Is a music education really necessary or even beneficial for children? With American schools aiming to increase their standardized test scores and decrease their annual spending, it’s no wonder that electives such as music have been erased from the board. Music is considered a fluff subject that often falls by the wayside.

But is it? Statistics seem to indicate that an exposure to music can actually increase a child’s math ability, not to mention reasoning, creative thinking, scoring better on standardized tests, and making higher grades in high school. If it helps them brush their teeth, too, I’m all for it.

The reality is, in this day of slash and burn budget cuts, you may have to provide their music education in your own time, and on your own dime. If my early years of Intro to Music are any indication, that would not be entirely bad. You could direct their studies, and gain much more than the odd bits and pieces we learned way back when.

It was that turbulent time in history when all was being questioned in American society. Mainstream composers were not studied so much as slave work songs and Negro spirituals. How our grey-haired, white music teacher came to warble “Pick a Bale of Cotton” was anyone’s guess. To this day, I recall the lyrics, “Me and my partner can, pick a bale of cotton, Oh, me and my partner can, pick a bale a day. Oh, Mammy, pick a bale of cotton! Oh, Mammy, pick a bale of hay!”

At least that song was understandable, unlike “Jimmy Crack Corn and I Don’t Care”, which has, on the conservative side, I figure about 2,149 various interpretations. The song might refer to a mule eating the corn being trodden, or a slave’s corn rations being cut due to disobedience, or chitchatting among slaves who should have been working, or even has something to do with “gimme crack corn”, i.e., alcohol. As children, it was puzzling to be singing a song of dubious meaning and morals. Why was Jimmy Cracking Corn, and why didn’t anyone Care? We students didn’t seem to care much, either, but our then-master, the music teacher, wasn’t going away anytime soon.

While our vocal lessons plodded along as we sang gems like “The Age of Aquarius” and “Windy” at school assemblies, there was a bright light on the horizon when instrumental lessons were introduced as an elective in the Fourth Grade. Pupils had to demonstrate an interest in an instrument, which already flattened the playing field considerably.

We were given an overview of the brass, wind, and stringed instruments, and then allowed to try out an instrument or two. I settled on the violin. Let’s just say that some students were more suited to blowing hot air and marching in bands as football halftime diversions. They had me pegged correctly as more attuned to a string quartet.

By Sixth Grade, I was actually doing pretty well on my instrument of choice, and it was suggested that I audition for a Youth Symphony. The instrumental music teacher encouraged those of us from families with means to pursue private lessons, which we did, as well. I ended up with a teacher who accompanied me on the harpischord, making all of the practice time worth it. Her husband played trumpet in a large symphony and I remember him taking me, along with three of his Eastern European counterparts, to a huge concert hall where I watched them perform.

I can vouch that my reasoning and creative thinking abilities improved dramatically when having to figure out: if I went to the restroom during the concert’s intermission, would I ever find my way back to the proper seat as a preteen on my own? Along with my inflated standardized test scores, and high school grades in general, one has to ask: was this increased mental ability bordering on genius due to music lessons?

I don’t know, but it couldn’t have hurt.

Guest post —————- Copyright 2011 – Alexandra Bartologimignano

(Alexandra is a jet-setter trying to keep her head above water in several countries with several languages, several children, one husband, and two cute dogs. She is learning piano with one of Duane’s courses in her spare moments and generally chronicles their adventures at www.destinationsdreamsanddogs.com.)

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It’s not easy to make a living as a musician.

Music is one of those things that large amounts of people believe that they do well and because of that, there are amateurs who are competing against professionals for the available music jobs.

Here’s the good news: The reason that so many musicians aren’t making a sustainable living is because they aren’t aware of the many opportunities available for a musician. Let’s look at a few:

Education: If you enjoy working with young people, probably the most consistent and sustainable living is to be a public school music educator. While the number of jobs in this field fluctuate, as most know, government jobs are some of the most stable and a public school pays a good wage while also offering great benefits. Private teachers too often make a good living giving piano lessons and other types of musical instruction.

