Can Music Make You Smarter?

The other day I was sitting in the Starbucks on campus, sipping my non-fat white mocha and passing the time before my next class. This has become a normality for me seeing as this particular Starbucks is right next the Messick Theatre Arts Building, which is where I have most of my classes. All of us ECU Thespians congregate here often to unwind after class and talk, very loudly at times; making the others around us uncomfortable at times. Despite this reason, I also really enjoy the music that they play in the shop. It's lusually something new and fresh that I've never heard before. But on this particular coffee excursion, something came over the loud speaker that I wasn't used to. Classical music. I know, right. I was shocked too. Usually classical selection don't go over well in public settings. I, despite my "Artsy" background and interest, don't really have a taste for classical music, but this experience made me reconsider. As I began to listen, I became so relaxed and comfortable. The people sitting around me and even the Starbucks itself began to melt away and my senses were completely enhanced and sharpened. Although my experience sounds like I'm placing you in the middle of an episode of the Twilight Zone, the effect that Classical music has on people is not fiction at all. On the contrary, studies have shown that it even improves brain function and development.

In the article titled Music and the Brain, author Lawernce O'Donnel speaks on this very subject. He talks mostly on Mozart's 60 beats per minute pattern and it's effects on both the left and the right side of the brain. He says "learning potential can be increased a minimum of five times by using this 60 beats per minute music". He goes on by recalling a study done by Dr George Lozanov, who devised a method of teaching a foreign language in less time with the help of classical music. If the method was done correctly, then his students should have be able to learn and recall a whole semester's worth of information in just one day. As a result, 92% of his students were able to recall all of the information given to them; by simply playing classical music while he taught. http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n15/mente/musica.htm

Now, imagine if we treated every subject like that; if we played classical music in every classroom in every school in America everyday. I believe that we would have higher test scores, a lower percentage of high school dropouts, and a higher employment rate. With all of these things reinstated in our society, we could continue on the road that we were on; the road that is redolent with promise and happiness. To me, this seems like an easy thing to do. Set your Pandora to the Mozart channel and just let the genies envelop you until you become smarter; have a "Starbucks" experience. Simple, right? As simple as Do Re Me!!

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Is There No Love For The Arts?

As a child, I, as I hope many other children, was encouraged to express myself and to be my own person. I started singing around the age of 4 and continued on to participate in Theatre when I hit high school. When I was 8, I remember getting my first solo in my church children's choir and being completely freaked out when I realized that I was going to actually be singing in front of my entire congregation. I immediately wanted to not do the solo and give up. But, of course, my parents weren't going to let me give up that easily. They told me that I had made a commitment and that I had to stick to it, regardless of how scared I was. So, the morning of my debut, I got up there and sang my little heart out and have been in love with performing ever since. Little did my parents know that they had planted a seed in me that has developed into a borderline obsession of mine. The feeling I get when I'm on stage is something that is hard for me to put into words. It gives me this reassurance that I'm special and that I stand out from the rest. I would hate to see that spark that something like the Arts gives off fade out of potential stars because of a lack of interest from the big wigs in the school systems of America.

VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in America's public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of  each child's complete education. One of the many things that this amazing organization does is providing brand-new instruments to public elementary and middle schools through grants that are provide to the schools. By doing this, they jump-start dormant music programs across the country and make the Arts an actual priority in schools. With the help of this foundation, children are introduced to the beauty of music and the affects it has on the mind. http://www.vh1savethemusic.com/    

My passion for the Arts stems from my experiences in it, but it goes much deeper than that. Since I've been involved in Theatre, I have found a confidence within my self that I didn't even know I had; by forcing me to break out of my personal comfort zone, I let loose the outgoing personality that everyone sees today (and that I believe is in everyone). What VH1 Save The Music does is helps to stimulate just that; the act of becoming a part of something that's bigger than just your individual selves, the Arts. If I were in administration, I would want to find a easy way to enrich the kids of my school with culture and a sense of identity. And it's as easy as Do, Re, Me!! :)

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