{"id":1762,"date":"2014-11-23T21:52:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T02:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/?p=1762"},"modified":"2017-06-27T15:16:42","modified_gmt":"2017-06-27T19:16:42","slug":"should-i-sign-up-for-a-real-class-or-just-take-music-lessons-why-music-lessons-are-more-than-just-a-fun-pastime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/2014\/11\/23\/should-i-sign-up-for-a-real-class-or-just-take-music-lessons-why-music-lessons-are-more-than-just-a-fun-pastime\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I sign up for a real class or just take music lessons? Why music lessons are more than just a fun pastime."},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was in fourth grade we had the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument in school. Between band and orchestra we were allowed to select any instrument of our choice and we received music lessons every Friday afternoon at the end of the school day. These instruments were like toys to us. Instead of hanging in the classroom and silently doing our math worksheets we were able to make loud noises with trumpets, violins, and drums. We would get so excited every Friday afternoon because we got to skip out on time normally spent sitting at our desks \u2013 we got what we thought was a break from learning.<\/p>\n

\"violin-lessons\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

However, music lessons are far from a break from learning. As it turns out, receiving music lessons actually improves certain components of working memory. How can taking music lessons possibly be more effective than learning mathematics or a natural science? To understand this, we must first examine working memory and its components.<\/p>\n

Working memory helps explain how we retain information for more complex cognitive tasks. It is responsible for maintaining mental representations that help performance of cognitive tasks in an activated state. Working memory has multiple components, each of which has a specific function. The components of working memory include \u2026<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The phonological loop<\/strong> which stores and processes verbal and auditory information<\/li>\n
  2. The visuo-spatial sketchpad<\/strong> which is responsible for maintaining non-verbal information such as representations used in visual and spatial imagery<\/li>\n
  3. The episodic buffer<\/strong> which maintains information from the other components and integrates this information with representations from long-term memory<\/li>\n
  4. And the central executive<\/strong> which is responsible for regulating the flow of information between each of the other components<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The multiple components of working memory are displayed in the diagram below.<\/p>\n

    \"working<\/a><\/p>\n

    Unlike short-term memory, which remains relatively fixed in that almost all people have a capacity of 7 +\/- 2 items, working memory has more variability. Thus, training your working memory through music lessons can have academic benefits that could set you ahead of other individuals who have not trained their working memory in this way. People with good working memory are more efficient at shutting out irrelevant information, and may see benefits in reading comprehension.<\/p>\n

    The study Does music training enhance working memory performance? Findings from a quasi-experimental longitudinal study<\/em> (Roden, Grube, Bongard, and Kreutz, 2013) explores how music lessons can effect the efficiency of working memory in elementary school aged children. In the study, over the span of 1.5 years, children were tested on three different occasions, and completed seven tests, each targeting a specific component of working memory. One group of children received music lessons while the other group received additional instruction in natural science. Generally, the results found that children who received music lessons had stronger developments in the components of working memory related to auditory processing when compared to those who did not receive music lessons.<\/p>\n

    As mentioned earlier, the phonological loop is responsible for storing and processing verbal and auditory information. In the study by Roden et. al., music training in children enhanced articulatory rehearsal strategies and improved storage of phonological information. Children who did not receive music training, and instead received extra training in natural science, did not experience long-term improvements in the phonological loop component of working memory. Even though taking music lessons may seem like a way to slack off and avoid tough work in a science course, you are actually training the phonological loop of your working memory more efficiently than if you were to stick with what may feel like a more serious learning experience.<\/p>\n

    While music lessons also showed an improvement of the functioning of the central executive, music training\u2019s effects on working memory are most prominent in components that deal directly with auditory materials, like the phonological loop. So, next time you are considering what classes or extracurricular activities to sign up for, think about how you can improve your working memory. If music lessons is something new for you, give it a shot and you may enhance the capabilities of your working memory!<\/p>\n

    If this article was interesting to you, click here<\/a> for another study about music’s role in memory.<\/p>\n

    References:<\/p>\n

    Kellogg, Ronald Thomas. Fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology<\/em>. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2007. Print.<\/p>\n

    Roden, I., Grube, D., Bongard, S., & Kreutz, G. (2014). Does music training enhance working memory performance? Findings from a quasi-experimental longitudinal study. Psychology Of Music<\/em>, 42<\/em>(2), 284-298. doi:10.1177\/0305735612471239<\/p>\n

    Images:<\/p>\n

    http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ae\/Working-memory-en.svg\/608px-Working-memory-en.svg.png<\/a><\/p>\n

    http:\/\/studymagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/violin-lessons.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When I was in fourth grade we had the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument in school. Between band and orchestra we were allowed to select any instrument of our choice and we received music lessons every Friday afternoon at the end of the school day. These instruments were like toys to us. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5058,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80215],"tags":[124,45],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5058"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1762"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1765,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762\/revisions\/1765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/cogblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}