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Music is a part of the curriculum for all children up to the age of 14, or Year 9, when they choose subjects to study toward a national qualification. The aim is to develop a child's aesthetic judgement of different types of music and also to help them understand and appreciate the world we live in. Teaching helps children acquire the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to make music and to follow a music related career, should they so wish.
The music curriculum has always recognised music's ability to develop the skills, attitudes and attributes that can support learning in other subjects. This includes listening skills, the ability to concentrate, creativity, intuitions, aesthetic sensitivity, perseverance, self confidence and sensitivity towards others.
It is one of the reasons the Music Manifesto was launched in 2004. Backed by members of the music industry and leading music organisations, as well as the education sector and the government, its aim is to increase opportunities for young people in music whether they wish to follow a music career or not.
The Music Manifesto says that music is important because of the social and culture values it represents and promotes, and for the communities it can help to build and to unite.
Music and learning
Interest in the effect of music on children's learning really took off with the discovery of what is now known as the Mozart effect. In 1992 the late Dr Gordon Shaw realised that students performed markedly better in reasoning tests after listening to a particular Mozart sonata.
He said the patterns and symmetries in Mozart's music are very cerebral and organised in a way that takes account of how our brains learn most effectively. It is said this helps to develop a child's spatial temporal reasoning skills, developing the ability to think in patterns and pictures.
All children need this in order to understand concepts such as left and right, to balance and to avoid bumping into things. Later it will help with more complex skills such as reading and understanding maps and graphs, and to grasp scientific and mathematical concepts.
Music can also aid memory, which is why singing nursery rhymes and action songs are particularly good for a child's early development.
And there are social benefits too, as music teaches discipline and self control. Working in music groups and ensembles can teach children to work more effectively together with others. It helps them to express their ideas, feelings and thoughts - so helps to develop children's positive problem solving skills. It also encourages their creativity and improves their self confidence and self esteem.
This can all give children the skills they need to master challenges in other areas of their lives and later when they start to work.
