A Musical Fix for American

Schools
Research shows that music training boosts IQ, focus and persistence
ByJoanneLipman
Oct.10,201411:24a.m.ET
http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-musical-fix-for-american-schools-
1412954652

Americaneducationisinperpetualcrisis.Ourstudentsarefallingeverfartherbehindtheirpeersintherest
oftheworld.Learningdisabilitieshavereachedepidemicproportions,affectingasmanyasoneinfiveof
ourchildren.IlliteracycostsAmericanbusinesses$80billionayear.

Manysolutionshavebeentried,butfewhavesucceeded.SoIproposeadifferentapproach:musictraining.
Agrowingbodyofevidencesuggeststhatmusiccouldtrumpmanyofthemuchmoreexpensivefixes
thatwehavethrownattheeducationsystem.

Plentyofoutstandingachievershaveattributedatleastsomeoftheirsuccesstomusicstudy.Stanford
UniversitysThomasSudhof,whowontheNobelPrizeinmedicinelastyear,gavecredittohisbassoon
teacher.AlbertEinstein,whobeganplayingtheviolinatage6,saidhisdiscoveryofthetheoryofrelativity
wastheresultofmusicalperception.

Untilrecently,though,ithasbeenachickenandeggquestion:Aresmart,ambitiouspeoplenaturally
attractedtomusic?Ordoesmusicmakethemsmartandambitious?Anddomusicallytrainedstudentsfare
betteracademicallybecausetheytendtocomefrommoreaffluent,bettereducatedfamilies?

Newresearchprovidessomeintriguinganswers.Musicisnocureall,norisitlikelytoturnyourchildinto
aNobelPrizewinner.Butthereiscompellingevidencethatitcanboostchildrensacademicperformance
andhelpfixsomeofourschoolsmostintractableproblems.

MusicraisesyourIQ.

E.GlennSchellenberg,aUniversityofTorontopsychologyprofessor,wasskepticalaboutclaimsthat
musicmakesyousmarterwhenhedeviseda2004studytoassessitsimpactonIQscores.Herandomly
assigned132firstgraderstokeyboard,singingordramalessons,ornolessonsatall.Hefiguredthatatthe
endoftheschoolyear,bothmusicanddramastudentswouldshowbumpsinIQscores,justbecauseof
thatexperienceofgettingthemoutofthehouse.Butsomethingunexpectedhappened.TheIQscoresof
themusicstudentsincreasedmorethanthoseoftheothergroups.

AnotherCanadianstudy,thisoneof48preschoolersandpublishedin2011,foundthatverbalIQincreased
afteronly20daysofmusictraining.Infact,theincreasewasfivetimesthatofacontrolgroupof
preschoolers,whoweregivenvisualartlessons,saysleadresearcherSylvainMoreno,anassistant
professorofpsychologyattheUniversityofToronto.Hefoundthatmusictrainingenhancedthechildrens
executivefunctionthatis,theirbrainsabilitytoplan,organize,strategizeandsolveproblems.Andhe
foundtheeffectin90%ofthechildren,anunusuallyhighrate.

1
Musictrainingcanreducetheacademicgapbetweenrichandpoordistricts.

TheHarmonyProjectinLosAngelesgivesfreeinstrumentlessonstochildreninimpoverished
neighborhoods.MargaretMartin,whofoundedtheprogramin2001,noticedthattheprogramsstudents
notonlydidbetterinschoolbutalsoweremorelikelytograduateandtoattendcollege.

Tounderstandwhy,NorthwesternUniversityneurobiologistNinaKrausspenttwoyearstracking446to
9yearoldsintheprogramandthenmeasuredtheirbrainactivity.Shefoundasignificantincreaseinthe
musicstudentsabilitytoprocesssounds,whichiskeytolanguage,readingandfocusintheclassroom.
Academicresultsborethatout:Whilethemusicstudentsreadingscoresheldsteady,scoresforacontrol
groupthatdidntreceivelessonsdeclined.

