Andrea Pecora

Mrs. Cramer
Comp I Pd. 4
4 October 2018
Working in Harmony: A Case for Music Education

Music is the universal language of which all brains, no matter from what origin, can

understand. This being said, music can be useful in our ever-shrinking world. With foreign

places coming closer through globalization, intuition in the realm of communication is becoming

more prevalent than ever. Learning music is one of the modes that humans can use to develop

these skills, and music education is a crucial part of developing life skills. Music should be

treated as part of a complete curriculum.

An increased rate of globalization is creating a smaller world not only for the current

generation, but for generations to come as well. One of the largest problems humans face with

this closeness is clear communication. Conflicting cultures and different languages all clash

when thrown in a small space, and the dissimilarity can be daunting. However, not all hope is

lost. Music education at any age is shown to foster skills of verbal competence and positive

cognitive effects. (Brown) Participating in musical activities physically changes our brains to

think more forwardly. It has been observed that students who include some type of music in their

schooling actually organize and develop regions of their brains differently than other students. In

the cerebral cortex (the brain’s center for higher thought & reasoning) myelinization takes place,

depositing insulating fat around nerves to quicken and more reliable responses to rapidly

changing sounds, which can aid in learning new languages. The brain stem also changes,

becoming myelinated itself to ensure quicker responses to auditory input. Due to this, musicians

quite literally have faster brains than their non-musical counterparts (Hallam, pg 7). In addition

to this auditory prowess, musical students have a cognitive and visual advantage as well.
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Learning to read music allows these individuals to open their minds to new symbol systems,

which translates over to learning new languages and understanding other cultures (Cesarone).

Speaking of cultural impact, music is a universal phenomenon. Learning the music of

different societies gives students a glimpse into the customs and lifestyles of those citizens and

teaches them to appreciate the diversity within humankind. In essence, music opens up a world

of possibilities to the learner. Combined with the communication benefits that musical education

provides, students who have studied music have the power and knowledge to change their world

for the better. (Cesarone) Given the worldwide integration of society, learning a musical skill can

be crucial to success in humanity’s future.

Humanity always seems to be talking about the future. Filmmakers create elaborate

stories set in futuristic societies. Politicians endlessly drone on about the future of their country.

Some people go as far as to prep for the seemingly ‘inevitable’ apocalyptic future to come. But

do we as a society ever look back to see what we could do better, in order to create a better

future? Often, we forget that those who were born after us are the ones who hold our future in

their youthful hands. It is up to us to make sure our future workers, caretakers, builders and

lawmakers have the capabilities to create a world worth living in. Music education has the ability

to foster such values and skills in our youth. Values such as dedication, hard work and self-

discipline arise from the necessity of learning and mastering pieces for performances. Teamwork

allows students to show humility, a quality that is oriented towards the success of the group over

the focus of the individual. (Petress, pg 112-113) Therefore, music education allows students to

learn how to function within a team, and teaches them that working for the betterment of the

group can benefit the world around them in the long run.
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However, even just learning music as a soloist has shown to increase memory recall in

students, which can be immensely beneficial in a classroom setting. This recall creates students

who strive for excellence, and through hard work and dedication (as mentioned above), they

achieve their goals. (Brown) It is through constant persistence that musical students strive for

mastery of their art, and this engaged train of thought is what sets these kids apart from the

others. This hardworking attitude translates to other settings, be it the workplace or school, and

allows for musical students to excel wherever life may take them. (Cesarone) All of the skills

offered by music education are desirable, especially looking towards the future of our world.

The stereotype surrounding kids involved in music is that they are quiet and socially

inept. But contrary to popular belief, students who have participated in some type of musical

education – be it vocal or instrumental – actually grow to be more sociable and group-oriented

than their non-musical counterparts. As mentioned before, musical development is linked to

verbal development. Coincidentally, verbal development is linked tightly with social

development within the human brain. (Brown) In the overview of his essay, Dr. Ken Petress

states that “Music is shown to be beneficial to students in four major categories: success in

society, success in school, success in developing intelligence, and success in life.” The

intelligence Dr. Petress speaks of is book-smarts, however other types of intelligence are

developed as an effect of musical education as well.

Emotional intelligence, the ability to express one’s emotions properly in social situations,

is deeply connected with musical training. The combination of self-discipline and humility allow

these students to handle feelings with integrity, which is absolutely necessary when working with

groups. Co-operation is based around individuals coming together to form a single, cohesive

group with one sole goal in mind. Musical ensembles do this regularly, so it seems only fit that
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these clusters of musically educated people know how to effectively work as a team. (Hallam,

pg 3)

In the end, if the hard sciences were to work in harmony with musical arts education, the

generations to come would mold our future with open, forward-thinking minds. Music education

has been proven to improve communication and learning skills and should be seen as a crucial

part of any complete curriculum. The development of intelligence and ability of students to

express their thoughts and emotions accurately is a critical skill in our shrinking world. "Music

has a great power for bringing people together. With so many forces in this world acting to drive

wedges between people, it's important to preserve those things that help us experience our

common humanity." (Petress, pg 144)

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Works Cited

Brown, Laura Lewis. “The Benefits of Music Education.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 25

May 2012, www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/the-benefits-of-music-education/.

Cesarone, Bernard. "Benefits of Art and Music Education." Childhood Education, vol. 76, no. 1,

1999, p. 52. Academic OneFile,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A57475859/AONE?u=pl1949&sid=AONE&xid=bad

f653b. Accessed 19 Sept. 2018.

Hallam, Susan. “The Power of Music.” Legacy.laphil.com, University of London,

legacy.laphil.com/sites/default/files/media/pdfs/shared/education/yola/susan-hallam-

music-development_research.pdf

Petress, Ken. "The importance of music education." Education, vol. 126, no. 1, 2005, p. 112+.

Academic OneFile,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A136846797/AONE?u=pl1949&sid=AONE&xid=32

e7ffdb. Accessed 19 Sept. 2018.