Music Makes You Smarter

A rising tide of research links music to brain development…kids who study MUSIC do better in school and in life! Researchers are providing us with an unprecedented understanding of how we think and how we learn. Now we know that music is a vital part of a complete education. Here is a sampling of what we know and continue to find out about music and the brain:

Second Graders Do Sixth Grade Math

Second grade students, who were given four months of piano keyboard training, as well as time using math puzzle software, scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than children who received no special instruction.  They were also able to solve proportional math problems at a sixth grade level.

Keeping Mozart in Mind, Academic Press

Music Makes the Brain Grow

Childhood music lessons actually enlarge the brain. German researchers found that the brain area used to analyze musical pitch is an average of 25% larger in musicians. The younger the musical training begins, the larger the area.

Nature, April 23, 1998

Rhythm Students Learn Fractions Better

After learning eighth, quarter, half and whole notes, second and third graders scored 100% higher than their peers who were taught fractions using traditional methods.

Neurological Research, March 15, 1999

Music Students Score Higher SATs®

SAT takers with coursework in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 43 points higher on the math portion (100 points combined).

Profile of College‐Bound Seniors National Report, The College Board, 2006

Music Raises Conceptual Math Scores

U. of California, Irvine found that after six months of piano lessons, preschoolers performed 34% higher on spatial temporal testing than those who received no training and those who received computer training.

Neurological Research, February 28, 1997

Band Members Get Better Math, Science, and Language Grades

Studies at the University of Sarasota and East Texas State University both found links between the number of years of band instruction and significantly improved academic achievement as measured by standardized math, science and language tests.

U of S study by Jeffrey Lynn Kluball, 2000; ETSU study by Daryl Erick Trent

Substance Abuse Lowest in Music Students

A Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse report showed that “secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances,” (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs).

Houston Chronicle, January 11, 1998

Give your children the musical advantage – enroll them in your local school music program and KEEP THEM IN MUSIC. Our children benefit greatly from making music.

Find out more about Music Makes You Smarter Research at the AMC Web site: www.amc-music.org