Assignment #7

1.Is it true that just listening (passively listening to) music makes you smart? What does research studies cited in this article indicate? What does the author suggest? What do you think?
Listening to music has benefits such as the ability to facilitate language acquisition, reading readiness, and general intellectual development, to foster positive attitudes and to lower truancy in middle and high school, to enhance creativity; and to promote social development, personally adjustment, and self worth.

Studies show three things that have happened:
1. First, the public realizes that research on music and behavior exists and is as serious an area of inquiry as any other field of science.
2. Second, an increasing amount and breadth of research throughout the world has led to renewed interest in prior, often forgotten, findings.
3. Third, researchers, educators, and legislators are now open to a broader view of the role of music in our lives.

The author suggests that music should not be justified in the curriculum as it is essential, not an optional component of education. I agree with the author in making music an essential component of education. Based on the studies made and cited on the article musical is not just about reading notes or playing an instrument. It goes beyond that and can be integrated to any subject matter for students to learn better.

2.The author suggests four types of findings to support the belief that music has strong biological roots? What are they?
1. First, if music had a strong biological component then animals would fundamental anilities in music and this seems to be the case. For example, monkeys can think in terms of musical abstractions; they can determine, for instance the fundamental frequency of a harmonic series.
2. Second, biological behaviors are universal. Music also satisfies this criterion. Although it uses may vary across cultures, music is ever present. Parents and caregivers best communicate with infants through lullabies and musical baby talk.
3. Third, biological behaviors are often revealed early in life, before cultural factors influence and change behavior. Research has amply documented the extensive competency of young children to process musical elements and behave in music ways.
4. Fourth, we might expect the human brain to be organized to process musical activities. The brain contains basic musical building blocks that are specialized to process fundamental elements in music.


3.According to neuroscientists, synapses (the junction across which a nerve impulse passes to a neuron or other cell) grow stronger through use and become weakened. How does playing music help synapses grow stronger?
Learning and performing music exercise the brain-not merely by developing specific music skills, but also by strengthening the synapses between brain cells. Synaptic strength depends on the following major functional systems of the human brain.
· The sensory and perceptual systems; auditory, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic
· The cognitive system, symbolic, linguistic, and reading.
· Planning movements: fine and gross muscle action and coordination
· Feedback and evaluation of actions
· The motivational/hedonic (pleasure) system and
· Learning memory

4.Does music help improve reading comprehension? What does the author say about it? What is your opinion?
Music education can benefit reading considering three stages of learning to read.
1st Stage – Visually recognizing words
2nd Stage – Learning the correspondences between visual parts of words (graphemes) and their spoken sounds (phonemes)
3rd Stage – Achieving visual recognition of words without going through the earlier stages

The phonemic stage is the most important and critical. Music facilitates reading by improving this second stage, sounding out stage. In a study conducted on first graders they were tested on pitch discrimination. The finding suggests that good pitch discrimination enhances this second phonemic stage of learning. Changing the pitch of words is the most important factor in conveying word information.
I agree with the author in his believe that “music offers great opportunities for communication and expression” (Norman Weigberger, 1998). Children learn best with music it can be used in any academic subject matter a side from a musical lesson. Children particularly younger children learn through music and will remember concepts learned later in life because you don’t easily forget a tune.

5.What is the most interesting fact you learn from this article?
The most interesting fact I learned from this article is the importance of the phonemic stage. I did not think of pitch discrimination as a way to help children sound out words that essentially will improve their reading. Overall I realize the need to integrate music and all its benefits as a component in the teaching arena. Studies have shown the benefit of using music not only for reading but also for math and other subject matters.