The following information was published by Steinway
Inc.
New Research Proves the Value of Childhood Music Education
Piano Training in Childhood has Lasting Rewards
There is an undeniably strong correlation between music education and
the development of skills that children need to become successful in life.
Self-discipline, patience, sensitivity, coordination, and the ability to
memorize and concentrate are all enhanced in the study of music. These
skills will follow your child on whatever path he or she chooses in life.
You have the chance now to introduce a formative influence that may be second
only to the love you give your child. If you're looking for a way to
provide your child with a source of life-long joy, satisfaction, and
accomplishment, childhood music education is an excellent first step.
And the piano is an excellent first instrument. No other single
instrument matches the piano for its broad application of musical
concepts. Even if later your child chooses to play another instrument, the
melody, rhythm and sense of harmony acquired with piano education will pay off
handsomely.
Better Sooner than Later
New evidence exists that there are actual physiological benefits to
early childhood music education. A study released in February 1997
presents findings that music education - specifically, piano instruction in pre-schoolers
- produces changes in the brain which enhance children's abstract reasoning
skills. These skills are necessary for learning mathematics and science,
to play chess, and to master many concepts of engineering.
Dr. Frances Rauscher of the University of Wisconsin and Dr. Gordon Shaw of
the University of California had previously linked piano/keyboard and singing
lessons to enhanced spacial-temporal ability in pre-schoolers. The new
study documents that early piano training also has a direct effect on the
development of the brain's neural circuitry, actually improving intellectual
development. In other words, this research points out that early piano
training helps to create and maintain certain "connections" in
children's brains that may not otherwise form.
It has long been know that musically educated children develop skills they
carry into adulthood. Now it appears that piano training can actually make
children more intelligent. Can you think of any more precious gift to give
the children in your life?
Here's How the Study was Conducted
Thirty four children received private piano keyboard instruction, 20
children were given private computer lessons, and 24 children provided other
controls. Four standard, age-calibrated spatial reasoning tests were given
before and after training. One tested spatial temporal reasoning; three
tested spatial recognition. Significant improvement on the spatial
temporal test was found for the keyboard group only. None of the groups
improved significantly on the spatial recognition tests. This led the
researchers to conclude that music training produces long-term modifications in
underlying neural circuitry in regions of the brain not primarily concerned with
music. The magnitude of the improvement suggests that learning of standard
curricula is also enhanced.
Other Important Developmental Benefits to Childhood Music Education
 | Research at the University of Konstanz in Germany found that exposure to
music rewires neural circuits. For instance, they used magnetic
resonance imaging to examine the brains of nine string players. They
found that the amount of somato-sensory cortex dedicated to the fingering
hand was far larger than in non-players. Additionally, the earlier the
player took up the instrument, the more cortex was devoted to playing it. |
| Most concert-level performers being playing earlier than 10 years of age. |
| Scientists at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston found that the brains of 30
musicians with perfect pitch - the ability to identify isolated musical
notes they hear - had greatly enlarged structures on the left side of their
brains. All the musicians with perfect pitch said they were exposed to
music prior to age 7. The likelihood of developing perfect pitch is
extremely low if exposure comes after age ten. |
| Another German study, at Heinrick Heine University in Dusseldorf, reported
that exposure to music activates and enhances cognitive processes involved
in language and reasoning. |
| Other studies show ath all children are born with musical ability.
For example, two month old infants can match the pitch, intensity, and
melodies for songs their mothers sing, and at four months infants can match
rhythm as well. But the older children get without exercising their musical
aptitude, the more will be lost and never regained. The reason is
neurological - by approximately age 11, the neuron circuits that permit all
kinds of perceptual and sensory discrimination, such as identifying pitch
and rhythm, become closed off. |
| Finally, students with coursework and experience in musical performance
scored 51 points higher on the verbal portion of SAT and 39 points higher on
the SAT math portion than students with no coursework or experience with
music - from data compiled by the Music Educators National Conference from
The College Board. |
