Published by The Musiconomy www.TheMusiconomy.com

Important Rights Notice This E-Book may NOT be sold either in part or full under any circumstances. To do so would be a breach of copyright. Only the Publisher has the right to sell this product subject to the terms and conditions given. It may copied so long as no changes are made to the original, and that credit is given to the Author. Cover Photo by Salvatore Vuono http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=659 Copyright 2010 Tony Margiotta

About the Author Tony Margiotta is a music education expert that researches the cognitive and emotional effects of music on the human race. He holds a Master’s Degree in Jazz Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He is the founder of The Musiconomy, a publishing company and newsletter that promotes awareness of how music shapes the prosperity in people’s lives. Musical Artist and Composer, his music can be found on iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon.com, and www.TonyMar.com. He lives in New York City. www.TonysMusicBooks.com - Learn the Power of Music www.TheMusiconomy.com - Music on a Mission www.TonyMar.com - Composer/Musical Artist

“Will music training really make my child smarter?” By the time you’re done reading this article, you’ll know why music training will make your child smarter. I will also go even further to explain to you that music will give your child a competitive advantage for prosperity in the new world economy. I’m sure that as a parent, you dream that your child will become a successful individual with a good paying job, a nice home, and a family to share it with. But you see it on the news everyday that America is losing jobs to China and India. The U.S. is bankrupt. It’s the longest recession in history, etc. I don’t want to scare you but it IS scary to see this stuff everyday on TV and the Internet. It’s hard to envision a bright future for your child when everything around you seems dismal. My first article in the “Music and The Economy” Series (Highlight and put Link) discussed the facts about the new world economy that your children will become part of, and the education system that is not preparing them for it. I also mentioned that Music is a tool, an advantage that will assist in your child’s educational development. Research proves that music will make your child smarter. The smarter the child is, the more competitive and valuable the child will be when he/she grows up and enters the economy. In today’s world, a child needs every tool imaginable that can help them develop skills. There is not one single formula that will transform a child into a successful person in society. But a rich combination of skills such as mathematic, scientific, intellectual, social, and creative, will give your children an “edge” when they enter the economy as productive individuals.

Music will in fact accelerate the development of ALL the previous skills mentioned. My Personal Story with Music I was an average child when it came to grades and test scores in elementary school. I did some homework, studied a little, but I was bored out of my mind. Probably like a lot of your children. Nothing seemed to interest me when it came to school. Then I discovered the guitar. My life was changed forever. I expressed interest in learning the guitar to my mom. She grew up studying the organ and knew the type of discipline and commitment it took to learn a musical instrument. Since my grades weren’t the best, she wasn’t supportive in the beginning. I kept on talking about learning the guitar for about a year. I was finally able to convince her to take me to a music store where they sold instruments. And there it was, hanging up on the wall. It was a bright and shiny red guitar. When the salesman picked up that guitar and started playing it, I can’t express to you how excited I got. I begged my mom to buy this guitar. I couldn’t leave the store without it. Again, my mom spent many years studying the organ and knew the commitment that I would have to make to learn how to play the guitar. She was certainly a bit hesitant. So she made a deal with me. She said, “Tony, if you buy the guitar with your own savings, I’ll pay for the guitar lessons. But you have to take the lessons or you can’t buy the guitar.” She would not have allowed me to spend my own savings on something that I couldn’t commit to. So I agreed, and the lessons began.

By the time I went off to high school, I was still somewhat in the average category, (A’s, B’s and C’s with an occasional D). But I will tell you that my interest in school and the subjects that I studied seemed more interesting to me than I had remembered before. I started to grow a fascination for how things worked. I wanted to understand things. What was happening behind the scenes during this period, was that I was practicing my guitar, reading music, and learning music theory. I will be honest with you here. I didn’t kill myself with hours and hours of homework when I went home after school. I went home and practiced my guitar everyday. But something big had changed. I was doing very well on my tests in English, Math, and Science, (Mostly A’s and B’s).) I was now getting on the Honor Roll. There was definitely an improvement. Though I didn’t enjoy my alarm clock buzzing at 6 in the morning to wake me up and prepare for school, I did look forward to going to school everyday. I was happy to be there. To be learning. This was also a big change to my previous behavior of dreading the idea of going to school everyday. My sister on the other hand, used to come home everyday and study for hours and still couldn’t get the grades that I was getting. She used to say to me all the time, “I don’t know how you do it Tony. You hardly ever study and you’re always on the Honor Roll.” My sister made me wonder how I could study little but still got good grades and be on the Honor Roll. In high school, I felt that at the end of every class, I understood and remembered the material

