Do we really need a reason?
John J. Mahlmann, executive director of the National Association for Music Education, was recently quoted in the Washington Post as saying he is tired of having to defend the importance of music education. He often finds it necessary to rattle off statistics about how music improves the lives of people who study it. The sheer joy of playing and understanding music isn’t enough, he said.
So he has an unorthodox response to educators: “Why is math so high on the priority list?”
His answer: “Because we can test for it.”
The thing people forget, he said, is that musicians are assessed every time they play an instrument. “If you went to a concert and they only played 80 percent of the notes correctly, you wouldn’t like it,” he said. “Musicians strive for perfection. Lots of people don’t mind 80 percent on a math quiz.”
Here are some more “reasons” why music education matters, as collected and presented by Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post.
1. Schools with music programs have graduation rates of 90.2 percent, as compared with a 72.9 percent rate for schools without music education, according to a 2006 Harris Interactive poll of high school principals funded by the National Association for Music Education and International Music Products Association (NAMM). The poll also found that schools with music programs have attendance rates of 93.3 percent, compared with 84.9 percent for those that don’t.
2. In 2006, SAT takers with course work or experience in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the college entrance exam and 43 points higher on the math portion than did students with no such experience in the arts. Scores of those with course work in music appreciation were 62 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, according to the College Board’s 2006 Profile of College-Bound Seniors National Report.
3. A November 2007 Harris poll found that 86 percent of college graduates had some music education when they were in school, compared with 65 percent for those who had not completed or completed only high school. Eighty-three percent of people earning $150,000 or more had a music education, the poll found.
For more “reasons,” there are many helpful resources such as musicforall.org, amc-music.com/ and schoolmusicmatters.com.
To me, the sheer joy of music making, for people from 0 to 100+, is reason enough! The rest is gravy!
I’m a private drum teacher from Tacoma, Washington. In the aftermath of the Christmas shopping season I saw the retail store I work at lose sales, quite likely a result of parents’ deciding to get their kids video games, most notably Guitar Hero, instead of an actual guitar and accompanying instruction. My concern, having spoken to a few of my clients, is that to a non-musical mom or dad, these toys appear to be as good as or even better, because their kids get immediate gratification out of it (and none of the complaining about having to practice). In fact, this type of mindset is actually being PERPETUATED by advertisers (see http://www.wired.com/culture/geekipedia/magazine/geekipedia/guitar_hero).
My hope is that more educators will remind parents that while video games like Guitar Hero and Rock Star may serve a purpose in sparking a child’s interest, they are not a replacement for the real deal.
Debbie, great post, and I could not agree more! I consult and substitute-teach at a local high school in their orchestra classes, and I see how much of an impact it makes. There are no shortcuts to any of it – but the journey through music is as much fulfillment as the end result.
Thank you for your post, John. I agree with you. Whatever sparks a child’s interest in learning about music is great. Following that up with an opportunity to learn to play an instrument is something that will serve that child well throughout his/her whole life.
Debbie
Jeanine,
It’s true. Music programs make such a difference for kids in high school. It must be very rewarding to see it firsthand. It’s wonderful that you are teaching music at your local high school. Those kids are lucky to have you!
Debbie
I couldn’t agree more. When I graduated from high school in 1997, my school had a great music program. Years later I come to find out that budget cuts brought the program to a minimum. Those like me, who choose to study music, don’t really have that choice at school anymore.
However, being the skeptic that I am, I wonder if those statistics reflect causality instead of evidence. In other words, do music students score higher or are those who score higher naturally inclined to study music?
As for the schools that offer music programs versus those that don’t, did they have higher graduation rates because of the music programs or was it because they receive better funding? Let’s face it – would you rather cut funds from the English department or the Music programs? Many schools, like my high school, face those tough decisions every fiscal year. And that’s only one aspect of the issue. Let’s not forget location, cultural differences, tradition, etc.
And for the 83% of those who earn more than $150K, I’d like to know what percentage of those went to private schools, how many went to your typical suburban middle-class schools and how many went to those schools that couldn’t afford a music program. How many come from families whose parents earned more than $150K? How many upper-class families have a history of music education because of choice, versus middle- and lower-class families?
I’d like to see a GPA comparison between those who were forced to study music throughout their entire educational process and those who chose to study music. I’m willing to bet those who chose it would score higher, but I’m just speculating.
Those are numbers we may never see, unfortunately, because those would paint a better picture of the current state of the educational system.
One of my university professors was notorious for responding to all the traditional music advocacy arguments by saying, “So what?” In other words, so what if being a music student improves test scores? So what if it improves graduation rates? Her point, I think (she rarely spelled out a re-quotable arguement), was that music’s value does not come from test scores or graduation rates. What happens when someone does a study showing that it doesn’t improve scores or IQ? Will we then abandon music?
Going to a further extreme, one could argue that math’s value lies in its effect on improving musical ability.
Music is worthwhile because we are human beings!
I agree with you and your professor, Stengel99! Thanks for posting!
Debbie
[...] her Blog Posting, “Do We Really Need a Reason?” Debbie Cavalier, Dean of Continuing Education at Berklee College of Music’s online [...]
Debbie, thank you for commenting on my blog. I must admit, I rushed through your post with the intent of fulfilling a grade in my Ed Tech class. The subject of teaching music for music’s sake is one that I’ve wrestled with for a couple of semesters now. I’m new to the Music Ed scene and before Fall of 2007, I had little to no idea that such a debate ever existed. When I wrote that blog post,my opinion was of a different color, and that most likely shaded my interpretation of your article. I have since reconnected with the importance of Music as a subject by itself.
It’s been a little while since I wrote that post, but I don’t believe I was referring to you as “lofty minded” per se, as much as I was Bennett Reimer in his defense of Music in Education. Only now, I don’t think it’s so lofty minded anymore. Isn’t it a wonderful thing when experience and study mold and sometimes completely change where we so firmly stood only a month ago?
Anyway, I’m honored that you commented on my blog. I’ve been reading your posts and am most impressed by what you have to say. Keep on doing what you do!
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