According to African legend, a young shepherd brought rain to his cattle with an arrow and an eagle's plume.

Music Education student (now graduated) Emmy Williams leads the lesson plan at Brusly Elementary, Brusly, La. Photo credit: Jason Peak

The ancient folktale, retold by author Vera Aardena and read aloud by LSU music education major Emmy Williams, fills a small Louisiana classroom with the sounds of Kapiti Plain in a rainstorm.

The students, second-graders at Brusly Elementary, watch with attention as Williams cues their participation in a symphony of musical sounds corresponding to elements of the narrative. Snaps, clucks, stomps and claps stand in for storm and animal noises, while an array of percussive instruments tap in time.

The class is engaged, and clearly Williams’ lesson is getting through: Within half an hour, her students can name their borrowed instruments (including claves, guiros, and agogo bells) and accurately relate the story’s plot and characters.

Williams chose this tale and its accompaniments from one of dozens of unique lesson plans devised by fellow student Katie-Beth Toups, a former graduate assistant in the school of music. Both worked under direction of professor and chair of music education, Jane Cassidy, with funding by a Faculty Research Grant from the Office of Research & Economic Development. Their project, called Integrating Literacy Skills Into the Music Education Classroom, seeks better ways to meld music and language into harmonious teachable moments.

The research comes at a critical time in American music education.

Since the advent of No Child Left Behind, the Federal program making math and reading skills top priority in public schools, local investment in arts education has been in retreat. Louisiana struggles especially in this area, with music teachers working in only 20% of elementary schools.

Music advocacy groups like the American Music Conference and VH1’s Save the Music Foundation cite numerous studies linking cognitive development with early exposure to music education. In short, they say, music makes kids smarter.

Photo credit: Jason Peak

After three decades in music research and education, Jane Cassidy is familiar with the argument. Although the results suggest benefits, she knows a cause-and-effect relationship remains elusive.

Cassidy thinks a new approach may be needed. As she explains, the typical research model exposes students to musical stimuli on an experimental basis, then tests for effects on students’ math or English performance.

Cassidy sees room for improvement in this model: “All we’re doing is teaching them about reading through music, not teaching them anything about music. Music is as important to me as any of those other subjects.” If music is helpful in teaching other subjects, she wonders, shouldn’t we be testing the effectiveness of that music instruction?

Cassidy’s current project is designed to meet both needs. With funding provided by the faculty research grant, Cassidy and Toups developed lesson plans that deliver strong musical content and quality language instruction in a seamless package.

In addition to potential gains in standardized tests, Louisiana kids can finally put words to the music.

...from the Autumn 2008 Issue