Music in Arts Education - Research Paper Example

?Is it Music to My Ears? As seen in many schools, music and art are considered “special” s. Both these s, along with a couple others such as drama and PE are given little attention, and even less value. But what most educators don’t understand is that music, and the other “specials” contribute greatly to the development of students everywhere. Music has a multitude of benefits for students. It provides a medium through which students may learn to express themselves.  This leads students to develop a more effective link between their perceptions of the world and their ability to communicate these perceptions to others (Wright 2001). Everywhere you look, someone is listening to music. In today’s day and age, children starting at the young ripe age of six, all the way to nineteen have ear buds permanently glued to their ears. Parents can hardly get a word in because they know their son or daughter is lost in their own world of music. Music varies, and it varies because children have different tastes. Each child has its own perception of what music should look, feel, sound, taste, and even smell like. For many, music brings back memories. Some of them are good, but much too often, bad. Without music, children feel that their world is being invaded. So they may use music as a safety net; a way to connect with their inner souls, and with people around them. Music is a window into the next dimension. Each child adapts to their own style, genre, and even musical essence. A lot of music is used to depict feeling, sensory connection, and telling of a story. Without music today, young children, preteens, and adolescents feel disconnected from the world. We educators and adults may not understand why students are hooked on music, but if we take time to reflect, we too will remember the importance of our own quiet times we spent being enthralled with the newest album, CD, or cassette tape featuring our favorite group; boy, girl or singles band. All we must do is reminisce and we too will be transported back to what we now may see is “foreign” and not as important. When music is taught in the classroom, it can at times be considered boring, redundant and trite. Students lose heart because teachers are lacking the connection. Many times students are told what instrument they will play, when they will play it or how. But, when does the creativity begin to flow? When can students create their own rules when learning about music? Music is often taught via a textbook. Students learn about the baroque time, the neo-classical time, and the more prominent times that seem to be less pertinent to students today. Teachers stay away from time periods they are unfamiliar with mainly because they were not taught it in “teacher” college. But they are missing the connection with students. They fail to bridge the gap between music from the past and music today. If we want our students to appreciate music for what it is worth, it is important for us to start becoming more relevant for the students. Instead of focusing so much on standards and benchmarks required, maybe think about branching out and having a little bit of fun. National testing and school performance tables have been focusing so much on the core subjects that they have left out other subjects that seem less important such a music and the arts. Just because students are not tested on these things, does not mean they are less important. Unless of course a school is only focused on scores. When students study music, they learn about many different cultures. An appreciation for diversity comes to the forefront and students learn to get along in a more harmonious manner. Students don’t only learn to get along but they learn self-discipline which is a very hard thing to do today because of the amount of overly stimulating activities students are involved in on a daily basis. Take T.V. for example. When kids watch TV, they do just that; watch. They do not interact with the television; they become complacent and are fed information. They are not challenged and lose all ability to form coherent conversations when engaging in that form of entertainment. Children learn to become more aware of themselves when learning and listening to music. Their confidence and self efficacy reaches and all time high during this discovery. They learn time management and their interest in school becomes more noticeable. But unfortunately, regardless of all the benefits the arts have on children, both parents and educators still consider the core subjects such as reading, writing, and arithmetic to be more important. The early childhood years is recognized as a critical time for the attitudes of learning to be shaped. It is at this time that educators should steer each student in a direction that is more holistic. This should include all core subjects including music and the arts. There are plenty of benefits to music programs in schools. Early music training helps develop the areas that involve language and reasoning. So this deals directly with the mind. It is considered to be a physical affect. Developing the left side of the brain can re-circuit the brain and allow for easy memorization when linking songs to new information. Learning music also creates more spatial intelligence. It allows you to create mental pictures of the world and perceive it in a more accurate manner. Creating spatial awareness is directly linked to being able to better solve mathematic equations because of complex thinking it requires. Learning music allows students to be able to answer in a more abstract fashion and there has been plenty of studies showing and proving that students who study music and the arts score higher on standardized tests and test higher in high school. Their ability to think “outside” the box is what allows them to achieve. This also allows them to stretch their inner minds and access their inner resources. Music allows students to “do” instead of just observe. It creates team work and encourages students to test their limits in a positive, comprehensive and exciting way. They learn to express themselves and in turn have a better view of themselves building within them self worth. Students, who learn Music or any other art, are exposed to the incomparable. Is this not what we want for our students? Without music, students are not able to tap into that other dimension. Students lose the ability to relate to others and in turn miss out on the benefits of higher scores in high school, standardized tests such as SATs, and making worldly connection. They become less well rounded people, focused more on the “observing” and wishing they could instead of the “doing” and knowing and expressing they can. When immersed in music, students learn to link who they are, with what they know, see, feel, hear and can touch. Their taste varies but their perception of the world only becomes bigger, brighter and better as they learn to be more rounded, holistic, and self-empowered. Music provides students with a medium through which students learn to express themselves. They figure out ways to tie the way they see the world to the way they choose to express what they see in, about, and around the world. Works Cited Murphy, Shannon. Benefits of Music and Arts Education. 29 11 2011 . Philips, Carolyn. Twelve Benefits of Music Education. 22006. 29 11 2011 . Prescott, Jennifer O. Music in the Classroom: Instructor's handy guide for bringing Music into your classroom. January/February 2005. 29 11 2011 . Wright, Ruth, (2001). Gender and achievement in music education: The view from the classroom. British Journal of Music Education, 18(3), 275-291. Read More