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New York Times article.

I read that too, and as a musician, I'm inclined to to think "well of course music is the key to success. duh!"

But, thinking about it more critically, they forgot to discuss the possibility that people who are more likely to succeed might be more likely to play an instrument, or that the qualities needed to be successful just happen to be the same qualities needed to be a consistent hobby-musician....

So although I found the article compelling, it seems they've forgotten the most elementary lesson of analysis: don't confuse correlation with causation.

perfect, ShiroKuro :thumbsup:

One point the author makes well is that music can demonstrate to the young better than most other courses of study the linkage between disciplined, focused study and success. Realizing that, some music students then are better able to transfer that lesson to other endeavors.

It may not work that way for everyone, but it certainly did for me.

This is one of the things I'm most curious about, in a "chicken or egg" sort of a way.

Long before I decided to start learning how to play the piano, I had practiced a martial art (Aikido if anyone's curious) for probably more than 10 years and ultimately received a 2nd degree blackbelt (before giving up that practice so I could get more time at the piano!)

The discipline, patience, willingness to make mistakes and keep trying, and just overall strength of spirit I learned through Aikido transferred to many other endeavors, including piano. And then I would also say things I've learned through piano, moreso than through Aikido, have proved immensely valuable for me in my current pursuit, which is completing a Ph.D (not in a music-related field). Esp because, although I've always had a piano teacher, success at the piano requires the ability to work/practice alone (as does academic research).

Was something I learned through my pianistic pursuit, that has helped me in my academic pursuit, a thing I couldn't have learned through Aikido? Or would I have had similar successes if the order of these pursuits were flipped around? Or are my successes in Aikido, piano, and now graduate school, all due to something I brought with me that predisposed me to succeed in these pursuits from the beginning?

It seems most likely that a combination of factors contribute to success, and I certainly don't want to diminish the intrinsic value of pursuing a musical instrument. So I'll stop here since ultimately this line of thinking will probably direct back to the talent/effort questions that come up on PW periodically (i.e., is it talent that creates a successful pianist, X number of hours at the keyboard that bring about pianisitic success, or is it a talent for practice that makes it possible to put in all those practice hours?)

Well said. It is chicken/egg in the long run. Music encourages disciplined thinking, independent study, many other things, but there are other things that do the same thing.

That said, I work with some kids who are only average or a bit better than that whole work goes way up because of what they learn through music. It teaches important skills.

Not sure if anyone caught this article I posted a couple of days ago. The studies here are looking at the chicken/egg question.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/using-music-to-close-the-academic-gap/280362/

Ooh, I'd missed that, thanks for re-posting it. I'll read it tomorrow (gonna go practice now

I couldn't agree more. I'd bet most, if not all, of the names mentioned also had two parents highly invested in their upbringing and education as children, but of course that couldn't possibly be a better indicator for success.

And then there are people like me, who grew up in relative poverty with both parents struggling to do multiple jobs just to support the family, and with little (if any) parental time or energy left over to be "highly invested in {the kids'} upbringing and education."

I had the misfortune to be naturally fairly bright, which meant that I could more than keep up in school, in early grades, without studying or working hard. So I learned nothing about studying or self-disciplined pursuit of difficult endeavors.

That flaw started to catch up with me in early high school. Then I took up music, saw the direct correlation between hard work and advancement, and began to apply the same lessons to my other studies. I know others who benefited from music in the same way.

Is music study THE key to success? Of course not.

But diligence and self-disciplined application to hard tasks ARE the key to success. Many kids who don't learn that elsewhere (e.g., from rich parents with time on their hands, equestrian classes, boarding schools in Switzerland, etc.) learn it in music.

Point taken.

That would have been my story without music. Music was the only area I mastered, and it was not until later in life that I learned how to apply the lessons I learned in music to everything else.

I could not agree more.

Something I've observed in successful people is not only do they have discipline, but they also are creative problem-solvers. I think that neglecting right-brained activities in school education is a huge mistake because of this. Most people who study music don't grow up to be professional musicians, but they exercise that creativity. I see a lot of one-dimensional students these days, and luckily they are studying music.

So, true, correlation may not imply causation here, but I think there still may be a link.