The IQ in Music – Do Music Lessons For Your Kids Make Them Smarter?

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to listen only to classical music – the so-called “Mozart effect” – does not smarter. I explained the reasons for this conclusion also. In this paper we investigate the question, “do music lessons make a child smarter? Thurs music lessons are the advantages of safety,” to areas of non-musical intelligence? Thurs music lessons to expand overall increase in child IQ, which makes them better reasoning, language comprehension and mathematics? “As this question has been raised, is as interesting as what the answer turns out to be.

Why is this question of interest?

Here is one answer. Children have little free time to invest in extra-curricular activities, and parents need to make decisions between the activities of their children. If only the choice between, say, ballet and music, and music is known to increase intelligence, but not ballet, it could select a reason for the music for the ballet. Ballet may be good reasons for the music can not be – for the motor coordination skills, for example – but at least the parent company has a stronger basis on which to choose.

As we can not answer the question: Do music lessons enhance IQ?

The question of the lessons “of music listening to a child smarter? Is not something that common sense and the facts of personal experience can be answered. It may be tempting to get out of your observation that all know children who take music lessons is it well argue in school, these findings will help to develop them, their intelligence and school performance. But this conclusion is not justified. Why not? “For it is also likely that better both in school and make music because them to a certain socio-economic class, where the average IQ is higher to begin with. Children with high IQs are more likely than other children to take music lessons because their parents with higher education levels, are more affluent tend to music education for their children to give – it is part of the culture of the educated rich and give music lessons. not all parents are educated and wealthy, but many of them. But this does not necessarily mean that music lessons have an impact on children’s intelligence “in development. Many parents are buying educated and rich also wear certain brands of clothing for their children, but children are not made, intelligent.

So we can not go to try to understand whether music instruction improves on IQ.

How can we answer the question: Do music lessons enhance IQ?

To find the answer to this question we need to make an experiment. We need to say things like this: Take a large number of children a variety of environments and randomly (by coin toss distributed), half of these children to music lessons for a year and half to a different school activities for one year – the ballet , for example, or soccer. We tested two groups of children on an IQ test before the lesson and again after school and see if there is a difference between the two groups. If there is a difference – whether those music instruction has on the average higher on IQ tests – we know, this is not because of family history (because the history of the family are mixed Uniform two groups). If we find a difference, we will also gain more confidence that the intelligence and not a special music school activities (including music, theater, ballet, karate or football). Essentially, what kind of “critical experiment”, we ensure that we highlight the impact of music education on intelligence.

critical experiment Schellenberg

In 2004, someone finally has this scientific experiment: Glenn Schellenberg, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto. He put an advertisement in a newspaper of the community, local, offers a free, weekly art classes for children from 6 years to one year. 144 children were randomly assigned to one of four different groups, with 36 children per group. Group 1 has had piano lessons, group 2 was the speech / voice lessons, group 3 was given acting lessons, and group 4 had no lessons outside of school. The teachers were trained, professional female. Children in all groups have called an intelligence test WISC-III before and after the academic year. The WISC-III is the most respected and widely used intelligence test for children. The four groups had the same amount of average IQ at the beginning of the experiment. The children of the two groups differ in their level of intelligence, of course, but the average intelligence of different groups is the same. It is obviously important for us in order to draw conclusions about the impact of different types of teaching.

And what to see Schellenberg? Have music lessons increase IQ?

The first interesting finding that the four groups of children to increase the IQ level was increased after the year, has also the group that held no lessons at all. What explains this general increase in IQ for every child? An increase in the IQ are well known, a usual consequence of entering primary school. Since all these children started primary school during the term of the experiment it is easy to explain the general increase in IQ, than by a mere presence in the school.

But – and this is the crucial point – both groups made gains music lesson much higher IQ than in the drama and “no instruction groups. We can use those data close to take music lessons, but no acting lessons, has over in profits in a row and Information profits made by the school. The kind of music lesson does not matter (if the keyboard or voice), both groups have the same average IQ score had after a year of courses. And both bands have a score of more than 3 IQ points compared to the theater and n0-lesson, which differ from each other in their IQ.

This relative superiority of the IQ in the bands is not limited to one particular aspect of intelligence – as spatial intelligence – but it was found in all but two of the 12 subtests of the WISC-III intelligence test, in a wide range of cognitive abilities, the information need. He received all subtests, which is known as fluid intelligence – the ability to reason and find relationships in a way which does not depend on knowledge base.

The size of the effect: How are we to judge us?

3 IQ points does not like a strong influence, but it is a way of looking at the profit that IQ relative to help and help us assess their importance. Compare the gain in the first year to go to school. The average IQ gain going to school was about 4 points. The additional reinforcement of music lessons (3 points) was therefore almost as much as the whole experience of school themselves. Now it looks like a very large effect.

What is special about the music?

We need to clear on one point. Schellenberg Experience has shown that music lessons improve the IQ of children six years. It does not tell us that music lessons to improve IQ in older children or adults, unfortunately. Six years of the brain are known for very “plastic” – that is, these young minds can be shaped and new to a large extent by the experience. Older children and adults have the plasticity of the brain and can be made less than one year would be music lessons in this case, less impact on general intelligence have – although we do not know for sure.

Music lessons, knowledge and skills related to increases in the music, and this is important in itself. But experience shows that Schellenberg, in addition to this, the general cognitive ability is also trained and improved – indirectly. Music education is the formation of the brain “good” at this age! Music lessons involve long periods of attention, daily practice, reading musical notation, memorization of long passages of music, learning a variety of musical structures (eg scales, chords) and progressive fine motor skills. It is unclear exactly what combination of these skills improved general intelligence and other studies should examine this issue.

The author, Dr. Mark A. Smith is a cognitive neuroscientist, author and entrepreneur. Between 2000 and 2003 he was a lecturer in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge. His last position was Assistant Professor at Bilkent University, Turkey. His current research in fluid intelligence and evolution of human cognition. It has recently established a laboratory for cognitive intervention of experimental research into the training tools of the brain and brain nutrition.

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