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Music Beats Computers at Enhancing
Early Childhood Development
Irvine, CA. (February 28, 1997) - A research team exploring the
link between music and intelligence reports that music training--specifically
piano instruction--is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically
enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills necessary for learning
math and science.
The new findings, published in the February 1997 issue of Neurological
Research and the result of a two-year experiment with preschoolers,
led by psychologist Dr. Frances Rauscher of the University of Wisconsin
at Oshkosh and physicist Dr. Gordon Shaw of the University of California
at Irvine. As a follow-up to their groundbreaking studies indicating
how music can enhance spatial-reasoning ability, the researchers
set out to compare the effects of musical and non-musical training
on intellectual development.
The experiment included three groups of preschoolers: one group
received private piano/keyboard lessons and singing lessons; a second
group received private computer lessons; and a third group received
no training. Those children who received piano/keyboard training
performed 34% higher on tests measuring spatial temporal ability
than the others. These findings indicate that music uniquely enhances
higher brain functions required for mathematics, chess, science
and engineering.
The implications of this and future studies can change the way
educators view the core school curricula, particularly since music-making
nurtures the intellect and produces long-term improvements. "It
has been clearly documented that young students have difficulty
understanding the concepts of proportion (heavily used in math and
science) and that no successful program has been developed to teach
these concepts in the school system," stated Dr. Rauscher.
"The high proportion of children who evidenced dramatic improvement
in spatial-temporal reasoning as a result of music training should
be of great interest to scientists and educators," added Dr.
Shaw.
Results Reinforce Causal
Link Between Music and Intelligence
The research is based on some remarkable studies that have recently
begun pouring out of neuroscience laboratories throughout the country.
These studies show that early experiences determine which brain
cells (neurons) will connect with other brain cells, and which ones
will die away. Because neural connections are responsible for all
types of intelligence, a child's brain develops to its full potential
only with exposure to the necessary enriching experiences in early
childhood. What Drs. Rauscher and Shaw have emphasized has been
the causal relationship between early music training and the development
of the neural circuitry that governs spatial intelligence. Their
studies indicate that music training generates the neutral connections
used for abstract reasoning, including those necessary for understanding
mathematical concepts.
Specifically, earlier studies led by Drs. Rauscher and Shaw reported
a causal relationship between music training and spatial-temporal
ability enhancement in pre-schoolers (1994), and among college students
who simply listened to a Mozart sonata (1993, 1995). References
to these and other findings related to music research conducted
worldwide are available at the Music and Science Information Computer
Archive (MuSICA) at the University of California, Irvine. For more
information and interviews please contact Penny Zokaie (914) 241-9112
or Bob Morrison (703) 648-9440, or access MuSICA on the World Wide Web.
Contact: Penny Zokaie, (914) 241-9112 or Bob Morrison, (703)
648-9440
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