The Benefits of Music Education

Music and Language Related Skills

Musicians frequently demonstrate higher vocabulary and verbal sequencing than nonmusicians.¹
Adults who are exposed to music before age twelve exhibit better verbal recollection skills than adults with no musical experience.²
A study of thirty-two eight year old nonmusicians found that music education improved articulation and speech discrimination skills among students exposed to it.³
Music education can facilitate foreign language learning.⁴

Music students are more likely to choose long-term over short-term rewards and demonstrate an increased ability to plan for the future.⁵
Music education promotes concentration and increased attention spans.⁶
Musicians exhibit increased inhibitory control compared to nonmusicians.⁷
Exposure to music increases cognitive flexibility and improves students’ abilities to multitask. ⁸
Musicians have greater working, auditory, and verbal memory capacities than nonmusicians, allowing them to more easily remember and recall information.⁹

Music lessons have a positive correlation with improvements in IQ.¹⁰
There is a direct correlation between higher scores in math, science, and history classes and high school music participation.¹¹
Students who are exposed to music in high school score 100 points higher on the SAT than nonmusicians.¹²
A study of 13,000 high school sophomores found that music students had better grades in English than nonmusicians.¹³

1. A three year longitudinal study of sixty-three students who took piano lessons demonstrated that the music students demonstrated higher levels of self-esteem compared to the control group.¹⁴
2. A study of twenty-five young violinists and pianists found that musicians were more empathetic than their nonmusical peers.¹⁵
3. Music education encourages perseverance by demonstrating the rewards of hard work and focus. ¹⁶
4. Music promotes Growth Mindsets and self confidence within students. ¹⁷

Music education reduces aggressive and violent behavior by providing a positive emotional outlet for students.¹⁸
Music education facilitates anxiety management by helping students regulate their emotions and impulses.¹⁹
Playing and listening to music is directly correlated with feelings of happiness.²⁰
Playing wind instruments involves deep breathing and relaxation, ultimately improving students’ mood and mental health.²¹
Music encourages students to be open and honest about their emotions, allowing them to externalize their emotions and express themselves freely.²²
Exposure to music decreases students’ stress levels.²³

Children who are exposed to music demonstrate greater spatial-temporal reasoning than nonmusicians. ²⁴
Playing music at an early age lowers the risk of dementia in old age. ²⁵
Music education refines perceptual motor skills, enhancing coordination and sensory integration. ²⁶
Music education fosters creativity and innovation among students. ²⁷

Music fosters cultural understanding and appreciation by exploring the works of diverse genres and the history of music. ²⁸
Music promotes cultural diversity and multiculturalism by encouraging students from diverse backgrounds to achieve a common goal: music excellence. ²⁹

Schools that have music programs have a 93.9% attendance rate compared to an 84.9% attendance rate for schools without. ³⁰
Schools with music programs have a 90.2% graduation rate compared to a 72.9% graduation rate in schools without. ³¹
Music programs increase students’ general satisfaction with the school and increase school pride and spirit. ³²

Individuals who participate in band or orchestra report the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs. ³³
Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school. 66% of music majors who applied to med school got in while, 44% percent of biochemistry majors were accepted to med school.³⁴
Researchers found that musical training helps academic under-achievers. When exposed to music instruction, lower performing students caught up to other students in reading and surpassed their classmates in math by 22% when given music instruction over seven months. ³⁵
94% of Americans in a 2009 Gallup Poll believe that music is a key component in a child’s well rounded education; three quarters of those surveyed feel that schools should mandate music education. ³⁶
Schools that produced the highest academic achievement in the United States today are spending 20% to 30% of the day on the arts, with special emphasis on music. ³⁷