that my teacher explained. So when I went to Study Hall which was the Free Period, I would do most of my homework and studying within a 45-minute period of time. Now I don’t want to give you the impression that I never studied or did my homework at home. Sometimes I did bring a book or two. Or I had to write a paper here and there at home. But I was able most of the time to complete my daily homework and studies during the Free Period. Then I went off to college. My ability to learn fast, retain more information, and hunger for knowledge increased more and more. I was on the Dean’s List every semester for FOUR years with very high grades. I even earned a 4.0 Grade Point Average several times, which is all A’s for every course. The same thing happened when I went to Graduate School and earned my Master’s Degree. So how did I go from being an average and bored student to an A+ student with a strong hunger for knowledge? I can tell you without a doubt it was because I learned how to play a musical instrument. Now I am not a psychologist or even an expert in education. But I can promise you that my life would have turned out differently if I didn’t learn music. I would have been just “average” at best. Since finishing school, I have always had a good paying job. I moved out of Mom and Dad’s house and have been independent ever since. I pay my own bills. I have my own apartment. I’ve developed a solid reputation in my career and networking has opened me up to many other opportunities. Wouldn’t you like your child to have the same success as me? Ok. So I’m finished with the bragging. I just wanted to share with you the effects of music on my personal educational development

and how it helps me even today, in the world economy and the recession that lurks over it. My advice to you as a parent is to help your child reach that A+ status by getting them involved in music. If your child is already an A+ student and you’re looking for an extracurricular activity for her, you’ve come to the right place. I will tell you however, that music training is NOT an extracurricular activity. It’s an essential part of a student’s foundation for learning. Even if your child is already an A+ student, music will still enrich her life and take her intellect to even hire levels. Scientific Facts about Musical Training Here are the scientific facts on the cognitive effects of music training during childhood development: • Increasing ability to pay attention and focus

• Teaches the child patience and discipline

• Improvements in IQ scores

• Measurable improvements in specific skills such as reading

literacy, visio-spatial processing, verbal memory and mathematics.

• Increases creativity and creative thinking.

These are just some of the direct benefits of musical training. They are absolutely necessary for a child to thrive during development.

Now, let’s look at the facts on how students with music training perform on test scores compared to their peers: • Music students out-perform non-music students on achievement

tests in reading and math. (5) • Students involved in music score higher on SAT scores. (4)

• Nations whose students consistently outperform the United States

in tests assessing science achievement are the countries where music is a primary focus of the curriculum. (7)

How is your child going to compete for jobs in the future when other countries like China and Japan are scoring higher in Science? Their curriculums all have an emphasis on music training. They understand that music will enhance young students’ ability to learn faster, to retain more information, and to create. Short Success Stories The following are some short stories that clearly prove that music enhances learning abilities and increases chances for success. Your child CAN become part of these success stories! Kids, Start Practicing! — A Harvard-based study has found that children who study a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children with no instrumental training—not only in tests of auditory discrimination and finger dexterity (skills honed by the study of a musical instrument), but also on tests measuring verbal ability and visual pattern completion (skills not normally associated with music). (8)

Music and Medical School?

— Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school. Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66 per cent of music majors who applied to med school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. For comparison, 44 per cent of biochemistry majors were admitted. Also, a study of 7,500 university students revealed that music majors scored the highest reading scores among all majors including English, biology, chemistry and math. (9)

Study Music and Become an Engineer — The mental flexibility that is developed by the study of music is reflected in industrial applications. One of the most innovative and entrepreneurial centers of U.S. commerce is the Silicon Valley of California. Grant Venerable, in “The Paradox of the Silicon Savior,” says: “One of the most striking facts in Silicon Valley industry is that the very best engineers and technical designers are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians” (10) Fractions made easy — Students who were exposed to the music-based lessons scored a full 10 percent higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner. Second-grade and third-grade students were taught fractions in an untraditional manner by teaching them basic music rhythm notation. The group was taught about the relationships between eighth, quarter, half and whole notes. Their peers received traditional fraction instruction. (6) Music Performance and the SAT — A 2001 report by The College Entrance Examination Board showed that music involvement increased students’ SAT scores. The report says that “students in music performance [courses] scored 57 points

higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation [courses] scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than students with no arts participation”. (4)

Music and Emotional Intelligence

— Research presented at the American Psychological Association’s 2003 Convention showed that music lessons offered children “intellectual benefits” and could even “fine-tune their sensitivity to emotion in speech”. Six-year-old children in the study who took music lessons (either keyboard or voice) showed an additional 2.5 point increase in their IQ levels compared with other six year old children who were not involved in music. These children were also better able to identify a person’s emotion simply by tone of voice. One of the researchers hypothesized that “perhaps the same area of the brain processes both speech prosody and music”, and that “training in one domain would act to engage and refine those neural resources” (3)

