Music Improves Students Mentallity, Says APA

Music improves students mentallity; it is not only for entertainment, but also a method for healing and improving the mentality for all ages as music has a magical effect on our souls, according to a study conducted by American Psychological Association (APA).

The study explained that high school students who take music courses score significantly better in exams in certain other subjects, including math and science, than their non-musical peers.

“In public education systems in North America, arts courses, including music courses, are commonly underfunded in comparison with what are often referred to as academic courses, including math, science and English,” said Peter Gouzouasis, PhD, of the University of British Columbia, an author of the study that included more than 100,000 Canadian students.

“It is believed that students who spend school time in music classes, rather than in further developing their skills in math, science and English classes, do under-perform in those disciplines," Gouzouasis said. "Our research suggests that the more they study music, the better they do in those subjects.”

The researchers examined school records for all students in British Columbia who started the first grade between 2000 and 2003; who had spent the last three years of high school and completed at least one standardized exam for math, science or English (10th or 12th grade). The researchers had appropriate demographic information (e.g., gender, ethnicity, neighborhood socioeconomic status).

Of the more than 112,000 student records studied, approximately 13% of the students had participated in at least one music course in grade 10, 11 or 12.

Qualifying music courses included concert band, conservatory piano, orchestra, jazz band, concert choir and vocal jazz. Those who took general music or guitar courses did not qualify as these two subjects required no previous music experience, according to Gouzouasis and his co-authors, Martin Guhn, PhD and Scott Emerson, MSc, also from the University of British Columbia.