"One particular study published in the journal 'Nature' showed that when groups of first graders were given music instruction that emphasized sequential skill development and musical games involving rhythm and pitch, after six months, the students scored significantly better in math than students in groups that received traditional music instruction." So while digging I found this in an article and was wondering what the difference was in musical instruction between these 2 groups.
As it turns out sequential instruction (instruction involving pitch and rhythm was a way of learning that stimulated the brain more than traditional learning (given music and practicing). Sequential (sometimes called "Mozart" learning because his music also stimulates the same part of the brain) learning doesn't necessarily guarantee a math genius, but it does stimulate the part of the brain that involves problem solving ie, math.
I have a lot more research to do on this subject so I wish you all the best of luck and hope you're hacing as much fun with your assignment as I am.
"The Correlation Between Music and Math: A Neurobiology Perspective." Serendip Studio. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Sydney I think this will be a very interesting paper. As we all know the relation of music to the body, mind, and 'soul' is extraordinbary. It has also been said that music is an international language and math a global one. So this concept is indeed very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think if one looks they may find a lot of research has been done on core subject scores going down as fine arts are pulled from schools. The fine arts expand parts of the brain in ways regular textbook learning does not. It is a fine subject for this essay and I think you will have no problem finding research both in favor of and against your thesis.
ReplyDeleteSydney-
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like it would be a great topic to research and now I'm interested as well. Good luck and keep up the good work!