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There is a clear link between how the study of music can increase overall cognitive and learning development. Decades of research indicate that there are strong ties between students who study music and those who achieve higher scores in standardised tests. This is a core reason why the Australian Government has included music in the national curriculum, and why students are encouraged from a young age to participate in learning and practicing music in order to develop crucial learning and fine motor skills.
The 2005 National Review of School Music Education has found that increased musical learning directly correlates to substantial educational development.
“Raising the quality and status of music education will have a positive impact on the breadth and depth of aesthetic, cognitive, social and experiential learning for all Australian students and ultimately, for our society at large.”
With 89 per cent of Australians thinking that the arts should be an important part of the education of Australian children, it is obvious that the link between learning music and performing academically is a key factor in the development of school programs and syllabus’.
It is clear that studying and learning music from a young age has significant positive impacts on the ability to learn and cognitively develop. What is also important about the link between music and learning is that while there is a clear correlation between high achievers and those who study music, research by Nature May also shows that music training helps under-achievers. If learning music is a common attribute of high achievers, and can be used as a tool to help under-achievers gain better results, it is clear why the inclusion of music in the schooling curriculum is so consistent and why learning music can help students in various different ways.
