Music Lessons Improve Children’s Cognitive Skills and Academic Performance

Summary: According to a new Frontiers in Neuroscience study, children who participate in structured music lessons showed enhancements in cognitive abilities over their peers who did not receive music lessons. The researchers note the improvements in short term memory, language based reasoning and planning seen in children who had music lessons had a positive impact on academic achievement.

Source: Frontiers in Neuroscience.

Structured music lessons significantly strengthen children’s cognitive abilities including language-based reasoning, short-term memory, planning and inhibition which lead to improved academic performance.

Music education has been exterminated in schools around the globe, due to increased competition with academic subjects and also lack of funding. These days, the opportunity to learn an instrument is seen as more of a leisure and luxury than a necessary part of education.

The researchers conducted an experiment with 147 children across various Dutch schools, using a structured musical method designed by the Ministry of Research and Education in the Netherlands together with an expert centre for arts education. All schools observed the regular primary school curriculum, with some providing supplementary music or visual arts classes. In these, the children were provided both theoretical and practical lessons.

The children’s academic performance was analysed after 2.5 years, their various cognitive skills including planning, inhibition and memory skills were also assessed.

The findings revealed that children who received music lessons had significant cognitive enhancements compared to all other children in the study. Visual arts classes also resealed a benefit: children in these classes had significantly improved visual and spatial short-term memory compared to students who had not received any supplementary lessons.

The researchers hope their work will contribute on shedding light on the importance of music and arts in human culture and cognitive development.