Facts about Music Education

The mental disciplines learned through play and study (memory skills, concentration, symbol recognition) are just as exacting as those underlying reading, math and other areas of study the student will undertake throughout life. The student who has worked to improve his or her own musical skills understands that achievement is built on sustained personal effort and is its own reward. (P. Oswald M.D. Prof. Of Psychiatry, Univ. of Cal. San Francisco, 1986)

After eight months of music lessons, students tested showed a 45% boost in their special IQ, which is crucial for higher brain' functions such as complex mathematics. (F. Rauscher, PhD., Gordon Shaw Ph-D. University of California, Irvine, 1995)

Musical activities rely on movements in which the entire body participates, but emphasize development of precise control of the smaller muscles of the arms and hands and those controlling breathing and voice. Because of this total body movement, few other activities in which we engage are as well suited as musical practice for building accuracy, speed, co-ordination of muscle control. (F.R. Wilson, M.D. AMC, 1988)

There is a direct correlation between improved SAT scores and the length of time spent studying the Arts. Those who studied the Arts for 4 or more years scored 59 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on math portions of the SAT than students with no course work or experiences in the Arts. (Profiles of SAT and Achievement Test Takers, the College Board, compiled by MENC, 1995)

Preparation in the Arts will be valuable to university entrants, whatever their intended field of study. The actual practice of the Arts can engage the imagination, foster flexible ways of thinking, develop disciplined effort, and build self-confidence. ("What Students Need to Know", Handbook published by the College Board, 1994)

Did you how that 92% of students who took music in 1996-7 got accepted at their first

choice of University or College to which they applied? A majority of music students are Ontario scholars, and major scholarship and award winners.