Does Music Make Kids Smarter?
Have you ever heard of the “Mozart effect”? Does music make kids smarter? Do you know where those claims about music and intelligence come from? Have you ever wondered if they have a real scientific basis?
There are many conditions and activities that are likely to increase children’s intelligence. Music is one of these, but not the only one. Many studies have attempted to establish a connection between learning a musical instrument and intelligence. Does this then mean that those who do not learn to play any instrument will be “stupid”?
The Baby Mozart Project, The Little Einsters TV series, and many other early stimulation programs have led us to believe that music makes children smarter. Classical music has proven to be partly useful, referring to Mozart’s works as a good starting point.
In addition to this, we can find parents and teachers, and even pregnant mothers, playing classical music to their children and taking children to music lessons as early as possible, as if they had found a secret ingredient in intelligence. The big question is, has this worked then? Does music really make kids smarter?
The answer is no, or at least not enough to show any great benefits. The idea that playing classical music would make children smarter is still controversial in light of studies that offer truly contradictory results.
A 1993 study that showed that music makes children smarter is not reproducible and was not an extension of a permitted experiment. This means that what they offered us as scientific research was not really scientific. However, this idea was an effective tool in marketing, there is no doubt about it.
Music has many benefits for a child’s brain
We’re not saying that music wouldn’t be useful at all. Music actually has many benefits for children’s brains, and also for adults. Many studies have focused on finding exactly the effects that music has on the brain.
It seems that music prepares our brains for a certain kind of thinking. For example, many studies have found that after listening to classical music, adults can perform spatial tasks faster.
But why is this happening? Apparently, the “classical music pathways” in our brains are similar to the pathways used for spatial reasoning. Thus, when we listen to classical music, the paths of spatial reasoning are already “turned on” and ready to use.
Listening to classical music before performing spatial tasks improves performance. But these effects last only a small moment. Our improved spatial abilities will disappear about an hour after we stop listening to music.
But learning to play an instrument can have longer-lasting effects on spatial reasoning. In several studies, children who learned to play the piano for six months improved their ability to solve riddles and perform spatial tasks by 30%. Researchers believe that musical education creates new pathways in the brain.
It has also been shown that auditory processing of children studying music has improved , as evidenced by brain imaging. This is important because auditory processing is essential for language development, as is learning a second language and concentrating in noisy spaces.
Other studies have also found that music can have benefits for cognitive functions, and that music can also lower aggression, increase calmness, reduce stress, and improve mood. However, this does not mean that music could make children wiser.
What really makes kids smart is…
We may come to the conclusion that music has many benefits for both children and adults, but “intelligence” or success in school is not necessarily the greatest benefit of music. Yes, music helps, but not as much as it seems, or at least not as we have been led to believe.
Several studies show that children who attend music lessons or receive musical education at school also perform better in intellectual activities. But it is really likely that families and schools that invest in a child’s musical education and other arts will also differ in many other ways from families and schools that do not. This is certainly one of the definite reasons for these differences.
Many researchers have tried to emulate previous studies in which they found reasonable achievements in intelligence, intellectual abilities, and academic performance. However, their occasional experiments with children’s musical education did not yield the result that music would make children smarter. Some studies even showed a decrease in intelligence.
What really matters is playing and talking with our children. Let us hug them, kiss them and sing to them. Let’s dance with them, Let’s read to them and explore with them. Let us stimulate their creativity and nurture their curiosity.
Love makes children smart. Love makes our children their own best versions.
Does music make kids smarter? What does it mean. If we really want our children to be smarter, we need to spend time with them, and a lot. This is undoubtedly a much more crucial factor than music.
