Musical Factoids

Did you know???

Music training causes longterm enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning.—Neurological Research, Vol. 19, February 1997.

A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science.—Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb.

61% of all students entering medical school play a musical instrument.

Students in two Rhode Island elementary schools who were given an enriched, sequential, skill-building music program showed marked improvement in reading and math skills. Students in the enriched program who had started out behind the control group caught up to statistical equality in reading, and pulled ahead in math.—Gardiner, Fox, Jeffrey and Knowles, as reported in Nature, May 23, 1996.

Arts students score an average of 80 points higher on the SAT College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers. Princeton, NJ: The College Entrance Examination Board, 2001.

Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs).—Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report. Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998.

Hat tip to MENC: The National Association for Music Eduation!