So I am visiting a friend who runs a music school on a caribbean island, and she told me something that I found to be quite intriguing.
Regular readers of my blog may already know that I am somewhat skeptical of the many broad claims (almost always made by people who have a clear commercial bias) that music makes kids somehow better at math. It may be so, but the science so far has not really been enough for me. However, at the risk of being very unscientific myself, here is some empirical data:
This woman teaches kids to play the violin starting at age 2. What is intriguing is that the kids are able, by age 3 or so, to read music, that is to say, they can tell what a g or an f-sharp is and so on– but the teachers have to remind themselves that while the kids can read the notes and correlate them to a given pitch and point on the fingerboard, they still can’t read the titles and/or words printed on the page.
But when these kids start to learn to read, she says, it seems like it happens overnight.
This makes a whole lot of sense to me, as at least a premise that the purveyors and proselytizers of music as a “learning aid-enhancement” should “take note” of. It seems to make sense that the act of “reading’ something so basic as a language that has 7 letters/words and is reinforced by both sound and physical action would be a very effective prelude to the more complex process of learning a language with 26 letters and far more diverse pronunciations and no consistent sound or obvious physical action (other than speaking). Kids learn 80% of their language skills by age 5 (so said the director of the American school for the deaf to me once), and if we are going to enhance learning skills, reading seems like a good one to enhance, and it seems like that’s the time to do it.
So yes, I am still doubtful of the notion that music ed should be funded because it somehow helps math skills, but the correlation between early string playing, note reading, and enhanced reading skills is a premise that invites further study. Grantwriters, go.
©) Justin Locke
Justin Locke is an entertaining speaker. Call him at 781-330-8143 to discuss having him appear at your next event.
