The gifts of music, Antonia Berry

Hearts, bodies and minds The gifts of music Antonia Berry sees music free the mind

There is an abundance of research papers and articles written about the benefits of studying Music. Learning to play a musical instrument can improve the development of speech and reading skills; it can improve a pupil’s ability to sustain concentration for lengthy periods of time; and it can have a profound impact on working memory.

Dr Sylvain Moreno, a revered neuro-scientist, carried out a series of convincing studies in which pupils with no prior musical training were given 20 hours of music lessons and the results were remarkable. Simply put, Moreno established that Music has a significant positive impact ‘on a set of core neural processes that are related to focus, intelligence, reading and academics.’ 1

Albert Einstein attributed his greatest discovery, in part, to the study of music: ‘The theory of relativity occurred to me by intuition’, Einstein is reported to have said, ‘and music is the driving force behind this intuition. My parents had me study the violin from the time I was six. My new discovery is the result of musical perception.’ 2

In more recent times a failing primary school in Bradford hit the headlines for transforming pupil achievement solely through the introduction of six hours music tuition a week. Clearly music’s academic benefits are difficult to dispute.

With 75% of pupils learning to play a musical instrument and 100% of pupils achieving A grades at National 5 and Higher level for the last 12 years, St Columba’s School understands this premise better than most. It is a fact that is less widely recognised across schools in Scotland that Music can increase a pupil’s capacity for empathy and as a result can help unify communities and dismantle social barriers. Music is an expression of emotion, and when performing as part of a choir or member of a jazz band or orchestra, we are compelled to connect with others in a profoundly emotional way.

Recently, St Columba’s School embraced the value of music beyond the classroom. Children as young as three years old sang and performed side by side with thirteen year-olds from the Senior School and octogenarians from Campbell Snowden residential home in Quarriers Village. Some played woodwind or string instruments, some sang. The afternoon, a product of three weeks of musical exploration, included performances of Ave Maria, Loch Lomond, I Love a Lassie, Westering Home and excerpts from Mary Poppins. It was the School’s Rector, Andrea Angus, who commented on the power that music has to ‘transcend age barriers and communicate like no other language.’ Over the course of an extraordinary afternoon, an audience witnessed a very real relationship begin to develop between often disparate groups of people and the barrier between old and young, between sometimes alienated or misunderstood generations, dissipate. It is during events such as this that the real power of music is demonstrated. Antonia Berry is Depute Rector at St Columba’s School

References

1. www.rcmusic.com/sites/default/files/files/RCM_MusicEducationBenefits.pdf 2. Shinichi Suzuki, 1969, Nurtured by Love.A New Approach to Education, p90