Music Makes Smart Kids

Music helps to build certain pathways in the brain. Over time, the connections or pathways we use regularly become stronger. Children who grow up listening to music develop strong music-related connections. Some of these music pathways or connections actually affect the way we think. Researchers believe that musical training creates new pathways in the brain.
Studies seem to suggest that listening to music, especially classical music, improves our spatial skills. "The Mozart Effect" suggests that listening to classical music helps the brain retain the information longer then listening to other types of music. This idea was so popular, that in the late 1950s, parents everywhere began to try to expose their children to more classical music. Even the governor of Georgia proposed a budget allowing for every baby born in Georgia to receive a classical music CD. Research suggests that the complexity of classical music is what primes the brain to solve spatial problems more quickly.
Children who play a musical instrument seem to have an even greater benefit. Children who are in a band or orchestra seemed to do better with social and emotional development. Learning an instrument like the recorder or violin helps with hand-eye coordination. Reading music helps children think differently. Children who can maintain a steady beat have a greater fluency in their reading. The music we sing provides vocabulary enrichment, teaches tenses and plurals, uses poetic language, allows visualization, and encourages good pronunciation. When teachers us music to teach subjects, children tend learn faster and to retain the information better. Listening to music also seems to help in the healing process, improves physical performance, productivity and induces sleep.
Based on the research provided, music and music instruction should be part of the core curriculum in every early childhood program. Music can be implemented and is beneficial to children's educational skills.