Recording: Do you have a talent for using recording technology? The equipment to record is cheap for the amateur but very few can really do it well. Hone your skills, take some workshops, and build some experience and this could be a great living.

Critic: Newspapers, blogs, and other media outlets are looking for critics to go to concerts and write reviews of the newest musical acts. If you have a love of music along with exceptional writing skills, this could be a job for you.

Repair: If you’re good with your hands, musical instrument repair technicians are always needed and this job transcends all music. Guitars, keyboards, amps, trumpets, and drums all break and for the hundreds of thousands of small children who play instruments but haven’t learned to properly take care of them, repair technicians always have work.

Performer: This is a challenging career path because it’s an area where the amateurs are competing against the professionals. This also serves to drive down the price that a professional musician can make. Most recommend having these skills and doing it alongside of something with a more sustainable income source.
Publisher: With the amount of music being written thanks to easy to use software, publishers are busier than ever before. Publishers need sales professionals, executives, and other business minded people who can keep the low margin publishing houses maximizing profits. And online publishing is a huge and growing field as well, offering blogs such as Piano Chords & Chord Progressions.

Copyists/orchestrators: Are you in the vicinity of studios that produce television and movie productions? Often, this music needs copyists and orchestrators to rapidly prepare music for studio musicians to perform and record. Because this often happens in a matter of hours, you have to be able to work on sort deadlines and in a high stress environment but most report that the job is exhilarating.

There are other careers that work perfectly for somebody who wants to work with music on a daily basis. Don’t box yourself in and think that the only thing you can do is perform in a band if you’re a musician. The market offers you many choices.

There is something wonderfully refreshing about listening to music or playing music outdoors. If you haven’t done it lately, give it a try.

In June we went to the Shakespearean Theatre in Ashland:

And all summer from roughly May to September our church - Applegate Christian Fellowship - meets outside in our big amphetheatre (this photo was taken an hour before church — the amphetheatre holds 3000 or so and is almost always packed):

And for our anniversary in August Bev & I enjoyed the great singing and piano playing of Michael McDonald at the Britt Music Festival in Jacksonville Oregon:

It’s hard to describe, but there’s something wonderfully delicious about listening, playing, worshipping, or just enjoying the beauties of creation outdoors while you soak in the music.

Try it. You’ll like it.

Will listening to music make you smarter? Will learning to play a musical instrument make your brain grow larger than normal?

Questions like these ones have been popping up all over the place in the past few years, and not just in scientific journals either.

In recent times the media has been fascinated by the research surrounding brain development and music, eagerly reporting on the latest studies to the delight of the music-loving parents of young children.

But all this information - and some misinformation too - has led to generalized confusion about the role of music and music training in the development of the human brain. The bottom line is this: if you’re confused by all you read about music study and brain development, you’re certainly not alone.

In part, this is due to the manner in which the phrase “the Mozart Effect” has been popularized by the media and bandied about to describe any situation in which music has a positive effect on cognition or behavior.

In fact the Mozart Effect refers specifically to a 1993 research finding by Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Katherine Ky and published in the prestigious journal Nature. The scientists found that 36 college students who listened to 10 minutes of a Mozart sonata performed higher on a subsequent spatial-temporal task than after they listened to relaxation instructions or silence.

An enchanted media reported this interesting research as “Mozart makes you smarter” - a huge over-simplification of the original results.

As Rauscher explains in a later paper, the Mozart Effect was studied only in adults, lasted only for a few minutes and was found only for spatial temporal reasoning. Nevertheless, the finding has since launched an industry that includes books, CDs and websites claiming that listening to classical music can make children more intelligent.

The scientific controversy - not to mention the popular confusion - surrounding the Mozart Effect, has given rise to a corresponding perplexity for parents. They wonder: “Should my kids even bother with music education?”