Music Improves Test Scores for EVERYONE! — A ten-year study, tracking more than 25,000 students, shows that music-making improves test scores. Regardless of socioeconomic background, music-making students get higher marks in standardized tests than those who had no music involvement. The test scores studied were not only standardized tests, such as the SAT, but also in reading proficiency exams. (2)

CEO’s looking for Prepared Workers? — The nation's top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st century. (1) Whoever can CREATE will INNOVATE! Innovation is what drives the creation of new companies and new jobs.

If music increases creative thinking AND language/numerical skills, who do you think will be creating all the new jobs? As a parent, this is not a difficult decision. Music training is a must! You may not feel like you have the power to change the education system in this country, but you DO have the power to get your child involved in music. If you are concerned about the future of your child, and you found the information I gave you useful, I have more for you. In fact, I can walk you step by step through the process of getting your child started in music. Children grow up fast and there is no time to wait. Their future is in your hands. Please download my “Getting your Child started in Music Guide.” In this guide, I cover topics such as: • How to get your child interested in music

• How to buy a musical instrument and NOT GET RIPPED OFF

• Book List: The best books to buy for learning music

• How to choose the right music teacher

You can get my guide for $19.95 and invest in the future for your child. It’s easy to reserve your copy. Just click on the link below or copy and paste it into your browser: http://www.tonysmusicbooks.com/Parents-Guide-How-to-get-your-Child-started-in-Music-201101.htm I don’t play all of the “salesman” type games. You must be delighted with your new investment or you’ll get a complete and prompt refund, no questions asked. I guarantee my guide for 1 year. I’m giving you a lot of time, because I want you and your child to succeed.

This is the FIRST “Getting started in Music Guide” ever written in which the goal is to improve the educational development of your child, and ultimately compete for jobs in the new world economy. I wrote this guide with the goal in mind that your child will grow into an individual who is loaded with multiple skill sets, who is creative, who can innovate, and who can even create their own business! This guide is the first of many steps in developing your child into a valuable asset to the competitive economy that has arrived and is here to stay. Try my guide and feel confident that there is someone walking you through the process of getting your child started in music. I’ve been there. I’ve done it. I’ve spent years learning and teaching music. My experience will make the process much easier and more convenient for you. I will relieve you of any second-guessing and research. I’ve done it all for you. You won’t have any anxiety going into a music store and talking to a salesman. With my guide, you’ll know exactly what you need to purchase so that you don’t get ripped off . You’ll know which books to buy and not look lost in the book section or spend hours online deciding what to buy. I will save you the time. You’ll also be confident that you have the right music teacher for your child. I will give you a set of criteria that this person must have or you will look somewhere else. The right music teacher makes all the difference in the world and I will help you find the right one. In the course of writing this guide, I decided to create a list of the Top Ten Songs every child should listen to. Listening to music will keep your child engaged when he/she is not practicing their new instrument and will motivate them to practice more. Therefore, if you get your guide before (DATE), I’ll include this Top Ten Songs for Kids for FREE. But it’s available only if you respond before (DATE).

Remember, your investment is fully guaranteed and no matter what, you get to keep the free songs list. Please get you guide here: www.TonysMusicBooks.com/musicguide References (1)Business Week."The Changing Workplace is Changing Our View of Education." October 1996. (2)Catterall, Dr. James. University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). 1997. (from the Children’s Music Workshop, USA) (3)Chamberlin, J. “Are there hidden benefits to music lessons?” Monitor on Psychology Vol 34, No 9. American Psychological Association, October 2003. (4)The College Entrance Examination Board. “College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers.” Princeton, New Jersey. 2001. (5)Friedman, B. “An evaluation of the achievement in reading and arithmetic of pupils in elementary schools instrumental music classes.” Dissertation Abstracts International, 20 pp. 3662-3663. 1959 (6)Neurological Research), March 15, 1999 (7)Ponter, James. “Comparing School Music Programs and Science Test Scores Worldwide.” (National Association of Secondary School Principals) 1999. (8)ScienceDaily (Nov. 5 Issue, 2008) (9) Wood, Peter H. ERIC Document No ED32748 "The Case for Music in the Schools", (The comparative academic abilities of students in education and in other areas of a multi-focus university Phi Delta Kappan. February 1994.

(10) Venerable, Grant. “The Paradox of the Silicon Savior.” 1989.