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Hannah Overly
Professor Cassel
English 1201
26 July 2015
Musical Inclination and Academic Success: A Statistic of Coincidence or Circumstance?
Approximately 20,160 hours of my life, up until this point, have been spent in an
educational facility, including both grade school and college. Over the years I have
spent these hours studying, socializing, and participating in various extra-curricular
activities. For so long I was trapped in this self-inflicted nightmare of monotony, only to
be rewarded with a mediocre intellect. Then, I found music. At a verily young age, I
began to pursue music through my schools band program. After playing the trumpet for
several years I found that my school work came easier and my imagination grew; and
while my non-musical peers seemed to struggle, my fellow bandmates and I flourished.
Towards the end of my high school career my peers and I were challenged as our music
program was threatened. As we fought to justify the priceless importance of a musical
education, along with other creative outlets, we found that the connection between our
musicality and our academic success was impossible to deny. Music is the only
universal language in the world filled with endless possibilities, for with musical
inclination comes improved social behaviors, kinesthetic learning, and increased overall
intellect.
Following the recent economic downturn, creative art programs have suffered a
great loss. Despite making slow improvements, music programs have continued to be
ill-funded in an attempt to compensate for traditional educational budget cuts. Marina

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Fang, a respected contributor to ThinkProgress.org, found that statistics compiled by
Grantmakers in the Arts, from 2011 to 2012, [revealed that] appropriations to the
National Endowment to the Arts saw a decline of nearly 6 percent, while state resources
saw a decline of about 5 percent (Fang 2013). Because of this, music programs are
being forced to depend on the support of private entities and alumni donors to keep
their creative education alive. As decisions are made concerning the support of said
programs, advocates are expressing the multiple benefits of music education to the
overall well-being of society and the people that comprise it.
Within each human is a brain, and each brain is split into a left and a right. The
left brain is generally the analytic side. Those who are left brained excel with statistics,
numbers, and science. On the other end of the spectrum is the right brain, which is the
musical, creative, empathetic, and passionate side. When participating in musical
instruction the right side of ones brain is continuously stimulated. Over time, the right
side of the brain develops and allows the mind to become more open and accepting.
Because of this stimulation musical students are found to be better behaved and
socially more acquiescent. These characteristics are continuously improved when
students are made part of a team. In a marching band for example, one must trust their
fellow musician peers to move and play at the exact time they are supposed to. If one
person is off, the music will be played out of tune and an on field collision can end the
show. This constant trust builds communication and cooperation skills continuously
stimulating the right brain. Bradley Folley, a psychologist at Vanderbilt University
contends that Instrumental musicians often integrate different melodic lines with both
hands into a single musical piece, and they have to be very good at simultaneously

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reading the musical symbols, which are like left-hemisphere-based language, and
integrating the written music with their own interpretation, which has been linked to the
right hemisphere (Folley 2008). Exercising the brain so holistically works to enhance its
overall efficiency and ability to function.
As music programs across the world are continuously threatened, supporters
work to expose the intellectual benefits music provides in every aspect of education.
Mathematics, for example, has been found to profit from the proportional thinking and
spatial temporal reasoning that reading and comprehending written music provides
(Fitzpatrick 2014). While reading sheet music and attempting to create a fluent tune one
must convert every note into a mathematical quantity. For example, a quarter note gets
one beat of importance while a whole note gets four. A musician must read,
comprehend, and then relay this information so that they play each note for the
appropriate amount of time. This aspect of musicality exercises and develops the left
side of the brain. The effects of this brain stimulation are presented through young
pianists. Research shows that students who actively preform on the piano are 34
percent more likely to test higher on tests that measure proportional reasoning,
including mathematical concepts such as ratios, fractions, proportions, and time
(Fitzpatrick 2014).
In congruence with mathematical improvements, music also enriches reading
capabilities. While playing a piece of music a musician must be able to quickly and
efficiently decode their written tune. Within every piece of music are notes, time and key
signatures, rests, rhythms and dynamics, all of which must be translated and
understood at the same time. If one looks closely they could see that traditional reading

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is very similar. When reading a text one must be able to comprehend the meaning of
each letter and word while appreciating grammar. Jayne Standley, from Florida State
University, states that the music activities that pair alphabet recognition with phonetic
patterns, incorporate word segmentation and sound blending skills, and promote rapid
decoding skills are effective in enhancing reading instruction (Standley 2008). When
adding music into a students educational regime, one is forcing the student to tackle a
difficult book of sorts, because reading music is cognitively similar to evaluating and
understanding a different language.
Subtle intellectual improvements are sometimes difficult to appreciate for a
skeptic. However, 2012 SAT test scores prove that there is an undeniable
correspondence between musical education and superior exam results. According to
Music Education Services, students who participated in music scored an average of 31
points above average in reading, 23 points above average in math, and 31 points above
average in writing (Music Education Services 2012). Aside from the increased amount
of knowledge and academic understanding, music develops the confidence that it takes
to perform well under standardized test stress. Like athletes and actors, musicians
practice and train so that they perfect a performance for their intended audience.
Whether it is an audience of one or 10,000, student musicians are exposed to the
pressure of performing, which coincides with the demanding pressures of test taking.
Playing music is not only beneficial for the mind, but for the body. While
participating in marching band one must have perfect footing, hold their instrument in
the

