Will Music Improve Homework?

In a word, Yes! There are two ways music improves homework.

 

One is by listening:

 

There is a connection between music and learning. When we listen to music that is 60 beats per minute our body relaxes and frees our minds to concentrate better.

 

According to Music and the Brain’s Laurence O’Donnell, music has a positive affect on our memory. “Mozart’s music and baroque music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activate the left and right brain. The simultaneous left and right brain action maximizes learning and retention of information. The information being studied activates the left brain while the music activates the right brain. Also, activities which engage both sides of the brain at the same time, such as playing an instrument or singing, causes the brain to be more capable of processing information.”

 

The Center for New Discoveries in Learning states that “learning potential can be increased a minimum of five times by using this 60 beats per minute music.”

 

With this in mind, by simply playing music that is 60 beats per minute while your child is doing their homework you will increase their brainpower, their productivity, and their memory.

 

Two is by doing:

 

Even though one does not have to be a rocket scientist to learn to read, the learning process is more complex than most people think. This is because both visual processing and auditory processing are critical components to reading with ease. And, within the visual and auditory processing systems there are sub-categories that each affect learning to read.

 

In fact, the Wiley InterScience reported in 2002 results from a large primary-school study that showed that “both visual motion sensitivity and auditory sensitivity to frequency differences were robust predictors of children’s literacy skills and their orthographic and phonological skills.”

 

Several studies report that there is a positive association between music training and language, math, and spatial domains of learning. From this we can see that music or other auditory training can help to improve reading. 

 

Think about music training for a moment. Children learn how to visually track the notes they are playing, they learn how to pace what they are playing, and they also improve their auditory memory, visual memory, and tactile/kinesthetic skills.  The training could be on a keyboard, but it could even be on a music maker (about $30.00) and doesn’t even require a teacher to learn.

 

We need to think about exposing our children to music and think about when we should add a more structured music program into our children’s lives. We should also realize that when we do we are improving their whole life (language, math, and spatial domains).

 

Whenever we add an auditory or a visual component into our children’s lives we are enriching them and making it easier for them to make connections in their brain that result in an overall improvement in their ability to think, process information, read or do math.

 

Additionally, adding music to your child’s life, whether by listening, playing, or a combination of the two, you are also creating a more peaceful and relaxed atmosphere in which to do homework.

 

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET