May 7, 2006
known and accepted that music can have a profound impact on the mind and body. Some
rate, heart beat, blood pressure, muscle and postural tension, electrical activity of the
brain, papillary dilation, and the intensity and regularity of gastric contractions.1 The
growing body of literature surrounding this topic debates whether music has the power to
As suggested by Bailey, performing music can have a positive effect on mood and
self-esteem,3 but it can also produce some undesirable effects such as anxiety and stress.
Despite the negativity that can be associated with performing, there seems to be no lack
of individuals willing to expose themselves. This may be because the positive effects
behaviors. Results from a questionnaire indicated that members of a singing group felt it
1
Kalandyk, Jolanta. Music and the Self-Esteem of Young Children. Lanham, Md.: University
Press of America, 1996, 58.
2
Kalandyk, 72-73.
3
Bailey, Betty A. and Jane W. Davidson, “Effects of Group Singing and Performance for
Marginalized and Middle-Class Singers, Psychology of Music 33, no. 3 (2005): 269-303.
had a positive impact on emotional, social, spiritual, and physical health. Music provides
challenge, achievement, and the opportunity to escape the frustrations of everyday life. A
While some singers have reported that singing makes them feel better, a study by
and social support between high school choir members and non-music students. 4 The
study also tested if there were changes in self-concept from grades seven to twelve. The
results indicated that there are no significant differences between high school choir
members and non-music students in terms of self-concept and social support, but
Other studies have also failed to document that music influences self-esteem.
Vaughn tested music’s ability to increase self-esteem and academic achievement and
lower anxiety on high school students identified as being at risk for failure. One group
took modified anxiety management training with music, one took modified anxiety
management training without music, and one group had no treatment. Students were
pretested with the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and posttested three weeks later.
achievement among 341 mid-western juniors in three categories: those who participate in
instrumental music, those who don’t participate, and those who have discontinued
found no relationship between music and self-esteem, tested high schoolers. Age may be
a critical factor in determining what role music plays in influencing self-esteem. In fact,
“a number of researchers have stressed the importance of the early stages of children’s
the music program with their parents for nine weeks, one group attended the music
program without parents, and one group did not participate in the music program. The
students were pre and posttested using the Joseph Preschool and Primary Self-Concept
Screening Test nine weeks apart. The results indicated that the first two groups improved
significantly on self-esteem. A small improvement was seen in the control group, which
might suggest that a rise in self-esteem is a normal developmental tendency in this age
range.
music on the self-esteem of second grade students.8 The researcher of this study
the study was given songs with the child’s first name throughout the lyrical content. One
group’s songs did not have the children’s names. One group received no treatment. The
personalized recordings.
6
Kalandyk, Jolanta. “Can We Improve the Self-Esteem of Young Children Through Music?”
Austrailian Journal of Music Education n1 (1997), 31.
7
Kalandyk, 31-41.
8
Adams, Lowell Walter, “An Experimental Study of the Efectiveness of the use of Personalized
and Semi-Personalized Musical Recordings as a Means of Improving the Self-Esteem of Young
Children,” Ph.D. diss., The Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities, 1988.
The results of Kalandyk’s and Adams’s studies, when compared with Murdock,
Vaughn, and Linch, affirm that age is in fact an important factor when attempting to
more susceptible to a change in self-esteem. Once in the late middle and high school
Stack and Grundlach studied music as affecting moods which can lead to suicide,
which can be viewed as resulting from low self-esteem.9 They note that “to the extent
that the audience of a particular type of music forms a subculture…the impact of music
inherently suicidal. Such themes as disharmony between the sexes, especially marital
strife, dissolution, and social problems are prominent. Country music is generally
Stack’s and Adams’s studies bring up the important point of lyrics. The words of
a song may be a very important factor on how it impacts one’s emotions. While pure
instrumental music may “speak” and stir the states of the soul, songs clearly speak more
Music has been praised in the recent past for the positive contributions to
education in other areas. Although it has been argued that music improves cognitive
ability and may improve the performance of math tasks, no research has clearly
demonstrated this. While studies show that even passive listening to music improves
math and language scores, others fail to make that connection. And while there may be a
9
Stack, Steven and Jim Gundlach. “The Effect of Country Music on Suicide.” Social Forces 71,
no. 1 (1992): 211-218.
10
Stack, 212.
connection between academic achievement and music, one might argue that academic
Because participation in music and other arts may also have a positive effect on
self-esteem, music is used as a therapy for people categorized as having low self-esteem.
Jones emphasizes there is a need for developing a particular curriculum that promotes
personal self-esteem for troubled youth.11 Jones believes discovery learning is the best
way to promote self-esteem through art. “When the students realize their capabilities of
making positive decisions that influence the final outcome of their…assignment, they are
intrinsically rewarded with pride and a sense of accomplishment. In turn this leads to a
higher level of self-esteem.”12 There is, however, little information on the effect of music
on people with normal self-esteem. As with academic achievement, some studies found a
Cowan and Clover also noted increased self-esteem in Discipline Based Art
cohesiveness, and an air of respect for themselves and each other as artists.”13 While the
benefits to self-esteem may be the most obvious in children who are “hurting,” art
education has the potential to help anyone who participates learn about art in ways that
Costa-Giomi tested the so-called Mozart Effect, which says there are cognitive
benefits of formal music instruction, and that even in the passive listening to music
11
Jones, Rick, “Using Art to Help Develop Self-Esteem for Troubled Youth,” Art Education 39, no.
1 (1986): 21-22.
12
Jones, 21.
13
Cowan, Marilee Mansfield and Faith M. Clover, “Enhancement of Self-Concept through
discipline-Based Art Education,” Art Education 44, no. 2 (1991): 38-45.
produces positive results.14 Throughout the three-year study, participants received weekly
piano lessons and took tests of self esteem, academic achievement, cognitive abilities,
musical abilities, and motor proficiency. The results indicated that piano lessons had a
positive impact on self-esteem but did not affect academic achievement as measured by
standardized tests.
esteem. Many times this is also linked to academic achievement and anxiety or stress.
Music is often used as a means to increase the self-esteem of “at-risk” subjects with low
interesting to see more research about the relationship between self-esteem and a
14
Costa-Giomi, Eugenia, “Effects of Three Years of Piano Instruction on Children’s Academic
Achievement, School Performance and Self-Esteem, Psychology of Music 32, no. 2 (April 2004):
139-152.
Bibliography
Adams, Lowell Walter. “An Experimental Study of the Efectiveness of the use of
Personalized and Semi-Personalized Musical Recordings as a Means of
Improving the Self-Esteem of Young Children.” Ph.D. diss., The Union for
Experimenting Colleges and Universities, 1988.
Bailey, Betty A. and Jane W. Davidson. “Effects of Group Singing and Performance for
Marginalized and Middle-Class Singers. Psychology of Music 33, no. 3 (2005):
269-303.
Jones, Rick. “Using Art to Help Develop Self-Esteem for Troubled Youth.” Art
Education 39, no. 1 (1986): 21-22.
Kalandyk, Jolanta. Music and the Self-Esteem of Young Children. Lanham, Md.:
University Press of America, 1996.
Murdock, Mervin Charles. “An investigation of the relationship between seventh, tenth,
and twelfth-graders’ participation in school choir and their perceived levels of
self-concept and social support.” Ph.D. diss., University of North Texas, 1991.
Stack, Steven and Jim Gundlach. “The Effect of Country Music on Suicide.” Social
Forces 71, no. 1 (1992): 211-218.