Music and Learning

Our recent class discussion about music, culture and kids was so interesting and yet I felt a little bit overwhelmed at the prospect of introducing music clubs and discussions of Hip Hop in the school or after school setting. Also, as it was mentioned in elementary school and middle school, it might be a little difficult to bring up all the nuances and references of the songs and genre.

As I was reading a recent emailed edition of “Reading Connection, the Middle Years” from my child’s school there was an article advocating children listening to music while doing their homework. The suggestion to parents was to allow your child to listen to “certain types” of music to actually improve learning. It sparked the idea, that maybe I could start small with music and students so I decided to further research exactly what types of music to listen to for learning and how sound is currently used in education. I found that many researchers and music professionals say that listening to music/ sounds and learning are inextricably linked.

I came upon a couple of websites that I will discuss here that offer ideas, resources, and theories of how and why music and education should be linked.

Firstly, I found that most music and brain neuron specialists agree that music alters our moods and this can affect our attitudes toward our environments. If that environment includes homework, or a classroom, it will make that task or place have a more positive feeling and we will relax and be able to focus on content. While relaxation and mood enhancement is key, the process of listening to music can also create physical changes in our brain that allow us to be in a zone, so to speak, where our short term memory is improved. This is great news for kids (or us) doing homework.

The types of music recommended for task oriented learning such as homework is background music at a level that is not distracting. For writing type assignments it is suggested that more upbeat music be used to keep the brain in a lively state.

Other types of music helpful in learning are types of melodies or rhythms that enhance the process of rote learning. Teachers are beginning to value and use music such as rap or rhyming songs to help teach students facts and memorization. I think we have all done this ourselves, created little jingles to help us remember facts for a test; but what is different here, is that teachers are beginning to implement this type music in the classroom as a teaching tool to deliver the subject content to students.

The first website represents a company called LifeSounds which provides resources for teachers. There is some interesting information on the site, however, not all the resources are free. Ms. Chris Brewer, the company founder is dedicated to providing “music you can use” and strongly believes in the correlation between music education and music in the classroom as a necessity to teach the whole child. Her website offers an array of CD’s for sale that are meant to be used for various types of learning in a traditional education setting. The music available ranges from that intended to create a positive environment while children enter the classroom or walk through the hallways to specific categories labeled as “Energizing and Attention”, “Creating and Reflecting”, and Sound Breaks”. The latter is lively music designed to give students a ‘rest’ from learning akin to a physical break like stretching. There are also categories of music called “Concerts”. “Active Concerts” imply active teaching use, to be used in conjunction with storytelling, dramas, emphasis of quotes or words. There are also “Passive Concerts” that are designed for listening aesthetics and for cultural exposure. There is also music available that is to be used for health and healing purposes. The founder strongly advocates the ‘Mozart Effect” and firmly believes in the theory that music enhances learning while doing homework.

Remember moms playing Mozart to their children in utero to grow their brain cognition? The ‘Mozart Effect’ has been well studied and some have concluded that it is related to mood changes and positive feelings, hence improving learning capability short term, while other studies have more dramatically claimed that listening to such music actually expands IQ.

For any teacher wanting to a more hands on approach for teaching children about music and its effects is this great website that offers information about music and sound is The Musical Brain that offers Neuro Science for Kids, explanations of the Mozart effect, and a great resource for teachers to learn everything you need to know about how sound is created, and how it becomes music by the vibrations created. It explains the science of vibrations causing tone and the effect that music has on our neurons. That part got a little technical, but visuals were provided and the language used very readable. It was fascinating to learn how our brains and bodies respond to the vibrations made by instruments. The site explains the various types of instruments and gives the reader samples of different genres of music. There is also a great lesson plan that develops listening skills while listening to water.

The site is also kid friendly with graphics, colors and detail explanations. This site has several audio (long ones) clips that are very useful for listening to experts in the field of brain studies and music. One is Dr. Frances Rauscher, one of the original researchers that studied the ‘Mozart Effect.’ She actually debunks the idea that listening to music makes one smarter or learn at all.

What she says has been proven is that there is a correlation to learning to play an instrument and certain intelligence growth. I think most of us have heard that learning how to play an instrument or reading music notes aids proficiency in Science and Math subjects. There have been many studies on this. Some had rejected the idea because it was felt there was a bias toward children that were from higher economic backgrounds. It was originally concluded that the typical child that takes music lessons, also comes from a home where the parents are more educated and aesthetic pursuits are valued. Further research, however, does show that specifically learning an instrument affects the temporal lobe in the brain where spatial comprehension is expanded. This then is useful in other non-musical applications where there are complex levels of comprehension needed.

Ms. Rauscher points out that actual brain systems are enhanced by children that take up an instrument at an early age, and the enhancement is significant. In addition, a Northwestern University study released a year ago called Research finds music training 'tunes' human auditory system “is the first to provide concrete evidence that playing a musical instrument significantly enhances the brainstem’s sensitivity to speech sounds." The article strongly indicates that not only do kids develop the ability for “sound coding” in music, but in language as well. What is great is that it doesn’t just help those children that are musically inclined, but all students.

My little research project gave me great spin-off ideas. Why not have certain days of the week where a certain genre of music gets played. Why can’t we have a perky melody going (mild Hip-hop) during Science experimentation? Why not play the music from the Harry Potter movies during writing assignments? I also got more and more ideas for having kids bring their own favorites for “genre days”. Kids could take a turn at critiquing their favorites, and maybe even brainstorm as to what types of stories would go along with it? It also reminded me to keep the music going on at home. We have great music for “chore times”, Sundays, jumping around with the dog, and so forth. It makes home seem happy and welcoming, too.

The research is there that music, listening, playing, and moving can be a key to expanded learning at a higher level. So I am excited to get listening, moving and thinking!