York Times, 12

Oct. 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

Walker, Tim. "The Testing Obsession and the Disappearing Curriculum." ​NEA Today​. N.p., 02

Jan. 2017. Web. 19 May 2017.

Woods- 12