Music Education Advocacy Materials

Use the following materials in your advocacy for music education for all students.

Music Changes Lives

These eight videos share compelling personal stories from a variety of perspectives about the power of music education for all. Show them at meetings, concerts, or any event where you have the opportunity (Spanish subtitled versions are available).

Why Choose Music

Download these files to support your recruiting, retention, and advocacy work. Targeted to middle and high school students and their parents, these companion pieces emphasize the valuable benefits of staying in a music program. Each file links to music education advocacy videos targeted to these students and their parents.

Why Choose Music interactive PDF
Why Choose Music PowerPoint presentation (customize final page with your contact info)

How We Learn

Research continues to offer more significant conclusions about the study of music and the development of cognitive abilities.

• The Benefits of Music Education: Overview of neuroscience research published by The Royal Conservatory (2014)
• Learning, Arts, and the Brain: Summary of neuroscience study results published in the 2008 Dana Consortium Report.
• Hearing the Music, Honing the Mind: Scientific American article about the benefits of music study (2010).

Academic Success

While studying music for music’s sake is clearly the priority of music education the extended benefits to students’ other academic success shouldn’t be overlooked.

• Music Is Essential: Promotional video showing how music education is essential in every
  child’s well-rounded education.
• A Hard-Headed Case for Music Education: Address by Dan Pink on how music education is key for every student (2009).
• Texas All-State SAT Scores: Five-year report showing the significantly higher SAT scores of Texas All-State musicians.
• Opting for Creativity: Newsweek article about the shift in China’s academic focus to include the arts. (2008).

College/Career Preparation

Music education cultivates qualities like collaboration, the ability to listen and connect disparate ideas, the power to think both in the now and several steps ahead, critical-thinking, problem-solving, and confidence and perseverance.

• Music Students Don’t Just Learn Notes (1 page): Promotion on top-ten skills children learn from arts study (source: Washington Post).
• College, Career & Military Preparation​ (2-page): Promotion on the impact of the arts on student success in college and careers.
• Creativity in the 21st Century Workforce: Creativity and innovation are the keys to our
  students’ future success. Summary of address by Dan Pink and other business leaders to the Texas Legislature (2009).
• Texas Legislative Briefing on Music Education: Dan Pink addresses members of the Texas Legislature about how critical teaching arts education is (2009).
• Voices in the Arts: College Board publication on the importance of arts education (2010).

Economics

• State of the Arts: Texas Cultural Trust report on the economic impact of the arts in Texas (2017).
• Reverse Economics: Case study showing how a district’s decision to reduce the number of music teachers to save money would result in a greater financial burden.