Studies have shown again and again that music is beneficial . . .
Research indicates that teachers of all subjects -- including music -- who are more experienced and educated are more effective in the classroom. Consequently, students learn more from them. (Ferguson)
A 1992 Auburn University study found significant increases in overall self-concept of at-risk children participating in an arts program that included music, movement, dramatics and art, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale.
Dr. Frederick Tims, reported in AMC Music News, June 2, 1999, "Music making makes the elderly healthier.... There were significant decreases in anxiety, depression, and loneliness following keyboard lessons. These are factors that are critical in coping with stress, stimulating the immune system, and in improved health. Results also show significant increases in human growth hormones following the same group keyboard lessons. (Human growth hormone is implicated in aches and pains)."
A McGill University study found that pattern recognition and mental representation scores improved significantly for students given piano instruction over a three-year period. They also found that self-esteem and musical skills measures improved for the students given piano instruction.
In a study conducted by Dr. Timo Krings, pianists and non-musicians of the same age and sex were required to perform complex sequences of finger movements. Their brains were scanned using a technique called "functional magnetic resource imaging" (fMRI) which detects the activity levels of brain cells. The non-musicians were able to make the movements as correctly as the pianists, but less activity was detected in the pianists' brains. Thus, compared to non-musicians, the brains of pianists are more efficient at making skilled movements. These findings show that musical training can enhance brain function.
The National Arts Education Research Center, New York University, concluded in a 1990 study that students who participated in arts programs in selected elementary and middle schools in New York City showed significant increases in self-esteem and thinking skills.
A study conducted in 1993, consisted of 811 high school students indicated that the proportion of minority students with a music teacher role-model was significantly larger than for any other discipline. 36% of these students identified music teachers as their role models, as opposed to 28% English teachers, 11% elementary teachers, 7% physical education/sports teachers, and 1% principals.
In an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students (the National Education Longitudinal Survey), researchers found that students who report consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12. This observation holds regardless of students' socioeconomic status, and differences in those who are involved with instrumental music vs. those who are not is more significant over time.
The Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report concluded in 1998 that secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse).
Research made between music and intelligence concluded that music training is far greater than computer instruction in improving children’s abstract reasoning skills. (Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis, Newcomb)
A 1994 study by the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies (NALAA) documented the economic importance of the nonprofit arts on communities. The three year study surveying nearly 800 nonprofit arts organizations in 33 communities in 22 states, concluded that the arts are a thriving industry and an economically sound investment for communities of all sizes.
Researchers in Leipzig discovered through the use of brain scans that musicians had larger planum temporale, the region of the brain associated with reading skills. Also, musicians had a thicker corpus callosum, the nerve fibers that connect the two halves of the brain.
The University of Montreal researched brain imaging techniques to study brain activity during musical tasks. Researchers concluded that sight-reading musical scores and playing music "activate regions in all four of the cortex’s lobes” and "parts of the cerebellum are also activated during those tasks.”
Rauscher, F.H., and Zupan, M.A. reported that in the Kindergarten classes of the school district of Kettle Moraine, Wisconsin, children who were given music instruction scored 48 percent higher on spatial-temporal skill tests than those who did not receive music training.
The Journal of Research in Music Education found that lessons on songbells (a standard classroom instrument) led to significant improvement of spatial-temporal scores for three- and four-year-olds. Gromko, J.E., and Poorman, A.S. (1998) The effect of music training on preschooler's spatial-temporal task performance.
A study of 237 second grade children used piano keyboard training and newly designed math software to demonstrate improvement in math skills. The group scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than children that used only the math software. (Graziano, Peterson, Shaw)
Positive academic developments for children engaged in the arts are seen at each step in the research - between 8th and 10th grade as well as between 10th and 12th grade. The comparative gains for arts-involved youngsters generally becomes more pronounced over time. Moreover and more important, these patterns hold for children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds (Florida Music Educators Association)
The Mozart Effect surfaced about four years ago when research uncovered that adults who listened to music of complexity for ten minutes or so experienced temporary increases in their spatial IQ scores. (Rauscher, Ph.D., Shaw, Ph.D.)
Music lessons, and even simply listening to music, can enhance spatial reasoning performance, a critical higher-brain function necessary to perform complex tasks including mathematics. (Rauscher, Ph.D., Shaw, Ph.D.)
Rhode Island studies have indicated that sequential, skill-building instruction in art and music integrated with the rest of the curriculum can greatly improve children's performance in reading and math. (Gardiner, Fox, Knowles, Jeffrey)
Music training, specifically piano instruction, is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills necessary for learning math and science. Learning music at an early age causes long-term enhancement of spatial-temporal reasoning. (Rauscher, Ph.D., Shaw, Ph.D.)
Music -- specifically song -- is one of the best training grounds for babies learning to recognize the tones that add up to spoken language. (Trehubn)
A University of Toronto study gave kids music, drama, or no lessons, and measured their IQ before and after the sessions. Children in the music group had the biggest IQ jump! (Schellenberg)
Note: I do not own any of this information, and none of this was in my own words.