No Music NO Life

I prepared this article for my Reading and Writing exam and I thought I might as well share it with you guys. To spread the idea of reviving music education and not to waste my hard work at the same time. XD

Enjoy.

When most think about classes at school we automatically think of Math, Science, or English, unfortunately, music education is left off of that main list of classes far too often. Studies have shown that exposing small children to music will accelerate their cognitive ability far greater than the children who were not exposed to music. Music Education is no doubt a necessity to the students of today.

Music plays a major role in everyone's daily life. Music is listened to while driving a car, when eating in restaurants, relaxing at home, and even when on hold to a company's overloaded phone system. Music is everywhere you turn, and it should be one of the main subjects to be studied in our public school systems. Public schools in Malaysia need to understand that the funding and continued study of music is just as important as the funding for math or science to produce a well rounded graduate. After all public schools in Malaysia have this awesome responsibility of producing Malaysia's next generation of productive members of society.

Providing music as part of education helps develop intelligence that leads to greater success in school and in life. Giving a child an instrument is the success in society. Researchers have found that children involved with music education are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college, and are less likely to be involved with gangs and substance abuse. Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs). Recent studies show that students who study the arts are more successful on standardized tests. They also achieve higher grades in high school.

Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. It is thought that brain development continues for many years after birth. Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain's circuits in specific ways. Linking familiar songs to new information can also help imprint information on young minds. There is also a causal link between music and spatial intelligence (the ability to perceive the world accurately and to form mental pictures of things). This kind of intelligence, by which one can visualize various elements that should go together, is critical to the sort of thinking necessary for everything from solving advanced mathematics problems to being able to pack a book-bag with everything that will be needed for the day.

Students of the arts learn to think creatively and to solve problems by imagining various solutions, rejecting outdated rules and assumptions. Questions about the arts do not have only one right answer. Students of music learn craftsmanship as they study how details are put together painstakingly and what constitutes good, as opposed to mediocre, work. These standards, when applied to a student's own work, demand a new level of excellence and require students to stretch their inner resources. In music, a mistake is a mistake; the instrument is in tune or not, the notes are well played or not, the entrance is made or not. It is only by much hard work that a successful performance is possible. Through music study, students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence and the concrete rewards of hard work.

Music study also develops skills that are necessary in the workplace. It focuses on "doing," as opposed to observing, and teaches students how to perform, literally, anywhere in the world. Employers are looking for multi-dimensional workers with the sort of flexible and supple intellects that music education helps to create as described above. In the music classroom, students can also learn to better communicate and cooperate with one another. Music study enhances teamwork skills and discipline. In order for an orchestra to sound good, all players must work together harmoniously towards a single goal, the performance, and must commit to learning music, attending rehearsals, and practicing.


Music provides children with a means of self-expression. Now that there is relative security in the basics of existence, the challenge is to make life meaningful and to reach for a higher stage of development. Everyone needs to be in touch at some time in his life with his core, with what he is and what he feels. Self-esteem is a by-product of this self-expression. Music performance teaches young people to conquer fear and to take risks. A little anxiety is a good thing, and something that will occur often in life. Dealing with it early and often makes it less of a problem later. Risk-taking is essential if a child is to fully develop his or her potential. Another benefit of music education is the "success in school." Having success in school directly leads to having success in society. If our children learn the disciplines of music, I believe it will transfer over to other areas of their life such as school.

In the public school system of standardized testing and never ending required classes, music seems to have slipped through the cracks. If a school system is trying to produce a well rounded individual, music education is a must in the curriculum. Music education is one of humanity's seven intelligences. If one area of intelligence is ignored, then a student has lost that sense of themselves. This loss is a major burden of the public school system that must be addressed.

So do you agree on me?