Research on music and child development
Several studies be the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is based at Brown University, explored the effects of art and music education on young children?s learning. The conclusions of these studies support the theory that music instruction can help build intellectual and emotional skills, facilitate children?s learning and strengthen other academic areas, such as reading and math. Also, these studies indicate that music can help to develop concentration, patience and self confidence that will support children for the rest of their lives.The following are some research findings made during studies conducted from 1996 to 1999:
1996- Children in Rhode Island elementary schools who were given enriched, skill-building music classes showed marked improvement in reading and math skills. Students in the program who had started out at a lower reading and math skill levels than those of the children in the control group caught up to statistical equality in reading and pulled ahead in math.
1997- Researchers found that children given piano lessons improved mush more dramatically in their spatial-temporal IQ scores (important for some types of mathematical reasoning) than children who received computer lessons or no lessons.
1997- A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children?s abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science.
1998- A McGill University study found that pattern recognition and mental representation scores improved significantly for students given music instruction for a three-year period. They also found that self-esteem improved while they were taking music lessons.
1999- Students with experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT than students with no music education: 53 points higher on the verbal and 39 points higher on the math for music performance; 61 points higher on the verbal and 42 points higher on the math for music appreciation.