MUSIC EDUCATION
FOR LIFE SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
IN CHILDREN
by Pattie Gonsalves, Director of Institutional
Advancement, Global Music Institute (GMI),
Co-Founder of Music Basti
Most of my childhood was spent hearing about my dad’s travels in
the “BIMARU” states in India (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
and Uttar Pradesh considered to be the most backward), and my
eldest brother’s classical piano playing (today he is a pianist and
a music therapist, and my dad is a grassroots as well as policy level
development expert in the field of education). It was probably only
natural that my interest in the impact of music developed. I have been
fortunate to work with projects that capture and realize my philosophy
of how art and music is inspired from within, and must be nurtured
from without.
The most recent project I have been part of is at “Shanti Bhavan”,
a residential school for economically and socially disadvantaged
children in Tamil Nadu. Here, you will find children playing Beethoven
or a piano rendition of one of the newest pop songs on one or both of
the pianos at the school as early as 6 AM before they go for breakfast.
One of the pianos is a beautiful Steinway. I am visiting the school
as part of a collaborative project between Artists Striving to End
Poverty (ASTEP), a New-York based arts organization that connects
performing and visual artists with the children studying at the
school. This partnership is grounded in the belief that the deleterious
consequences of extreme poverty can be overcome if the problems are
tackled in the early stages of a child’s development.
My work at Shanti Bhavan consists of understanding and highlighting
the developmental and life skills (such as building leadership, decision
making, confidence, team work), sense of self, values and attitudes
(creativity, expression, view of the future) and musical competencies
gained through the children’s participation in the arts programs.
Research with the students has also revealed some links between
academic and school involvement (school attachment, engagement,
motivation, grades).
In surveys with the students, they have reported feeling more creative,
feeling better about themselves and feeling like they can do things they
didn’t think they could do before. Some students have even reported
that being part of the music program has made them care more about
school, pay more attention in class and participate more in school
activities. More than three-fourths of the students surveyed reported
that they think music is important in education.
“Music has given me the incentive to study. I get other work done so I can
play piano!” – Student, 17
28
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Score Magazine
www.thescoremagazine.com
“Music helps me calm down
when I’m nervous. I go to the
music room before a test and
just play.”
- Student, 13
Although there is compelling
evidence to suggest that
music is a universal and
effective tool for the delivery
of positive impacts, studies of
interventions employing the
arts, and the outcomes these
can create, are however, a
more recent development,
especially in India where the
arts are forced to compete for
limited resources and even
acknowledgment as a tool of
development.
Although there is c