Ricky Chung Music Ed– A Musically Educated Stimulation December 3 rd , 2012 Music can be used in a variety of ways. Calming the soul, feeling energized before a big game or setting the mood for a special occasion are only a few ways that music can be used in different settings. Even though millions of people listen to music on a daily basis, they ma y not understand the deeper aspects of music and how they are actually being affected by it. Today, we see that out of all the subjects in education, science and math are favoured amongst the rest since they are often portrayed as being beneficial in one ’s life. Unfortunately, people do not know the effects that music can induce and that it is a significant part of peo ple’s everyday lives. As such, music should be seen of and thought of as a highly valued subject in the field of education because it promotes and helps certain elements that are beneficial to a person. Music is unique in that it offers the following utilitarian benefits: the promotion of creativity and ex pression, how music can be used to relieve stress and how it can be used as a stimulant to increase cognitive functions. By presenting and analys ing these three elements, one wil l be able to discover that music is indeed an important aspect in education and is required to develop a balanced, well- rounded human being. Stress is often found in students who are a pa rt of a school system. The c ause of this burden can range from personal issues in the household, relationship problems or the amount ofhomework in one day. Additionally, the amount of stress that can increase depending on the situation can be “detrimental to one’s mental and physical health” (Hadany, Beker, Eshel, & Feldman, 2006). As a result, stress should be dealt with immediately to prevent these problems from arising. Music plays a huge role in “relieving stress as it is often seen relaxing the individual’s mind” (Labbé, Schmidt, Babin, & Pharr, 2007). Specifically, “[l]istening to classical and self-selected relaxing music after exposure to a stressor should result in significant reductions in anxiety, anger, and sympathetic nervous system arousal, and increased relaxation”
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Ricky Chung Music Ed – A Musically Educated Stimulation December 3rd
, 2012
[i]t is now recognized that a child’s development can be helped through stimulation of his
need for expression; through his need for and experimentation with tools of expression;
and through improvement of his power of application. In this way creative activitycontributes toward his development as a person and discourages misapplication of energy
to wrong aims. A highly gifted child, as a result of creative expression, ultimately may
add something of value to the art of his period. The less highly gifted will at least becomea more responsible and effective individual. Even the below-average child can find acreative interest at his own level, an interest into which he can sink his repetitious
personality and feel himself accept to his world. In his search for creative outlets any
child — whatever his gifts — looks further and further into himself and finds there powersof which he may have been unaware. In the process he becomes a better balanced and
integrated personality. (Canfield, 1961)
Analyzing the quote above, one can understand that the development of a child is not only done
through logical thinking, but instead, expression can assist in the development as well. By
allowing for individuals to experience music while in school, they are getting away from the
scientific and mathematical side of education and drifting into a different part of education which
calls for the individual to tap into their own expressiveness, creativeness and imaginativeness.
Doing so will give a chance for the person to develop as a human being and allow for higher
levels of thinking. Moreover, having music in education provides opportunities for students to
explore and listen to an overabundance of music as they are most likely provided the resources to
do so. Looking at a study done by E. Glenn Schellenberg, he discovered that by playing “Mozart,
Albioni, or familiar children’s songs… drawing times were longer, and the drawings were
judged to be more creative.” (Schellenberg, 2005) This further supports the idea that something
as simple as listening to a piece of music, can enhance a child’s cognitive functions and give
them a greater sense of creativeness and expressiveness. The effects of music can be seen
through all levels of intelligence. Although they are affected differently, they share a common
theme, and that is attaining the ability to be creative. Ultimately, this results in the child having a
well-rounded personality. Referring back Fig. 1 and 2, one is able to notice that being creative
and imaginative was at or near the very top of the chart. This means that students in general