In 2004 a paper titled “Music Lessons Enhance IQ” appeared in the journal Psychological Science. The paper was authored by author, composer and University of Toronto Mississauga psychologist Glenn Schellenberg.
… [she] had conducted an experiment with 144 children randomly assigned to four groups: one learned the keyboard for a year, one took singing lessons, one joined an acting class, and a control group had no extracurricular training.
For those children who either took keyboard or singing lessons, their IQ increased by an average of seven points in the course of a year. Those who joined an acting class, along with the control group, on the other hand, only gained an average of 4.3 points.
Does this mean then, that those who take music lessons become smarter? Find out the answer over at Undark.
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