Music Activates the Entire Human Brain

There is a terrible scenario in education that has played out over and over again for the past several decades that is actually dumbing down our youth and impairing our society. We have witnessed this not only first-hand but have read and seen the headlines countless times. That scenario is all too often that when education budgets need to be cut, music education and performance activities are usually among the first. The perception is always about the same. That assumption that “it’s just music,” implies that music is frivolous. The assumption goes dangerously further—music isn’t going to build our society with contributors as much as a focus on science, math, language studies, or even sports. So sports aren’t axed but music and the arts are.

The fact is scientists have found that learning and performing music and developing those skills is the only activity that activates the whole brain. Further, people who stutter actually don’t when they sing. Additionally, the aging and those suffering from mental decline respond and move to music, and music is used as a tool to slow or inhibit further decline.

Mounting scientific evidence states clearly that those youth who learn music skills have an academic advantage over their peers who do not. They score better in science, math, and language arts, have better problem-solving skills and in the long-term are often more invested in their communities making them valuable contributors in the home, in civic, and in education-based activities. Children who grow up learning music skills usually incorporate and include music throughout their lives and pass it on to their own children and families.

For those of you who would like to begin learning how to read music, click on the highlighted link to read Learn to Read Music in Ten Minutes. I hope you’ll bookmark the link and share it.

Read Psychology Today’s recently published Music Participation Is Linked to Teens’ Academic Achievement and you’ll be amazed at the findings.

And one last article well worth the read is Brain World’s article, Music, Rhythm and the Brain.

As long as we have a voice, I hope to see many more advocates keep music education in our classrooms. A good way to begin is by making sure that music learning and performing activities are in our homes.