Early Music Lessons Boost the Brain --- CBC - Quirks and Quarks with Bob McDonald

Again, CBC radio has provided another thought provoking story regarding the long term benefits of learning an instrument. This interview examines the benefits of early musical training, especially for those under the age of 7 and its effect on the brain.

According to the preface:

If you started piano lessons in grade one, or played the recorder in kindergarten, thank your parents and teachers. Those lessons you dreaded – or loved – helped develop your brain. The younger you started music lessons, the stronger the connections in your brain.

 

A study published last month in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that musical training before the age of seven has a significant effect on the development of the brain, showing that those who began early had stronger connections between motor regions – the parts of the brain that help you plan and carry out movements. 

 

This research was carried out by students in the laboratory of Concordia Universitypsychology professor Virginia Penhune, and in collaboration with Robert J. Zatorre, a researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University.

 

The study provides strong evidence that the years between ages six and eight are a “sensitive period” when musical training interacts with normal brain development to produce long-lasting changes in motor abilities and brain structure. “Learning to play an instrument requires coordination between hands and with visual or auditory stimuli,” says Penhune. “Practicing an instrument before age seven likely boosts the normal maturation of connections between motor and sensory regions of the brain, creating a framework upon which ongoing training can build.” 

I expect that there are other benefits too. The confidence, persistence and good habits that are formed in my students are enough for me to say "early musical education is paramount to joy, inquisitiveness and exploration."

Listen to the full interview:

http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/episode/2013/02/16/february-16-2013/

If you have any comments on the benefits of early music education, please share with us.

Peace,
Annette DeMaggio
www.songsofjoymi.com