David Brooks and Friends, a fantastic concert on PBS Atlanta, featured amazing music artists singing arrangements Brooks produced. Andrea Bocelli and Kathryn Mcphee sang Somos Novios, other artists included Josh Groban and Bryan McKnight in an R & B arrangement of Bridge Over Troubled Water, Kenny Edmunds, Michael Buble, Baby Face, Boss Skaggs, and Charisse, whose song selections from Whitney Houston in the Bodyguard earned her a standing ovation. I was mesmerized by the music. I can carry a tune, but these guys are mega-talented.
Did you know that the majority of the workers in Silicon Valley were musically trained?
Researchers have found correlations between music and human brain development. Some studies show that high school students who have a background in music earn higher grades as compared with students who have no musical background.
An article titled "Music and the Brain, Music Power" (O'Donnell 2008), contends that students who listen to a specific type of music such as a Mozart composition before and during a test will achieve higher scores than students who do not have that opportunity.
Music is thought to improve spacial-temporal reasoning necessary to understand mathematics and science. The correlation between the study of music and academic achievement is a popular research topic promoted by educators who support music education from kindergarten to high school. Technology today enables scientists to see that the right hemisphere of the brain is stimulated by music, the same processes used in analytical thinking. Music instruction helps students to develop communication, creativity, and cooperation.
Music has no language barrier. Everyone reacts to music. Every generation is defined by the music of the decade. Students download hundreds, sometimes thousands of songs onto IPods for entertainment and to connect with their peers. In our multicultural society, educators would do well to incorporate music into the curriculum. In English/Language Arts classes, for example, a humanities approach of including art and music in the curriculum would help students to develop higher order thinking skills. Curriculum resources available on the web could provide educators with tools to implement music as part of the curriculum in any academic area.
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