Why We Need Music
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Why We Need Music

By Professor Richard K Flowers AA BS MSISD AP

Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons and you will find that it is to the soul what the waterbath is to the body.

William Shakespeare

We as humans are naturally born as musical and rhythmical. Even those who say they cannot hold a tune or sing offkey have a musical and rhythmical intelligence. We live in a universe where rhythm and beat are intrinsically embedded in our lives. The day has 24 hours the year 365 days and seasons occur according to where we live. As an infant we listen to our own heartbeat as well as our mothers. As we are born into the world we experience the rhythm of own on breath and the sounds of music around us. We may sing songs or dance to them. For many of us our exposure to music may be limited to singing the alphabet or short childrens songs.Many others have only experienced music in school during a weekly 30minute class period. Often this exposure to music is marginal at best and the true appreciation of its power is never experienced. Unfortunately today music and art programs are either being cut or severely under funded in schools because of the budget shortfalls nationwide.

However it is possible for teachers and parents to use music holistically to teach the entire child. There are many activities that integrate music into learning all subjects using hands on multiple intelligences and multimedia forms of learning.

Howard Gardner a tireless researcher in multiple intelligences has identified musical and rhythmic intelligence importance in his studies. I have found through my own research as well as in other comparative research the musical rhythmic intelligence is the most powerful tool in learning.

Recent research is just now beginning to show the profound affects of music on learning and our lives.The College Entrance Examination Board research reports:

Students of the arts continue to outperform their nonarts peers on the SAT according to reports by the College Entrance Examination Board. In 2004 SAT takers with coursework/experience in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 40 points higher on the math portion than students with no coursework or experience in the arts. Scores for those with coursework in music appreciation were 63 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math portion. (see table below)

In my own classroom I use every opportunity in using music and rhythm in daily instruction. I have seen how music and rhythm work wonders with my students to learn so many fantastic things. For example in science I devised a song for the kids to remember Mohs Hardness Scale in geology. The Mohs hardness scale for minerals has been used since 1822. It simply consists of ten minerals arranged in order from 1 to 10. Diamond is rated as the hardest and is indexed as 10; talc as the softest with index number 1. I keyed the minerals in the scale to a familiar tune and the kids learned the scale promptly. I have done the same with the presidents states capitals colonies planets Great Lakes Visible Spectrum Central American Countries groupings of taxonomy and many other facts. Remember this is done with first graders!

Music and rhythm are also powerful tools for teaching reading. The kids can chant and sing the high frequency word lists such as Dolch and Fry word lists with the Dolch and Fry Phrases. I have devised a piggyback song for this purpose.Another great tool to help children read is the use of phonograms. Phonograms are word families that are used in everyday reading writing and conversation. By learning the 37 most common phonograms kids can learn over 500 words and learn to decode more complex words. I enjoy singing phonograms with my kids to tunes that I have created. I have seen fantastic growth in my kids reading and all subjects by integrating music and rhythm into the curriculum.

I once had the opportunity to study music with an East Indian musician in Berkeley that played the Bansuri (the classical East Indian bamboo flute). He taught me how to play the tabla which is the name of an East Indian drum. I learned the East Indian system of music is one of the richest and most complex systems in the world. Their music system is handed down esoterically from guru to disciple using an oral system of mnemonic syllables to play the tabla. When my friend first introduced me to the system I was overwhelmed. However once I started using the mnemonic techniques of drumming I learned the phrases quickly. I was surprised at how fast I remembered the techniques. The rhythms for Ragas on the tabla are called thekas. For example there is a popular beat rhythm called Tintal. For example here is the theka for Tintal.

X 2 0 3

Dha Dhin Dhin Dha Dha Dhin Dhin Dha Dha Tin Tin Ta Ta Dhin Dhin Dha

By chanting the theka in a rhythm you quickly learn it with the stroke. Every chant has a stroke on the tabla that it relates to. If you have ever had the privilege of watching an East Indian master tabla player you will get goose bumps with the experience! The rich fast complex rhythms even can run circles around the best western style drum players. Even the advanced jazz percussionist Max Roach has affirmed this.

The reason that I learned this complicated pattern so quickly was with the power of music and rhythm. Whenever music and rhythm are integrated into a lesson the understanding and retention increases many times. Research shows that music stimulates the neuron development of the brain. Music can actually increase intelligence.

Research shows that most of the best computer and mechanical engineering designers in the high tech fields are practicing musicians. Many who grew up in India were exposed to a rich and complex system of music called Ragas. Ragas have very complex tonal and rhythmic patterns. India graduates a high number of physicists and mathematicians that American business and universities aggressively recruit. Theorists say this high degree of intelligence to the daily or even prenatal listening of Ragas

Other Related Research

Eric Oddleifson reports that a renowned Japanese master mathematics teacher whose nearly 2000000 students have demonstrated incredible math ability beyond their years was asked the following question. What would you say is the most effective way of heightening childrens mental ability at the earliest possible stages He answered The finest start for infants is to sing songs. This helps to elevate their powers of understanding and they register astounding speed in learning math and languages.

Studies by Diana Deutsch at the University of California/San Diego demonstrate that mental mechanisms that process music is deeply entwined with the brains other basic f