The results of a new study in the USA suggests that musical training can improve a person’s ability to solve problems and think in an abstract way.
The study, undertaken by researchers at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania, and Elmhurst College in Chicago, used an executive function test on seventy-two college undergraduates.
They were put into three categories: people who began formal musical training at the age of 10 or younger, and kept practicing for at least a decade; people with at least one year of musical training; and non-musicians.
Overall, the more experienced musicians scored significantly higher than non-musicians, and the less experienced musicians revealed a positive improvement on memory, attention, and executive function (the ability to plan, organise, and accomplish goals).
SOURCES:
The Strad: https://www.thestrad.com/news/new-evidence-emerges-that-music-improves-brain-function/8392.article
Pacific Standard: https://psmag.com/education/more-evidence-that-trained-musicians-are-superior-thinkers
SAGE Journals: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0305735618808089?journalCode=poma
Arts Professional: https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/newsreel/musicians-have-above-average-focus-and-problem-solving-skills
DETAILS:
| BENEFIT: | BRAIN DEVELOPMENT & EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING |
| TARGET GROUP: | ADULTS |
| AGE: | 18-YEARS-OLD |
| MUSIC TYPE: | GENERAL |
| TYPE OF STUDY: | ACADEMIC RESEARCH |
| NOs INVOLVED: | 72 |
| PERIOD OF STUDY: | UNKNOWN |
| DATE: | 2018 |
| PLACE: | USA |
Music Education Works 
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