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Music and Literacy. Making Music Matter. “ All deep things are song. It seems somehow the very central essence of us, song; as if all the rest were but wrappages and hulls! ” ~Thomas Carlyle. What is Literacy?. Most people think of literacy as the ability to read the written word
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Music and Literacy Making Music Matter “All deep things are song. It seems somehow the very central essence of us, song; as if all the rest were but wrappages and hulls!” ~Thomas Carlyle
What is Literacy? • Most people think of literacy as the ability to read the written word • Literacy doesn’t pertain only to reading but also “writing, thinking, talking, listening and creating” • So where do we as music educators fit in? • This presentation will show the role that music can take in academic development
The Disappearing Act • Budget cuts have eroded music programs across the country for the past 30 years. • Organizations such as Vh1’s Save the Music Foundation have donated over $34 million to 1,400 public schools in the US helping to keep the music alive • Unfortunately, music and arts programs are still rapidly disappearing.
The Disappearing Act • Music is deemed “frivolous, unimportant and void of any academic importance” by school administrators looking to “streamline” their schools by cutting the arts. • How can we as music educators turn around these misconceptions of unimportance? • How does music actually influence the development of children?
Music and Cognitive Development • Thanks to modern “brain research,” using music to understand the human brain and how it develops, music educators have a strengthened position on the promotion of music as an academic tool. • One example is Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences which gives music a “significant place in the development of educational programs. • A study in 1995 showed that musicians who learned to play a string or keyboard instrument before adolescence had “a larger part of the brain devoted to touch perception.”
Music and Cognitive Development • A study in 1997 showed how music can accelerate learning, promote memory development and hand/eye coordination. • It also showed how cognitive processes are aided by learning music. • The music of Mozart was used in this study as “a vehicle for remediating audiological and neurological dysfunctions and facilitating higher levels of brain function.” • Music companies such as Baby Einstein are promoting music as a learning tool in infants and some even go as far as to say that “Mozart makes you smarter!”
Music and Cognitive Development • Howard Gardner supports that everyone has music as part of their multiple intelligences and that every single child has the ability to develop musically. • In an article published in 1997, Gardner concludes that “school districts that "lop off" music in a child's education are simply "arrogant" and unmindful of how humans have evolved with music brains and intelligences.”
Are we making progress in the promotion of music as a tool for literacy? • Schools in Oakland, CA participate in a music and academic fusion program called MILE (Music Integrated Literacy Enhancement). • MILE is currently being implemented in public schools throughout the Oakland Unified School District. • Academic teachers work together with music teachers to create a curriculum that integrates math, language literacy and music. • Students learn academic material through songs, games and instrumental collaborations.
