Benefits of using Music

Have you ever heard of anyone who doesn't like music? Some people may not like art, dancing, reading, or movies, but almost everyone likes one kind of music or another. Most people like many different kinds of music. Studies have shown that music...

• improves concentration
• improves memory
• brings a sense of community to a group
• motivates learning
• relaxes people who are overwhelmed or stressed
• makes learning fun
• helps people absorb material

"Music stabilizes mental, physical and emotional rhythms to attain a state of deep concentration and focus in which large amounts of content information can be processed and learned." Chris Brewer, Music and Learning

Suggested Activities

Many teachers try using music once in the class, but forget to do it again. It might take a few times before you and your class get used to hearing music while learning. If you can commit to using music once a week, you may soon see the benefits, and realize that you want to do it more often and in a variety of ways. Here are 10 activities for you to try:

1. Use background music such as classical, Celtic music or natural sounds to inspire creativity
2. Teach your national anthem
3. Teach a song that uses slang expressions ("I heard it through the Grape Vine")
4. Teach a song that uses a new tense you have introduced
5. Add variety to your reading comprehension lesson. Students can read lyrics and search for main idea, theme, details.
6. Teach Christmas vocabulary through traditional carols
7. Write or choose a classroom theme song
8. Create (or use already prepared lessons) close exercises using popular song lyrics
9. Create variations to familiar songs by making them personal for your class members or your lesson
10. Have "lyp sync" contests. Allow students to choose their own songs. A little competition goes a long way in the classroom. Have groups explain the lyrics of their song before or after they perform.

"When the music changes so, so does the dance." African proverb.