Kelly Zhou '28
Edited by James Chang '26
Over the years, music exposure and education have begun to play a significant role in the lives of adolescents. Children encounter basic rhythms and melodies at a young age, either in a home or school setting. These experiences undoubtedly open the gateway to a shared love of music that enhances every student’s educational journey. Moreover, they provide a plethora of unique long-term benefits. Overall, music education accelerates cognitive development, improves mental and emotional health, and encourages creative expression.
Firstly, music education has a profound impact on cognitive development in youth. In one study, groups of 6-year-olds were either assigned to take music lessons, drama lessons, or no lessons at all for a period of 36 weeks. Ultimately, the children who took music lessons showed greater increases in IQ compared to other groups of children who had no exposure. This was due to the variety of challenges they needed to overcome, such as reading musical notation and recognizing patterns in rhythms and melodies. Additionally, researchers of the University of British Columbia conducted an experiment to conclude how music education impacts test scores. They examined a cohort of 112,916 public school students in Canada. Through this study, they learned that students who participated in music-related activities between grades 7 to 12 earned significantly higher scores on science, math, and English exams compared to their non-musical classmates. Evidently, exposure to music lessons accelerates cognitive development.
Secondly, music education positively impacts mental and emotional health. Music has proven to be an extremely effective stress reducer. For example, music listening has been associated with lower heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and cortisol compared to silence or an auditory control condition. Individuals have also reported higher levels of relaxation and even a feeling of transcendence and wonder. These effects can prevent stress-related diseases and psychological disorders to a certain extent. Moreover, music education can help students develop high self-efficacy, which enables them to cope with difficulties in a healthy way. Through constant practicing and polishing of a musical piece, students learn the importance of perseverance and improvement. Faith and confidence in oneself can be cultivated through years of routine practice on a musical instrument. These experiences reinforce the idea that success arises from the overcoming of challenges. An optimistic mindset leads to improved emotional health, as it keeps one at ease even during the performance of a formidable task.
Lastly, music education encourages creative expression. Adolescents are able to develop a unique creative identity by performing musical pieces with color changes and personal interpretations. The freedom of exploration within music allows for an abundance of unique renditions of the same piece. This can stir one’s passion and enthusiasm for the arts, guiding them in thinking outside the conventional methods and sharing their creative ideas. Additionally, creative expression can be achieved through music appreciation and listening. A 2017 study in the journal PLOS ONE found that listening to upbeat tunes helped people perform better on tasks that involved “divergent” thinking, which is a core component of creativity. This form of thinking is defined by generating new and outside-the-box ideas or strategies. Therefore, creative identities developed in music can also be applied to real-life thinking.
The myriad of positive effects music education has on adolescents is simply undeniable. Students find that exposure to the arts can greatly improve their cognitive development, mental and emotional health, and creative expression, which are all factors that guide them to success in their future careers. In addition, music can remedy deep-seated anxieties and resonate with people of different backgrounds. Therefore, school curriculums should emphasize music education and encourage students to explore their musical potential, as music paints vibrancy into school education, enhancing student development across various fields. Life without music would be stagnant, bleak, and colorless.
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