Facts & Quotes

Music Education - Facts & Quotes

There is a significant amount of statistical and anecdotal support for the importance of music education. It has been shown to have positive affects in learning ability, academic performance, social skills, creative development, and overall success in life. Below are some tidbits from the vast pool of information available. The Coalition for Music Education is also conducting a new study on the state of music education in Canada this year (2010). We look forward to publishing results later this year.

Success in Learning

"With music, I feel complete. It reminds me that humans possess genius and can use it to create beauty. Music classes in our schools can unlock the doors to creativity and self expression for Canada’s young people and help them expand their horizons."
Dr. Marc Garneau, former head of the Canadian Space Agency and the first Canadian astronaut in space, 2006

There's a clear correlation between mathematics performance and music – spatial skills, verbal skills, reading skills. Every study you read indicates strong, strong connections between music and one's performance in life.
Jeff Melanson, former dean of the Toronto-based Royal Conservatory of Music's community school.

A McGill University study found that pattern recognition and mental representation scores improved significantly for students given piano instruction over a three-year period. They also found that self-esteem and musical skills measures improved for the students given piano instruction.
Costa-Giomi, E. (1998, April). The McGill Piano Project

SAT scores of students who took part in music instruction surpassed students with no music training. Data collected from students taking the SAT, indicated that students taking music and arts averaged scores that were higher than non music students.
The College Board, Profile of College- Bound Seniors National Report for 2001.

Young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year, compared to children who do not receive musical training.. After one year the musically trained children performed better in a memory test that is correlated with general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal memory, Visio spatial processing, mathematics and IQ.
Dr. Laurel Trainor, Prof. of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour at McMaster University, Director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind; Canada; published 9/20/06

Success in Life

With music in schools, students connect to each other better — greater camaraderie, fewer fights, less racism and reduced use of hurtful sarcasm."
Eric Jensen, Arts with the Brain in Mind, 2001

Music has a great power for bringing people together. With so many forces in this world acting to drive wedges between people, it's important to preserve those things that help us experience our common humanity.
Ted Turner, Turner Broadcasting System

Students that participate in school band or orchestra also experience the lowest rate of gang activity and substance abuse.
"Benefits of Music Education," MENC: The National Association for Music Education, 2002.

Research confirms that music education at an early age greatly increases the likelihood that a child will grow up to seek higher education and ultimately earn a higher salary.
Harris Interactive survey release, November 12, 2007

Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music.
Gerald Ford, former President, United States of America.