Music Lessons and Memory

New research reveals that “children with music training develop a far better memory and vocabulary than children without such training,” reports the Globe and Mail newspaper of Canada. According to Dr. Agnes Chan of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, studying music stimulates the left side of the brain, improving overall brain function and permitting the brain to do better at other tasks—such as verbal learning. Verbal and visual memory tests were conducted on 90 students between the ages of 6 and 15. Those who had musical training could recall significantly more words than untrained students. The longer they continued musical training, the better their verbal learning performance was. “It’s like cross-training for the brain,” said Chan. She believes that those who study music “will probably find it easier to learn in school.”