News & Events

MusiGRAM - the ASMTA Newsletter

The state newsletter is published three times each year and is the primary means of communication with our membership. It features event calendars from all local associations, Editor's Corner, and other instructive articles and information.
MusiGRAM circulates to over 500 music teachers, educators and suppliers.
Please feel free to print your own copy (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
If you wish to receive back issues on CD in pdf format, please email us for cost of postage and handling.
View the current issue of the MusiGRAM here.

MTNA Online Community

MTNA has always been committed to providing current resources for its members. In the spirit of this commitment, MTNA is pleased to announce the availability of its Online Community. Currently, discussion groups, or an electronic bulletin board, are available for use by members and nonmembers alike. Discussion groups now available range from MTNA leadership to various instruments and special interest areas. Other topics will be added as needed. Anyone may read the postings to the groups; however, those wanting to post a question or respond to something they've read in a discussion group must register to use the feature.

To take advantage of this service, visit the website and click on the "Online Communities" tab under the "What's New" section on the homepage. For more information about the Online Communities, contact MTNA at mtnanet@mtna.org or (888) 512-5278.

An Exciting Way to Raise the IQ of Kids

Quick! Sign your children up for weekly piano or voice lessons, and in the space of just nine months their IQs may very well be higher. Researchers from the University of Toronto have determined that this is all it takes for a child's IQ to rise nearly three points, compared to their non-musical friends, reports HealthDayNews.

How? Music gives the brain a workout that is useful in mathematics, spatial intelligence, and other intellectual pursuits. "With music lessons, because there are so many different facets involved--such as memorizing, expressing emotion, learning about musical interval and chords--the multidimensional nature of the experience may be motivating the [IQ] effect," study author E. Glenn Schellenberg, of the University of Toronto at Mississauga, told HealthDayNews.
Previous research 10 years ago at the University of Wisconsin showed that just listening to Mozart could trigger a temporary increase in spatial intelligence, so it is not uncommon for students to capitalize on this by slipping a Mozart symphony in their CD players just before an SAT exam. HealthDayNews notes that even though the so-called -Mozart Effect- has been difficult to replicate in subsequent studies, the idea that musical training might raise IQ has intrigued the scientific community.

The study: Twelve Toronto area children, all of whom were 6 years old at the start of the study and were about to enter first grade, were given free weekly voice or piano lessons at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Children this young have brains that are still developing and so have a greater ability to change and adapt to environmental stimuli; however, they are old enough at 6 to participate in rigorous musical lessons. In addition, a third group of 6-year-olds was given free training in weekly drama classes. A fourth group received no classes during the study period. Before any classes were given, all the children were tested using the full Weschler intelligence test that assesses intellectual function in 10 areas.

The results: The children returned to the university lab the summer between first and second grade and were retested. At that time, all the children--even those who were not taking music lessons--had an IQ increase of at least 4.3 points on average, which is a consequence of going to school. Children who took drama lessons scored no higher than those who took no lessons at all. But the kids who took music lessons had slightly larger increases in IQ than the control groups, averaging 7 points over their score a year earlier, and 2.7 points higher than the children who did not take music lessons. HealthDayNews notes that the increase in IQ is considered small but significant and was evident across the broad spectrum of intelligence measured by the Weschler test. The same IQ boost is not likely to benefit adultswho take music lessons. The study findings have been published in the journal Psychological Science.