Do you remember being forced to play the recorder in fourth grade? There’s a reason for that. Research shows that school-aged children benefit tremendously from music classes.
A five-year study from USC finds music lessons increase brain development, language acquisition, and reading skills. The same study finds that children who play violin, for instance, mature much faster than other children.
Science Behind Music
According to study leader Assal Habibi, children who play instruments have increased neuroplasticity (the ability for the brain to change). Others studies indicate that musical training develops the left side of the brain. That’s the side that’s more involved with language processing and wires the brain. Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of child psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine states, “Language competence is at the root of social competence. Musical experience strengthens the capacity to be verbally competent.” Dr. Eric Rasmussen from John Hopkins university reinforces this, saying, “There’s some good neuroscience research that children involved in music have larger growth of neural activity…”
How Does Music Help?
Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory teamed up with the Harmony Project to research how music classes impact school-children in low-income areas. Despite the area’s dropout rate of 50%, 93% of students in the Harmony Project graduated and went on to college. Researchers find that children who take music lessons participate more in school. Research from the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation shows that learning to play an instrument increases math skills and SAT scores. Pruett also finds links between music and spatial recognition, which helps with solving multi-step problems.
When you donate to the Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation, you’re helping a child buy her first flute for music class or pay for a guitar lesson. Those music classes are proven to help students learn better in school and increase their chances of walking at graduation. Learn how you can donate today.