Download Music and the mind

http://family.disney.com/Features/family_1997_08/orng/orng87music/
MUSIC AND THE MIND
BYKARENLINDELL
AS YOU LISTEN to the not-so-melodic sounds of your child plunking away
on the piano, remember that her musical education--wrong notes and all--is for a
good cause. And we're not just talking about a future as a concert pianist. Studies
show that musical training can also make kids better readers and may boost their
brainpower--especially when they get an early start.
Robert Cutietta, Ph.D., head of music education at the University of Arizona and
co-author of SPIN-OFFS: THE EXTRA-MUSICAL ADVANTAGES OF A MUSICAL EDUCATION
(United Musical Instruments U.S.A., 1995), says research indicates that music
instruction improves everything from foreign language skills to self-esteem. "But
the strongest findings," he says, "show that if a child is learning to read notes while
learning to read words, word-reading improves."
Cutietta says evidence that music aids math abilities is not as conclusive. "There's
no doubt there's a connection between math and music--kids in band, choir and
orchestra do well in math," he says. "But there's not necessarily a causal
relationship--it hasn't been shown that playing in band makes you better in math."
However, a recent UC Irvine study may shed some light on how music can
enhance math intelligence. The study involved three- and four-year-olds who
received private piano lessons, private computer instruction or group singing
lessons. Only the children learning to play the piano increased their spatialtemporal reasoning skills significantly, scoring 34 percent higher than the other
students. Spatial-temporal reasoning, explains Gordon Shaw, Ph.D., professor of
physics at UC Irvine and principal investigator for the study, is the ability to think
ahead in space and time, a skill required for success in math, science and
engineering.
"There are two ways in which you reason,"says Shaw. "One is language-based; the
other is the ability to see patterns and manipulate images. Learning sequences of
musical patterns may be related to inherent structures in the brain," he says. "Music
plays an important role in tapping into the structure and patterning of the brain."
Shaw adds that although further study is needed, he believes that playing
instruments other than the piano will also improve brain function. New research
also indicates that singing uses similar mental skills.
What do all these scientific findings mean for parents? Give kids an early start on
music education, urges Cutietta. "Many schools don't begin music instruction until
the upper grades, so it's up to parents," he says. "If kids don't start to use their
musical aptitude, it will begin to fall away." He suggests beginning with movement
to music and singing at ages two and three, until kids are ready to start playing an
instrument at age four, five or six.
Cutietta also emphasizes the importance of listening to music to improve thinking.
"Everybody hears music, but not everyone listens," says Cutietta. "Get kids to
focus on music. For example, say, 'Listen to the bass line'; or 'Listen to that voice
and compare it to the drum.' This can be done with any kind of music."
Shaw, who also conducted a study showing that college students temporarily
increased their spatial IQ scores after listening to a Mozart sonata, agrees that early
musical training is key--"and listening to a little Mozart wouldn't hurt."