Why Music Education Matters To Me By Kelsey Wickerham

There have been many studies that have proven numerous times that music education is a very important part to developing children, and in humans in general. In the article "Why Music Education Matters to me" by Kelsey Wickerham, she argues why music education was important to her and why it’s important to any student. In the movie “The power of music” we see how music affects humans in general from, developing fetuses, to Alzheimer’s patients regaining the ability to regain memory
Many people have different arguments for why music education is important, Tim Lautzenheiser from the Music for All organization says “Music enhances cognitive learning and facilitates growth in many areas of human development, i.e., motivation, social skills, time management, situational awareness, aesthetic appreciation, etc.” The College Board SAT group profile
report in 2012 reported that students that participated in music scored an average of 31 points above the average in reading and writing, and 23 points above average in writing.
These statistics are only one out of so many that have been reported by state testing, Many
Not only does music education affect humans mentally but also, “70% of those who were involved in music say that it was at least somewhat influential in contributing to their current level of personal fulfillment.” (Harris Interactive, 2008.) In Wickerham’s article she explains how at first she thought that choir competitions were all about winning and getting fours and fives, but later she reveals “…Choir was no longer about competitions and awards, rather, it was about character building.” She also mentions that “Scores do not define a program, nor do they dictate the pride one should take in it: it is the strength and bravery of those who are a part of it that
do.” That’s one of the most important lessons music teaches us, that if you work hard at something, you’ve already won, because you’ve put the effort in, and that’s half the battle. When you feel like you’ve won something your self-esteem is bound to rise because of the fact that you felt like you’ve accomplished something. There was a study done by Eugenia Costa-giomi that focused on the effects of three years of piano instruction in three categories which were Academic Achievement, School Performance, and self-esteem. They found that both groups started off with the same level of self-esteem, but by the end of the experiment the group of children who took piano lessons had a significant increase in self-esteem while those who did not participate in piano instructions did not have an increase. There was also a study done on wether or not choral music education had any effect on children, and they found that on average singers involved in chorus were far more likely to be involved in charity work than the average person, and they found that they were more likely to be aware and involved in the political process.
Through all of this we can conclude that music education has many benefits to adults and children that can include, character building, medical research, and development of children mentally.