Fire The Tutor

Hit the keyboard instead. A good music teacher may be what you need to help Junior score in school.

Forget the maths enrichment class. To boost his test scores, maybe you should sign your kid up for piano lessons instead. Sounds incredible? That depends on which research study you support.

Ever since the famous Mozart Effect study published in 1993, many scientists have explored the connection between music and brain development – perhaps in the hope of debunking it. But what’s indisputable is this: Listening to the likes Mozart and Beethoven may not necessarily make your kid smarter, but he has lots to gain from playing music.

In a 2004 study by the University of Toronto, a group of six-year-olds were randomly assigned to learn keyboard, voice, drama or nothing. After a year, kids who got keyboard or voice lessons showed a three-point IQ boost on average over those taking drama or no lessons at all.

Two years later, another study by Canada’s McMaster University found that the brain responses of children attending Suzuki music school were two to three years more mature on average than those who didn’t take lessons. Suzuki is a tightly structured instrumental training method, and the kids involved were between four years old and six.

Learning to make music engages and demands coordination among many brain regions, including those that process sights, sounds, emotions and memories, Dr Gottfried Schlaug, a neurologist at Harvard University, told the Los Angeles Times recently.

Take a violin class, for instance. “The child has to hold the instrument, remember where to place the fingers on the strings, pull the bow, read the score and count the rhythm – all at once,” explains Christopher Tan, principal at music school Magic Fiddler.

Because he has to practise a piece over and over again, your little one also develops better concentration, discipline and determination. All that is going to make him better at learning, says Dr Lee Pei Ming, an assistant professor in piano pedagogy and performance at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in the National University of Singapore. She is also the curriculum founder of a music school called Staccato!

Other studies also suggest that those who began musical training before the age of seven showed the most pronounced differences, suggesting that an early start might rewire the brain most dramatically.

London-born Peter Moore, a guest conductor with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), explains: “The rate at which babies learn and develop is astounding, and any input is likely to be most effectively absorbed during these early years.” For the past eight years, he has been the conductor at SSO’s popular annual Babies’ Proms, which is tailored for children six years old and younger.

So, should you rush out to sign Baby for a music course? How do you select the right instrument? Young Parents gets expert tips.

Read the May 2010 issue of Young Parents for the full story, and expert tips on choosing the right music course for Baby.