Home of Peter Perret on the World Wide Web

Music: Food for the Brain
by Peter Perret

Early results of the Bolton Project promise to fuel new research into the importance of music in curriculum

That there is a link between music and increased brainpower is at least anecdotally obvious. Many are the scientists and philosophers, inventors and painters who were also proficient musicians - one need only think of Einstein, Schweitzer, Edison and Paul Klee. The very existence of child prodigies such as Mozart, Rossini and Mendelssohn (and who typically inhabit three areas: mathematics, chess and music) implies extraordinary thinking abilities.

I had always heard that the brightest kids in the class played in the orchestra or band, but now, for the first time, I began to find out why - maybe playing an instrument was actually making them more intelligent.

[Article published by SYMPHONYNews, Jan/Feb 1999.]

More: pperret@triad.rr.com

BOLTON SCHOOL : MUSIC - RESIDENCY PROJECT

For a number of years I had been intrigued by studies indicating that active participation in music at a young age creates a more "intelligent" child. The following is a summary of some impressive results obtained at the Bolton School, Winston-Salem, N.C., in a residency project of the Winston-Salem Symphony from 1994-present.

The Demographics of the Bolton School at the time are as follows: School IQ (Otis-Lennon test: composite of 2nd & 5th grades): 92
Indigence level (free or reduced price lunch): 70%
High number of single parent and parentless children

The test score results are as follows (% of students who tested competently, i.e., at grade-level and above)
1996, Grade 3 - Reading: 36.5% ; Math: 38.1% (Last class before Project)
1997, Grade 3 - Reading: 85.7% ; Math: 89.3% (These are the students who have undergone 3 years of the music-enhanced curriculum.)

The project is on-going with new results confirming the effect.

More: pperret@triad.rr.com

Methodology

We placed a woodwind quintet in residence in Bolton Elementary School. The first year, they focused their work on the first grade. The next year, they followed those students into 2nd grade, and started with the new 1st graders; the following year, they worked with new 1st graders, as well as the 2nd & 3rd grades for the second and third years, respectively.

The quintet was in each classroom 1/2 hour a day, 2 days a week, 12-16 weeks per year, for 3 years.. All the students in each grade participated; there was no control group. Nor were we allowed to administer any tests of our own. The only "objective" indication would come at the end of the third year when students took state - administered standard tests to measure math and reading competency.

Anecdotal evidence from the beginning was encouraging - better attendance, better behavior, improved academic performance, and longer attention spans were immediately noticed by the teachers during the periods of the quintet residency.

More: pperret@triad.rr.com