School budgets have been hit hard during these difficult times of economic stress. Many have heard that arts and music programs are almost always the first to be cut, but this makes no sense in light of studies looking at music education and improving math scores, a obvious goal of any school district. Because of this apparent logical fallacy, researchers studied music and its place in elementary schools in the Tacoma Public School District. Allowing students to participate in music programs stimulates their brains and helps them do better in school. The researchers began by looking for specific studies that connect music and other subjects, including mathematics. They found “A study of 237 second-grade children used piano keyboard training and newly designed math software to demonstrate improvement in their math skills. The group scored 27% higher on proportional and fraction math tests than children who used the math software alone (http://www.wellington-guitar-lessons.com/children-and-music.html ). Researchers have studied that when music is used in schools, it increases achievement in math, science, and language arts. Another study of children from disadvantaged families found that children improved their test scores when they received musical education. This statement should force people to fight for music programs in their school districts. Children can learn musical notes by counting fractions. “Music is written in measures, or in small blocks containing a certain number of beats. If a song is in 3/4, this means there will be 3 beats per measure, with a quarter note counting as one beat (http://hubpages.com/hub/Elementary-Music-Education). Test results...... middle of paper ...... with our countries. According to some studies, babies who listen to music before they can speak probably develop earlier than other infants. Listening to or playing music is a beautiful thing at every stage of a person's life. All public schools should encourage children to stay motivated and perhaps learn to play an instrument. Instead of making the school suffer even more, students, teachers and parents should donate or give to charity. Making any type of effort will help children get a better education. Works Cited <"Keeping music education in our schools." HubPages. Internet. March 16, 2011. <"Children and music." Guitar lessons in Wellington, New Zealand. Wellington guitar lessons. Internet. March 16. 2011. .