Music lessons can make children smarter

CHILDREN who learn to play a musical instrument at a young age could be smarter in later life.

Research shows that there is a special window of learning in a child’s brain between the ages of six and eight, when musical training boosts the development of the motor skills regions of the brain.

Concordia University in Montreal (Canada) carried out a study on the brains of 36 musicians, all of whom had played for around the same number of years.

They were split into two groups, those who started playing music before the age of seven and those who started at a later stage in life and then they were monitored as they carried out non-musical tests of their motor skills.

The findings were then compared with test results from those who had received little or no formal musical training.

However, despite their conclusion that early musical training can enhance specific skills, the researchers said learning early had little impact on their development as musicians.