Benefits of Music Education for Young People

What the world needs now is drums, sweet drums

MUSIC MAKES A DIFFERENCE WITH CHILDREN BECAUSE:

• the brain processes music in both hemispheres: music can stimulate cognitive functioning and may be used for remediation of some speech/language skills.
• music can encourage socialization, self-expression, communication, and motor development.
• music therapy can help a child manage pain and stressful situations.
• music is inspires many moods: music can highly motivating, and also calming.
• successful music activities make children feel better about themselves.
• the medium of music therapy allows the joy of play to occur naturally and frequently: children learn best in such an environment.
• music stimulates all of the senses and involves the child at many levels: this "multi-modal approach" facilitates many developmental skills.

Even the most informal involvement in music education can be a vehicle for school aged children to develop social and academic skills including increased motor skill development, improved academic performance, better temporal-spatial manipulation ability, increased self-esteem, greater appreciation of the value of teamwork, a sense of recognition by the community, achievement and a means of self-expression [from Global Education in Music (http://www.get-m.org/whyarts.html)].

Global Education Through Music, a San Diego based organization devoted to the promotion of the arts tells us that the youth involved in its arts programs are drawn by the excitement of:

• creative and artistic expression,
• recognition for performances, exhibitions or public art works,
• learning new job skills, and
• using the arts to communicate difficult thoughts and emotions.
  (http://www.get-m.org/whyarts.html)

In London there are many programs that adopt a similar approach, including Investing in Children’s Kids Count Leadership Camp. At this leadership camp, one elective for the children to chose from has been a drumming workshops led by Dale Marcell. Dale Marcell, master musician and director of The Marcell School of Drum, cites the following benefits of drumming:

1. stress relief: brain wave patterns change after brief drumming sessions to more relaxed states [ see Dr. Barry Quinn];
2. synchronization of brain waves in both brain hemispheres: like deep mediation, may be the neurophysiological basis of higher states of consciousness [Layne Redmond];
3. increase in confidence and self-acceptance, as peers and accept all performances;
4. teambuilding: members of the drumming circle listen to each other, find their own place in the group, assist others, and take leadership roles; and
5. increased cardiovascular performance leading to better health.

The basis of such success may be the unconditional acceptance of each individual musician. As Dale states, “There is no such thing as failure in the drumming circle...”

Read the full Article Courtesy of Investing In Children.