Music In Elementary School

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clude reasoning, creative thinking, decision-making and problem-solving. It does this by activating multiple brain sites located in the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes. The result starts to increase both the brain's efficiency and effectiveness. The strongest studies support the value of music-making in spatial reasoning, creativity and mathematical skills. This activation may be necessary for higher brain functions including cognition and memory. Music influences the brain as well as it does, stress levels, social feelings, self concept, and activity levels. We can only look to refine the ways we use it in our schools.
The real-world experience, clinical studies and research support the view that music has strong, positive, neurological effects. There's virtually no evidence of downside risk. So far, evidence suggests that there are greater benefits from playing compared to listening. The enhanced and lasting effects come more from long-term music playing than one-time or short-term music playing. Based on the evidence gathered so far, it's reasonable that music should be a significant part of every child's education. It is the ethical, scientific and cultural imperative that all children get exposure to music. There is also support for the policy of starting children early in their music education since the effects are greater in the early years. The positive impact will increase with each additional year.


Implementing Music in the Classroom
There are many, many ways the musical arts can be implemented in classrooms. Music can be either played or listened to actively or passively. If playing music in a learning environment, remember these things:

Many students who are having difficulty in school may have listening and/or hearing problems. These problems may be impacting their behavior, reading abilities, and attention patterns. Schools should test for both hearing and listening skills....