Thematic Learning

Living in a world surrounded by noises and sounds, one cannot deny that music lives all around them. Schools, street corners, sporting events, there is one thing you will always find: music. Music education is quickly becoming defunct in schools, as many try to decry its many benefits. A growing emphasis on the concrete subjects of math and science, whose benefits are more immediate, are pushing the creativity and imagination of music classes to the back of the budget. Music education is no longer described as stimulating and exciting, but rather unnecessary and distracting. But the benefits of having an education in music is undeniable. Simply being around music can have a positive impact on life. Music enables the human race to discover emotions that they have never uncovered before. The human mind is refreshed by music; “our imagination and memories are stimulated by the sounds, and summon feelings and memories associated with the musical sound” (Wingell 15). Without music, the world would be silent. Lifeless. No matter what language one speaks or what culture one is from, music is a universal language, connecting the hearts of people around the entire world. In schools throughout the nation, that connection is being severed because of budget cuts and lack of funding, but the benefits of music education are clear. The benefits of having an education in music are not only present in the classroom; a lasting impact is also left on the social and emotional growth of a person, though the gains may not be evinced immediately. Participating in musical education programs in schools can give students the opportunity to form lasting friendships and to gain skills that will last them their entire lives. Music education can be beneficial to students because it enhances students’ performance in the classroom, aids in improving student’s interest and engagement in school, and advances students’ social and emotional growth.

Music education greatly enhances students’ understanding and achievement in non-musical subjects. For example, a ten-year study, which tracked over 25,000 middle and high school students, showed that students in music classes receive higher scores on standardized tests than students with little to no musical involvement. The musical students scored, on average, sixty-three points higher on the verbal section and forty-four points higher on the math sections of the SATs than non-music students. When

I. Plato, a Greek philosopher once said “I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning.”

“Musical is a universal experience. With few exceptions, all humans perceive musical pitch, tone, timbre, and harmony. We listen to music to relax, to help us think, to celebrate, and grieve. Our emotional responses to music have been noted in literature, poetry, and drama. The power of music to evoke an emotional response is used by advertising companies, film directors, and mothers singing their babies to sleep. Early education teachers are familiar with using music and rhythm as tools for learning language and building memory. (Foran, 2009) Several musical melodies are used in grade school to learn information. Music is used in my math classes across the world to enhance the learning process of formulas. English classes use music help children learn prepositional phrases, adjectives, adverbs, noun, and etc. However, after most scholars reached a certain grade level, using music to achieve new heights academically became a technique of the past. Most instructors didn’t bother using music in order to help retain information. It was almost as if it was forgotten about. But, if music is so important why isn’t it allowed in most classrooms today? Many teachers are not fond of music in the classroom. To many, it is seen as a distraction. Is it the type of music a person chooses to listen to? Would it be different if the music chosen by

Music can help students in many different ways varying from how theses students will succeed in society to the way music can help build these children's imagination and intellectual curiosity. She also brings up the counter arguments that teachers or parents may agree with. Which is how do you teach a student who can't hear? Darrow claims through Active learning and participation. She states many different strategies including Listening to music, Singing, Reading and reading music.

Studies show that music appears to support kids’ normal skills to interpret sounds and words. Learning to read and play music, appears to be related to an amount of assistance for kids, including improved processing of language and better reading skills. Music exercise in kids play develop key skills that will aid them in listening, attention, remembrance, and reading skills. Lisa Miller thinks,” in Europe was as crucial to becoming a cultivated person as knowing the works of Mozart or Rembrandt” ( ). Music is a foundation of human culture; it is a learning device, a way of communication, and, a way of

How does art and music help with language development? Imagine a classroom in which children sing every day, establishing singing as an important social and cultural experience in each child 's life. Singing is celebratory and social, establishing meaningful connections to children 's lives and experiences, such as birthdays, welcomes, sports events, and festivals (Ministry of Education, 2001). Researchers recognized that musical activities reinforce many aspects of language development. For example: chanting, rhythmic speaking, signing and listening are all experiences that help support language development. Speech is parallel to music elements such as contrast in pitch, dynamics, tempo, timbre and other expressive qualities. These

Expertise in music is far more difficult to acquire than the spoken word at a young age, but exposing children to music at a young age can increase the pace that children can acquire the skill of music and the deeper meanings of songs that can in turn, help children with

that engaging young children in these types of musical activities are correlated with later success in reading comprehension.