In fact the answer to this question is still a resounding yes, since numerous research studies do prove that studying music contributes unequivocally to the positive development of the human brain. Other researchers have since replicated the original 1993 finding that listening to Mozart improves spatial reasoning. And further research by Rauscher and her colleagues in 1994 showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers demonstrated a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ, a skill important for certain types of mathematical reasoning.

In particular, it is early music training that appears to most strengthen the connections between brain neurons and perhaps even leads to the establishment of new pathways. But research shows music training has more than a casual relationship to the long-term development of specific parts of the brain too.

In 1994 Discover magazine published an article which discussed research by Gottfried Schlaug, Herman Steinmetz and their colleagues at the University of Dusseldorf. The group compared magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the brains of 27 classically trained right-handed male piano or string players, with those of 27 right-handed male non-musicians.

Intriguingly, they found that in the musicians’ planum temporale - a brain structure associated with auditory processing - was bigger in the left hemisphere and smaller in the right than in the non-musicians. The musicians also had a thicker nerve-fiber tract between the hemisphere. The differences were especially striking among musicians who began training before the age of seven.

According to Shlaug, music study also promotes growth of the corpus callosum, a sort of bridge between the two hemispheres of the brain. He found that among musicians who started their training before the age of seven, the corpus callosum is 10-15% thicker than in non-musicians.

At the time, Schlaug and other researchers speculated that a larger corpus callosum might improve motor control by speeding up communication between the hemispheres.

Since then, a study by Dartmouth music psychologist Petr Janata published by Science in 2002, has confirmed that music prompts greater connectivity between the brains left and right hemisphere and between the areas responsible for emotion and memory, than does almost any other stimulus.

Janata led a team of scientists who reported some areas of the brain are 5% larger in expert musicians than they are in people with little or no musical training, and that the auditory cortex in professional musicians is 130% denser than in non-musicians. In fact, among musicians who began their musical studies in early childhood, the corpus callosum, a four-inch bundle of nerve fibers connecting the left and right sides of the brain, can be up to 15% larger.

While it is now clear from research studies that brain region connectivity and some types of spatial reasoning functionality is improved by music training, there is growing evidence that detailed and skilled motor movements are also enhanced.

Apparently the corpus callosum in musicians is essential for tasks such as finger coordination. Like a weight-lifter’s biceps, this portion of the brain enlarges to accommodate the increased labour assigned to it.

In a study conducted by Dr. Timo Krings and reported in Neuroscience Letters in 2000, pianists and non-musicians of the same age and sex were required to perform complex sequences of finger movements. The non-musicians were able to make the movements as correctly as the pianists, but less activity was detected in the pianists’ brains. The scientists concluded that compared to non-musicians, the brains of pianists are more efficient at making skilled movements.

The study of music definitely affects the human brain and its development, in a staggering number of ways. But what to make of all the research, especially in terms of deciding the best course of music study or appreciation for yourself or your offspring?

A 2000 article by N M Weinberger in MuSICA Research Notes makes the following excellent point: Although the Mozart Effect may not list up to the unjustified hopes of the public, it has brought widespread interest in music research to the public. And listening to ten minutes of Mozart could get someone interested in listening to more unfamiliar music, opening up new vistas.

Irregardless of the hype surrounding the Mozart Effect, the overall academic evidence for music study as a tool to aid brain development, is compelling.

At the University of California School of Medicine in San Francisco, Dr. Frank Wilson says his research shows instrumental practice enhances coordination, concentration and memory and also brings about the improvement of eyesight and hearing. His studies have shown that involvement in music connects and develops the motor systems of the brain, refining the entire neurological system in ways that cannot be done by any other activity. Dr. Wilson goes so far as to say he believes music instruction is actually ‘necessary’ for the total development of the brain.

So the bottom line is this: Music study and practice probably does aid in the development of the brain in various important ways. And after all, if you enjoy music, there is nothing to lose by trying, and everything to gain!