[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E539]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC EDUCATION

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                            HON. BOB CLEMENT

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 20, 1997

  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the 
Members of the House the significant findings of a study that was 
published in the February 1997 issue of Neurological Research. The 
study explored the link between music education and intelligence in 
children. The results of the study demonstrated that music training--
specifically piano/keyboard instruction--is far superior to computer 
instruction in enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills necessary 
for learning math and science.
  The experiment, a follow-up to the groundbreaking studies indicating 
how music can improve spatial-reasoning ability, set out to compare the 
effects of musical and non-musical training on intellectual 
development.
  The experiment included three groups of preschoolers: one group 
received private piano/keyboard lessons; a second group received 
private computer lessons; and a third group received no training. Those 
children who received piano/keyboard training performed 34 percent 
higher on tests measuring spatial-temporal ability than the others. 
These findings indicate that music uniquely enhances higher brain 
functions required for mathematics, science and engineering.
  What does this mean to Members of the House? It means that in this 
year's sweeping deliberations on education reform and appropriations 
bills, we should maintain music as a core academic subject and 
recognize, wherever possible, its dramatic and positive impact on 
cognitive development. The importance of school-based music training as 
a basic tool for maximizing our children's educational aptitude and 
opportunities cannot be overemphasized. It was widely accepted that 
music education provided our youth with cultural benefits, but it has 
now been scientifically documented that sequential music training also 
provides significant benefits and advantages in the skill areas of 
mathematics and science.
  I urge my colleagues on the authorizing and appropriations committees 
to give the results of this study serious thought in your deliberations 
as Congress determines the scope, character, and priorities of Federal 
support of our education system.

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