Literacy and music tend to go hand in hand in elementary music. There are many ways to implement literacy into the music classroom. Kodaly emphasized the need for interactive instruction. Story telling is a great way to implement literacy and phonemic patterns in the music classroom. Poetry also teaches rhythm patterns and repetition that help students become more fluent readers. Rhythm patterns also help children to learn to

Music strengthens a student’s memorization and comprehension skills as much, if not more, than any core subject they participles in at school. Playing an instrument is cognitively taxing. Notes and fret patterns not only requires memorization to be played in a song, but also promote hand eye coordination. Math is analogous to music. In math class a student learns how to problem solve by memorizing a sequential order. Musicians use the same method for learning a new song. According to a study published in the journal Psychology of Music “Children exposed to a multi-year program of music tuition involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers.” As this research indicates student’s cognitive abilities are positively impacted by their participation in music training.

This article is about how music should be considered a language since it involves symbols to communicate and it is universal. Students that study music perform significantly higher on academic tests. Music should be studied more in high school since it is considered a language because maybe kids will think better and get better grades in school. Music is the longest language around. It has been proven that music has a high level of thinking and organizing. I use to do choir in high school and after that class I seemed to be calmer and able to pay attention better in class. Music has a way of helping people’s thoughts process and it helps us think better. When I am in my room doing homework I listen to music to help calm my brain down and

The article “The effects of music on achievement, attitude and retention in primary school English lessons” by Koksal, Yagisan, and Cekic show the impact music has in the classroom. The Article claims “best learning environment is one that includes music” (Köksal, et al. 1897). Meaning music activates different parts of the brain that coincide with memory. Through an experimental study mentioned in the article shows music has a “increased achievement in English vocabulary learning” (Köksal, et al. 1899). Memory channels are activated and students are able to retain what is being taught through the use of music. Therefore the article suggests music is a method that can be used in primary schools to exercise the mind helping students hold onto what they learn for longer periods of time. The authors argue music brings out a different level of intelligence in the classroom. However the article fails to briefly describe traditional methods, other possible methods, and possible defaults of a music learning environment jeopardizing a overall well conducted study of music used as a source of education.

Many people believe that the arts, specifically music programs, hold no beneficial value to students other than for an extracurricular activity. Others believe that having these programs within our schools, only takes away from instructional time. However, research has shown that music education, and exposure to music in general, provides great benefits and values to the adolescents that are involved in said programs (“Music Matters”). Participation in music programs promotes the advancement of academic scores and sets students on the path to success later in life. Furthermore, these programs, be it instrumental or vocal, provide an outlet for adolescents to express themselves and have truly lasting implications on their global development. Notwithstanding all of the pleasure and self-confidence gained through participation in music programs, music education may provide important benefits towards students’ academics by improving their concentration levels and cultivating higher order thinking skills that may increase academic achievement.

In school all across America we focus on remembering the facts, remember this, read this, and listen to this PowerPoint. The education system needs to shape young minds and teach instead of forcing knowledge upon them. Brains of young children are like a water balloon, it has room to expand for knowledge although, if you fill it to fast water will erupt or leak. Americans move fast, we believe the faster we go the further we will succeed. Despite these beliefs this does not work for students, to fast and to much water in their balloon will make it pop. All students are different, and have a different style of learning. There are a total of 7 different categories that all students fall under for learning they include visual, aural, verbal, physical, logical, social, and solitary (Lepi). As a result some students learn by working this groups, or using a song to remember material for an upcoming test. Others may like to see graphs to compare; and some comprehend chemistry better from seeing and studying a model of water. As a result of this diversity it is hard for many students to sit through a power point with facts to fully understand what they are learning. A study was performed using “Academic music” at Hoover elementary school in California. After 6 weeks of the technic of learning using music the students scored 50% higher on a fraction test then students at the same score using