A Musically Illiterate Nation

An Article in this months West Music email newsletter immediately caught my eye! “A Musically Illiterate Nation” by Ann C. Cay, reveals an astonishing fact, and the reasons that it has occurred. Following is an excerpt from her article and a link to read the entire article. It is very compelling.

“The majority of our nation’s eighth-grade students can’t sing in tune, play instruments or read music, according to the last National Assessment of Educational Progress. If you take them to a ball game, they can’t sing the national anthem in tune, even if they know the words. Most can’t play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” on an instrument. If you locked the refrigerator door with a combination that required simple rhythmic drumming to open it, most would starve to death. Let’s be serious now. What difference does it make if they can’t sing? They get all the music they want on the radio and through CDs. Are they going to be any smarter, richer, or happier if they can belt out a tune or beat out a rhythm?

Yes! Studies indicate that musical ability is as related to intelligence as is math or language. Music is an intelligence, says Dr. Howard Gardner, a cognitive psychologist at Harvard University. In fact, making music may affect the very organization of the brain which positively impacts achievement in math, reading, and other disciplines…” (read more)

So…A majority of our educational administrators were schooled in a time that did not focus on the arts as a mainstream part of educational curriculum, but instead as an extra-curricular, or elective class. When coupled with this fact, it is no wonder the experience factor is not a part of the decision making when examining the importance of music education in core curricula offerings. Music substantially impacts mathematical reasoning, language cognition, reading ability, and more. Consistent and frequent musical experiences are what is missing in the current generation of students and the test scores prove it.

Parents are the responsible party in providing a musical rich education. What better way to establish musical benefits than to enroll your child in Kindermusik when they are infants, toddlers, preschoolers and early elementary age. When the impact is greatest and those windows of opportunity for learning are fully open and available. Kindermusik grows with your child and provides much to prepare them for success in school later on. Loving your child is what it’s all about!