appropriate

position,

regulate

breathing,

and

occasionally

dance

all

simultaneously. Even during symphonic concert band, where players are sitting,

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woodwind and brass musicians must constantly exercise their lung capacities. Lung
capacity does not refer to the size of someones lungs, but the amount of air a persons
lungs can hold. Generally, humans only use about a third of their lung capacities,
however it has been found that musicians utilize almost twice that. Through vigorous
use, a musician conditions their lung muscles to contract, allowing their chest walls to
expand more. This increased inflation allows more air to be held and then exhaled in
greater proportions (All Science Fair Project 2013). Playing music is also known to
boost endorphin levels in the bloodstream. The secretion of endorphins not only lowers
an individuals blood pressure, but increases the positivity of overall mood. Because of
this musicians are accredited with having exceptionally healthy hearts. Kinesthetically,
one must be in top shape to be a quality musician and show performer.
Being a musician also helps establish a solid and versatile work ethic. In music a
mistake is a mistake, there are no gray areas. If you play the wrong note, are out of
tune, or enunciate the wrong rhythms the piece of music is imperfect. With such
demanding characteristics comes discipline. Musicians must work hard to be musically
sound, because they have dozens depending on them to be their best. Accomplishing
quality group sound is rewarding and encouraging, building confidence. Music also
shapes an individuals ability to multitask. Karen Fitzpatrick, a principal and musician
explains that music performance requires facility in sensory and cognitive domains,
combining skills in auditory perception, kinesthetic control, visual perception, pattern
recognition, and memory (Fitzpatrick 2014). The constant need to juggle multiple
activities allows musicians to be comfortable handling multiple actions at once, within
and outside of the world of music. The stability that music provides has also resulted in

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better decision making. For example, a study from the Texas Commission on Drug and
Alcohol Abuse reported that students who participated in band or orchestra reported
the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse)
(Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol 1998).

A clear mind is a students best

weapon for fighting off the uncertainties that life presents.

Despite the abundance of evidence supporting the benefits of musicality there
are still many skeptics. Many say that those who are already mentally gifted are the only
ones that pursue, and succeed in music because of their natural intelligence. Those
same individuals believe that if one chases music and is not immediately rewarded with
a perfected intellect, claims of its benefits are null and void. However, it is not the sole
promise of music that those who participate in it are guaranteed to reach a specific level
of knowledge. Music enhances and builds upon ones initial strengths to help overcome
intellectual weaknesses. Musical education is a tool to help maintain and repair the
brain one already houses, not a receipt of return for a new, better one.
Albert Einstein, a known genius and inventor attributed much of his success and
joy to his music. The scientist once said If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a
musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of
musicI get most joy in life out of music (Einstein 2015). Musical education provides
an abundance of opportunity and knowledge. A universal language, research has shown
that being musically educated improves test scores, kinesthetic learning, multitasking,
creativity, mathematics, and language skills. Implementing and supporting musical
programs within school systems is essential to helping students reach their full
academic potential. Including music as part of a core curriculum instead of considering it

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as an extra will arm students with every tool they need to best utilize their brain
capacities and talents. The overall mental, emotional, and physical well-being of an
individual can be improved by the stimulation and growth learning music provides. The
better equipped a student is, the more successful they are able to become.

(Tybrad 2015)

Works Cited
All Science Fair Projects. "Do Singers Have a Larger Lung Capacity than Non-singers?"
Hundreds of Science Fair Projects For Students. N.p., 2013. Web. 11 July 2015.
<http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/>.

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Einstein, Albert. "Albert Einstein Quote about Music Online Poetry Archives."
PoetryGrrrl Online Poetry Archives. N.p., 01 Apr. 2015. Web. 12 July 2015.
<http://www.poetrygrrrl.com/albert-einstein-quote-about-music/>.
Fang, Marina. "Public Schools Slash Arts Education And Turn To Private Funding."
ThinkProgress RSS. Center for American Progress Action Fund, 05 Aug. 2013.
Web. 11 July 2015. <http://thinkprogress.org/education/2013/08/05/2412381/
public-schools-slasharts-education-relying-more-on-private-arts-funding/>.
Fitzpatrick, Karen. "What is the Impact of Music Education on Academic Achievement?"
RSS.

Jeffco

Observer,

May

2014.

Web.

22

June

2015.

<http://www.jeffcoobserver.com/volume-2-issue-2/2014/5/8/
fmi6dv8fblauzj5pq5v6dznfenb08x>.
Folley, Bradley. "Musicians Use Both Sides of Their Brains More Frequently than
Average
People." Vanderbilt News. Vanderbilt University, 02 Oct. 2008. Web. 11 July
2015.
<http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2008/10/musicians-use-both-sides-of-their-brainsmore-frequently-than-average-people-65577/>.
Music Education Services. "Academic Achievement Music Education Services."
Academic Achievement | Music Education Services. Music Education Services,
2012.

Web.

22

June

2015.

<http://www.thecrescendo.com/academic-

achievement>.
Standley, Jayne. "Does Music Instruction Help Children Learn to Read? Evidence of a

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Meta Analysis." Does Music Instruction Help Children Learn to Read? Evidence
of
a Meta Analysis. National Association for Music Education, Nov. 2008. Web. 11
July 2015. <http://upd.sagepub.com/content/27/1/17.short>.
Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol, 1998. "Benefits of Music Education." Music
Education Online. Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report Houston Chronicle, Jan. 1998. Web. 12 July 2015.
<http://www.childrensmusicworkshop.com/advocacy/benefits/>.
Tybrad. Albert Einstein on Music. Digital image. Albert Einstein on Music
AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums. N.p., 30 Mar. 2015.
Web. 26 July 2015.
<http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=650877>.