Did you know that playing a musical instrument makes you smarter?  And not just for children!  It’s never too late to start taking music lessons.  Studying music helps to improve cognitive abilities–things like language based reasoning, short-term memory and planning, and organizing and completing tasks.

A study was done in Holland where children were divided into control goups and monitored for 2 1/2 years.  The children in the Music control group sang songs, played instruments, and did active listening to music.  Improvements in IQ and academic achievement were evident in the Music group, but the kids who didn’t do any of the music activities shown no improvement.

​Don’t short-change yourself!  Start adding music activities to your daily routine!