Snow Pond Center for the Arts - Summer Concert Series

Learning an Instrument
Aids in Brain Development
Mia Chung
As a 7-year-old pianist, I experienced
the joy of learning Beethoven’s
“Für Elise.” My eyes deciphered the
notes on the page, my ears guided
me to depress the right keys, and my
fingers translated the symbols on the
page with the right speed, rhythm
and expression. The benefit in my
mind was the pleasure of making
music. What I didn’t know was that
I was wiring my brain for classroom
learning.
Yet in the years since music fed
my young mind and laid the groundwork
for further intellectual growth,
the country has steadily moved away
from music instruction. Too many
schoolchildren are learning without
this effective discipline. Instead, the
noisy national debates bounce from
one “fix” to the next, whether No
Child Left Behind or Common Core.
Left on the cutting-room floor are
music lessons — yes, music — that
new research shows is essential for
brain development.
Playing a musical instrument develops
an important neurocognitive
skill known as executive function.
Strong EF is critical for the brain to
operate in school and in life. Focusing
on a topic, memorizing information,
inhibition, cognitive flexibility
and paying attention to multiple
ideas simultaneously are examples of
it. It is at the heart of all learning.
Acquiring these skills starts in
early childhood and is crucial for
healthy brain development through
early adulthood. In fact, recent studies
from the Laboratories of Cognitive
Neuroscience at Boston Children’s
Hospital indicate that EF is a
strong predictor of academic achievement,
even more than IQ.
The solution to weak academic
performance isn’t simply standardized
testing or tutoring during the
elementary years and beyond. It is
music performance starting in early
childhood, which promotes EF skills.
A study from the Boston Children’s
Hospital this past summer demonstrated
through MRI brain imaging
that musical training promotes
the development and maintenance
of these abilities. Lead investigator
Nadine Gaab says the brains of musically
trained children display more
activation and “more mature executive
function networks.” This finding
supports the widely held perception
that music performance and academic
achievement go hand in hand.
Living evidence of music’s power
to turn the most underserved on to
learning exists in the U.S. chapters
of El Sistema, which is an intensive
after-school music training program
for the neediest children. Philadelphia,
Los Angeles, Baltimore, New
York City, and dozens of other cities
have programs that have produced
strong outcomes among students.
Stanford Thompson, executive
director of “Play on Philly,” the local
El Sistema program, boasts that its
students outperform peers who select
academic tutoring and other afterschool
programs, as measured by an
independent educational assessment
firm. In other major cities, similar
stories of improved academic performance
are emerging.
Unfortunately, these privately
funded programs are all after-school
initiatives that benefit a small percentage
of children. Music performance
happens outside of the school
day because districts have not understood
the positive impact it can have
on academic performance.
We must change preschool and
elementary education to include
music performance as a core subject.
Studies show that early intervention
is critical to avoid widening academic
gaps further down the road. Imagine
including music training as a central
part of the Head Start program,
which serves nearly one million
children annually. Preschoolers could
learn how to read music and play an
instrument. Music training in an ensemble
could be an important part of
the elementary curriculum. Students
would perform better on standardized
tests as they learn to process
information, focus, switch mental
gears and regulate thought patterns
more effectively.
Resistance to change and complacency
have shortchanged our children,
particularly the underserved.
Here is the truth: Playing an instrument
wires the brain for learning. By
teaching students to play music, we
can increase their success in other
disciplines.
It is time that we pay attention
to the evidence before us and rethink
education. No child should be without
music. My “Für Elise” moment is
available to all.
Mia Chung is a concert pianist and professor
of musical studies at the Curtis
Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She
wrote this for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
It was distributed by Tribune News
Service. Reprinted by permission.
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