Why do med schools accept 60% of music majors and 40% of biochemistry majors?

A look at music in the schools

By Jamie Allen

Story reproduced from the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Playbill

by permission of the author

© The Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Of course music lessons are enriching in their own right, but there is mounting evidence that a high-quality music education in school has, broadly speaking, three major benefits. It helps young people to develop intellectual capacity, to remain committed to attending school, and to do better in later years, whether pursuing music professionally or in using skills that transfer to other fields.

How does music do this, specifically? Well, let’s start with the brain. Unlike math or language, there is no one location in the brain that is dedicated to musical processing. Instead, music making promotes the growth of neural connections all over the brain. It strengthens the synapses that enable the brain to learn, thus making it nothing less than a basic building block of intelligence. In fact a 2004 study published in Psychological Science revealed that students who participate in music lessons have statistically higher IQs than those who don’t.

What are some of the highly valuable skills gained through the study of music? Here are just a few: increased spatial-temporal reasoning, the mental flexibility to think and read ahead while performing a precise task in the present, the ability to consider options in real time and make quick decisions, abstract thinking (without the aid of words), empathy, impulse control, deferred gratification, and the discipline and honest self-evaluation that comes with good practice habits.

Memory is another area where music plays a huge role. A 2006 study published in the scientific journal Brain indicates that young children who receive a year of musical training show superior memory when compared with children who do not receive musical training.

And then there are the numbers. A recent UCLA study of 25,000 students over the course of ten years proved that music-making students outperform their non-musical peers not only in standardized tests (like the SAT), but also many other types of tests, such as reading-proficiency exams. SAT scores for young musicians, in fact, come in at an average of 100 points higher, which could mean the difference between going to college or not. And here’s a couple of tidbits I found to be particularly eyebrow-raising: (1) music majors consistently earn the highest reading scores among all majors, including English, biology, chemistry and math; (2) music majors enjoy the highest acceptance rate to medical school (yes, medical school) than any other major: 66 percent (by comparison, only 44 percent of biochemistry majors are admitted).

When principals and administrators begin to realize the impact that a vibrant music program can have on their campus, the effect is widespread. Not only do the students benefit, but the teachers as well. Music has been proven to increase teacher retention and instructional innovation, help develop a positive, campus-wide professional culture (that the students then model), increase a school’s stature and engagement in the community, and give the school a strong sense of identity. I’m happy to report that I am beginning to see all of these transformations occur in campuses around the metroplex. If we keep moving ahead in this direction, we will equip tomorrow’s workforce with the creative spirit, energy and brain power, they will need to succeed in the 21st century. Now that’s a musical transformation we can all take to the bank.

The Lewisville Lake Symphony likes to get kids involved early.  Here, children and their parents wait for the start of 'Peter and the Wolf' presented in cooperation with the LakeCities Ballet and narrated by a real helicoptering TV traffic reporter.

When?

Parents sometimes ask the Lewisville Lake Symphony how early their children should start learning an instrument.

A while back, the Symphony was  contacted by a Dallas Morning News staffer who wanted to start her son on a piano before he was three.  However, her husband, who played for a well known NFL team, didn't want his son wimping around with musical instruments.  What to do? 

We recommended introducing the boy to a piano to see if he would he play it or tackle it.  Assuming he wanted to play, musicians from the Symphony orchestra said that around five was a good age to start piano.  Earlier for more compact instruments.

We asked the guest artists from recent Symphony Series and International Chamber Series when they got started.

2 years

Janice Frehlauer, violin (piano at 4 years)  

3 years

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, clavier

Elton John, piano

Stirling Trent, violin

4 years

Shannon Lee, violin

5 years

Elena Dorozhkina, piano

Christina Kim, piano

Anton Mordazov, piano

John-Henry Crawford, cello

Rick Wu, piano

Anna McDonald, piano

Alison Chang, piano

6 Years

Sihyung Kim, violin

Wyndham Tsai, cello

Violetta Zharkova, piano

 8 years

Grace Ho, piano, (cello at 9 years)

Its never too late to start  

Alfredo Arjona, who performed in one of our early International Chamber Series concerts, did not begin playing the piano until he was twenty.  Studying chemical engineering at the University of Veracruz in México he found he was more hooked on notes than molecules.  He has gone on to a distinguished career as a pianist after graduating from UNT's College of Music.

Never too early

"Its is NEVER too early to expose a child to music. Obviously, "private lessons" should wait until the child is old enough to sit still and concentrate for about 30 minutes. But there are MANY successful pre-school music programs that introduce children to the idea of singing, clapping, dancing, etc."

Symphony Board Member

Prof. Pamela Mia Paul.

Career path

Alan Greenspan is an accomplished clarinet and saxophone player who played with Stan Getz when they were in school together. He studied clarinet at the Juilliard School from 1943 to 1944, when he dropped out to join a professional jazz band.

He returned to college in 1945, attending New York University (NYU), where he received a B.S. in economics summa cum laude in 1948 and an M.A. in economics in 1950.

Wikipedia
 

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Become an active volunteer and help the Lewisville Lake Symphony  create opportunities for high-quality music education for children in our part of Texas.

How to get your first gig  Click here

Why play?

Research tells us children who play music do better in school and in life.

The U.S. Department of Education agrees, identifying arts education as core curriculum in the federal No Child Left Behind Act.    And a 2006 Gallup Poll Revealed that 94 percent of Americans consider music to be part of a well-rounded education.

Playing music builds motivation and self-esteem

A Columbia University study revealed that students in the arts are found to be more cooperative with teachers and peers, more self-confident and better able to express their ideas. 

Burton, J., Horowitz, R., Abeles, H.

Champions of Charge, Arts Education Partnership, 1999

Students indicate  that arts participation motivates them to stay in school, and that the arts create a supportive environment that promotes constructive acceptance of criticism and one in which it is safe to take risks 

Barry, N., Taylor, K. and Walls, K.

Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development, AEP, 2002

Music Lessons boost thinking skills

Young children who received a year of musical training showed brain changes and superior memory compared with children who did not receive the instruction.

Fujjioka, T., Ross B., Kakigi, R., Pantiv, C., and Trainor L.,

Brain, A Journal of Neurology, Sep 2006

A study examined the influence of music education on nonmusical abilities, the effects of music lessons on academic performance, and cognitive abilities.   The study revealed that students who participated in music lessons showed statistically higher intelligence quotients.

Glen Schellenberg, Musical Lessons enhance IQ,

Psychological Science Vol 15, No 8, 2004

Music Fosters Well-being

A study of rural and urban inner-city schools found that arts programs helped schools in economically disadvantaged communities develop students’ critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. 

Stevenson L., Deasy, R.

Third Space, When Learning Matters, AEP 2005

With music in schools, students connect to each other better – greater camaraderie, fewer fights, less racism and reduced use of hurtful sarcasm.

Jensen, E., Arts with the Brain in Mind

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001

The vast majority – 96 percent – of the school principals interviewed in a recent study agree that participation in music education encourages and motivates students to stay in school.   Further, 89 percent of principals feel that a high-quality music-education program contributes to their school achieving high graduation rates.

Harris Interactive Poll 2006

Learning music builds skills for the future

The skills gained through sequential music instruction, including discipline and the ability to analyze, solve problems, communicate and work cooperatively, are vital for success in the 21^st century workplace.

U.S. House of Representatives,

Concurrent Resolution 365, March 6, 2006  

From an NAMM brochure 'Why Learn to Play Music'