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Great! My brain needs all the help it can get.
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I'm skeptical of these claims--all due respect to the New York times--but there is one advantage that's seldom touted: It makes you enjoy music more. Even if you never become a virtuoso yourself, you have an appreciation for musicianship that people who never took music lessons don't have.
Robert Swirsky Thrill Science, Inc.
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Agreed, Robert. I, too, am uncertain as to the claims; however, what I do know is that I get invaluable guidance and molding from my piano teacher. I cannot imagine continuing to grow into my playing without her pushing and teaching; she facilitates my improvement and thereby my joy in playing and development. That being said, I cannot claim the same for the piano teacher my mother found for me as a child. That piano teacher was not qualified to teach. I realized this when I took piano back up as an older adult. I surpassed my years of learning as a child in just one month with my current teacher (I acknowledge that desire plays the biggest role in this difference). She's fabulous and I'm fortunate to be her student. As for your comment on appreciation, I wholeheartedly agree. I've always highly regarded musicianship, but now….well, I'm boundlessly dumbfounded by its beauty and nature.
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I'm skeptical of these claims--all due respect to the New York times--
What's to be skeptical about? The journal abstract (linked in the article) states: "We found that a moderate amount (4–14 years) of music training early in life is associated with faster neural timing in response to speech later in life, long after training stopped (>40 years)."The idea that musical training can have a lasting effect on auditory information processing doesn't seem like an outlandish claim, and likely a pretty easy correlation to quantify. I assume its solid neurological research. Larry.
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No, it definitely doesn't seem like an outlandish claim yet I think that is besides the point he was trying to make. It's an unresolvable discussion on correlation and causation. Numerous other factors play into an environment exposing a child to the opportunity to receive 4-14 years of musical training. It would be an interesting study to read. Nevertheless, we all agree it's a good thing to have had music training as a child.
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When reading the article, I thought of the musical environment and education that I enjoyed throughout my childhood and teen years despite never having taking lessons on an instrument. My mother was a classical music fan who filled the house with the music of Beethoven, Brahams, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, etc.; the elementary school I attended included art and music appreciation (taught by actual art and music teachers) in every grade; I acted and sang in school programs (including a simplified English version of "The Magic Flute" when I was in 4th grade!) as well as the church choir. I've often thought, as many of us probably have, that my generation was just about the last one so blessed in our culture, and that children today are missing out on much, much more than they and their parents realize. Loss of funding for arts and music in our schools speaks poorly of our culture, and unfortunately leaves the door wide open for commercial interests to play an increasingly powerful role in determining what children -- and our society -- value as being musical and/or artistic. So it seems I’m wandering far afield … Suffice to say, I'm pleased to read of any research that demonstrates the benefits of a musical education. Measuring how quickly one can process speech doesn't begin to capture all the benefits that *we* know come with the attempt to master an instrument. But the reference to "healthy aging" toward the end of the article is telling. Demonstrating that early musical training can provide health benefits to an aging population could spur government or private investment in music education. (I don’t wish to imply that research is only valuable when it results in practical applications and/or dollar savings … but sadly, that’s a common attitude that researchers must deal with every day.)
Deborah Charles Walter 1500 Happiness is a shiny red piano.
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These types of articles frustrate me. I see so many music teachers pointing to these articles as a "selling point" for their music lessons. "Look, take music lessons and you'll be smarter!"
But as piano teacher myself, I can't buy into that. Sure, it's a great side benefit if it's true, but that's not why I took and now teach music lessons.
In fact, I would take lessons again even if research said that they made me dumber.
Why? Because I love music. That's what we as teachers should be promoting. That's why students should take lessons.
My two cents. Thanks for reading!
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However, pianoSD, the fact that you love music isn't a selling point. Is that how you "sell" lessons to the parents of potential students?
What do you consider the benefits of music lessons to be?
Devil's advocate, I am,
Marty in Minnesota
It's much easier to bash a Steinway than it is to play one.
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Marty,
Thanks for the reply. I love a good devil's advocate!
You are correct; the fact that I love music isn't a selling point for someone else, and I don't try to make it one.
The truth is... music sells itself. If a potential student or parent of a student doesn't understand that, I don't want to give him or her lessons. The desire to learn music has to come from within; it can't be done as a side show for something else such as getting smarter.
The benefits of music lessons are freedom of expression, creativity, communicating through a musical language, entertainment, the enjoyment of learning, and self-confidence.
These are the reasons to sell music lessons, not because a child will get an A+ on his or her next math test.
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I was mostly pointing out that this article actually made it to the #2 slot on the NYTimes that day. I guess I didn't point it out, actually.
Anyway, I totally agree with all of you that music is not about how it helps other things, but that music by itself is truly magical. But I've also been curious about the neuroscience of music and especially with piano how we coordinate two separate parts at the same time, the memorization, the relative memory addressing (similar to computer memory actually).
In addition to the music itself, I do think that the study of music does have so many indirect benefits that can't be found in other activities. If you're talking to parents who are players then that's easy, but if you're not, many do not understand the value of a music education so I think you do have to change your pitch to interest them. Once their kids immerse in music they'll get it, and their kids will get it, but we have to figure out a way to convince parents who don't get it to spend $150/mo, buy a $10K piano, etc.
So we'll talk about how it increases the plasticity of your brain, fine motor skills, memory, auditory functions...they might get that stuff.
And this was a real situation I was in recently. I was trying to convince my PhD friend who can't sing Happy Birthday that he should put his daughter in piano lessons. He seems to think it's a distraction from academics and it's either all music or all academics, I totally disagree so I had to pull the journal of neuroscience on him. That worked. Now she's taking piano lessons.
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And this was a real situation I was in recently. I was trying to convince my PhD friend who can't sing Happy Birthday that he should put his daughter in piano lessons. He seems to think it's a distraction from academics and it's either all music or all academics, I totally disagree so I had to pull the journal of neuroscience on him. That worked. Now she's taking piano lessons.
Bravo Michaelh! IMHO, music IS its own reward. It has also been a huge part of my life as well as that of my entire family. However, when one or both parents consider where to put their resources these days it can sometimes be daunting. Parents are trying to find things for their kids to do and learn from and they can choose from such a staggering array of activities today. If music is put on the same level as soccer, for instance, it will lose every time. Frankly, it is totally unfair to music to make a direct comparison to soccer. Music does so much more for us. When selling a piano I tend to get to know my clients. I like people and naturally enjoy getting to know them. From this experience I can say that it is important to many parents that music, particularly piano, offers their children other benefits and I talk about them. I congratulate them for considering music for their child and I tell them what a smart move they are making because I truly believe it. If it were only about plinking the correct "button" at the correct time in the correct way - I fear soccer would win almost every time. Once the child is taking lessons, enjoying them, and making music, these other benefits become less important to most parents. They are still there though. The child will also be learning history, culture, art, and politics as it relates to the music they are playing (if they have a good teacher) so aside from the research showing so many good correlations, music still tromps soccer every time! (No offense to soccer players)
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