Music Education

Effects of Music

The aims of music education are closely related to the effects of music. As a general rule, these pertain to the physical, cognitive, and psychological areas. With regard to physical health, listening to music can play a significant role in influencing fundamental physiological processes, for instance modifying heart and pulse rate, blood pressure, digestion, and activating certain regions of the brain. It can also enhance motor skills and acquisitions, such as relaxation, balance, joint mobility, and fluidity and economy of motion. As regards the cognitive area, several reports demonstrate that musical activity has positive effects on intelligence and achievement. With regard to psychological growth, listening to music can play an important part in influencing moods, feelings, and visualization; for example, activating reminiscences and fantasies.

Because music can have a wide range of effects, musical response can vary considerably. From time to time music education can promote some of these effects; as a consequence of this, the aims and goals of music education can change too. Historically, musical ability has been considered mainly in relation to aural abilities, but recently this conception has been modified. The fundamental aim of education is now considered to be the ability to transfer previously learned knowledge and skills to new domains. Therefore, research was done to see if the acquisition of the ability to identify different pitches, rhythms, chords, timbres, and the like, can be connected with the acquisition of other abilities outside the musical field. As a result of these studies, music education is now considered to have aims that pertain to the musical area itself (e.g., sound perception and comprehension, musical creativity), and to other, broader educational goals. For example, singing or playing music in ensembles unites the members of the group, and so it enhances social communication. Indeed, collective music making reinforces values; subjects who sing or play together are willing to identify themselves with the group values, and consequently to experience feelings of belonging to one another. These can in turn set up collective identities, in the cultural, national, or political field.

Musical training develops both musical ability and language, and enhances emotional intelligence, because it improves the ability to decode the emotions expressed in speech through prosody. Musical practice increases mathematical ability and extends the ability to perceive visual-spatial elements and understand their connections. The ability to memorize pitches has been shown to be related to a sequential way of processing information; this characteristic seems to be linked with logical thinking. Moreover, data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that students who attended music courses received better grades and more academic honors and awards than students who did not attend these courses.

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