Taking music lessons may boost your child's IQ
THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2014 13:46 PM

You've probably heard of parents playing Mozart for their unborn babies, hoping to produce an intelligent child. While the idea may seem silly to some, those parents could be onto something. Several studies have found that taking music lessons helps boost the brain power of children. 

Rhythm before walking
Researchers from McMaster University conducted a study to discover the effects of music training on kids who hadn't yet learned to walk or talk. They observed classes where 1-year-olds learned basic musical principles with their parents, and found that the lessons benefited the children.

"Many past studies of musical training have focused on older children," Laurel Trainor, director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind, said in a statement.  "Our results suggest that the infant brain might be particularly plastic with regard to musical exposure."

The parents and children in the study took one of two lessons over the course of six months: The first class had parents and babies using percussion instruments and helped them learn songs and lullabies. The other class invited participants to play with toys while selections from the popular "Baby Einstein" series played. Researchers found a difference in the results from the two classes. Babies who actively played instruments and learned songs displayed greater brain function than their counterparts in the other group. Additionally, those children preferred music that stayed in tune. The other (and more passive) class did not share these results. 

Lessons for older kids
Taking music lessons also caused a profound increase in brain activity and IQ in older kids. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto observed 6-year-olds in music class. The students took either keyboard, drama or voice lessons throughout the study. 

University of Toronto researchers do note that kids' IQ increases as a result of general learning. In fact, all the observed children saw a change of about four IQ points. However, researchers looked for instances when children's IQ increased significantly more than the intelligence of other kids. They found that children who took music classes (voice and keyboard) had the greatest IQ increase, about seven points. 

The children who attended drama lessons did experience some benefits - their social skills improved. However, the kids in music class also experienced an improvement of social skills on top of their IQ increase. Researchers believe that the IQ improvement observed as a result of music lessons has less to do with music itself, and more to do with motivation. Children who take music class generally enjoy it, and will work hard to learn.