Prof.Krausfoundsimilarresultsina2013studypublishedinFrontiersinEducationalPsychologyof43
highschoolstudentsfromimpoverishedneighborhoodsinChicago.Studentsrandomlyassignedtobandor
choirlessonsshowedsignificantincreasesintheirabilitytoprocesssounds,whilethoseinacontrolgroup,
whowereenrolledinajuniorROTCprogram,didnt.Amusicianhastomakesenseofacomplicated
soundscape,Prof.Kraussays,whichtranslatesintoanabilitytounderstandlanguageandtofocus,for
example,onwhatateacherissayinginanoisyclassroom.

Musictrainingdoesmorethansports,theaterordancetoimprovekeyacademicskills.

Lastyear,theGermanInstituteforEconomicResearchcomparedmusictrainingwithsports,theaterand
danceinastudyof17yearolds.Theresearch,basedonasurveyofmorethan3,000teens,foundthat
thosewhohadtakenmusiclessonsoutsideschoolscoredsignificantlyhigherintermsofcognitiveskills,
hadbettergradesandweremoreconscientiousandambitiousthantheirpeers.Theimpactofmusicwas
morethantwicethatoftheotheractivitiesandheldtrueregardlessofthestudentssocioeconomic
background.

Tobesure,theotheractivitiesalsohadbenefits.Kidsinsportsalsoshowedincreasedambition,while
thoseintheateranddanceexpressedmoreoptimism.Butwhenitcametocoreacademicskills,thestudys
authorsfound,theimpactofmusictrainingwasmuchstronger.

Musiccanbeaninexpensiveearlyscreeningtoolforreadingdisabilities.

BrazilianmusicteacherPauloEstevaoAndradenoticedthathissecondgradestudentswhostruggledwith
rhythmandpitchoftenwentontohavereadingproblems.Soheinventedagameinwhichheplayeda
seriesofchordsonaguitarandaskedhisstudentstowritesymbolsrepresentinghighandlownotes.Those
whoperformedpoorlyontheexercise,hefound,typicallydevelopedseverereadingproblemsdownthe
line.

Intrigued,hejoinedwithNadineGaab,anassistantprofessoratHarvardMedicalSchool,tofollow43
studentsoverthreeyears,andtheyfoundthatthetestpredictedgenerallearningdisabilitiesaswell.Why?
Mr.Andradenotesthatthebrainprocessesusedinthemusictestsuchasauditorysequencingabilities,
necessarytohearsyllables,wordsandsentencesinorderarethesameasthoseneededtolearntoread.
Prof.Gaabsaysthetest,whichissimpleandinexpensivetoadminister,hasgreatpotentialasatoolfor
earlyintervention.

Musicliterallyexpandsyourbrain.

Ina2009studyintheJournalofNeuroscience,researchersusedanMRItostudythebrainsof316year
oldchildren,beforeandaftertheytooklessonsonmusicalinstrumentfor15months.Theyfoundthatthe
2
musicstudentsbrainsgrewlargerintheareasthatcontrolfinemotorskillsandhearingandthat
studentsabilitiesinboththoseareasalsoimproved.Thecorpuscallosum,whichconnectstheleftandright
sidesofthebrain,grewaswell.

EllenWinner,aBostonCollegepsychologyprofessorandcoauthorofthestudy,notesthatthestudy
doesntshowariseincognitiveabilities.Butshearguesthatmusicshouldnthavetojustifyitselfasan
academicbooster.Ifwearegoingtolookforeffectsoutsideofmusic,Iwouldlookatthingslike
persistenceanddiscipline,becausethisiswhatsrequiredtoplayaninstrument,shesays.

Yetmusicprogramscontinuetobeviewedasexpendable.A2011analysisintheJournalofEconomic
FinancecalculatedthataK12schoolmusicprograminalargesuburbandistrictcost$187perstudenta
year,orjust1.6%ofthetotaleducationbudget.Thatseemsareasonablepricetopayforfixingsomeofthe
thorniestandmostexpensiveproblemsfacingAmericaneducation.Musicprogramsshouldnthavetosing
fortheirsupper.

Ms.Lipmaniscoauthor,withMelanieKupchynsky,ofStringsAttached,publishedlastmonthin
paperbackbyHachetteBooks.SheisaformerdeputymanagingeditorofTheWallStreetJournaland
formereditorinchiefofCondNastPortfolio.