Jakarta, ThedailyID — Parents may have heard that music lessons can make children smarter. Many enroll their children in piano, violin, or other music classes, hoping the activity will also improve brain development.
However, the relationship between music training and intelligence is more complicated. Playing an instrument requires children to listen to sounds, remember patterns, follow rhythms, understand instructions, and coordinate their hand and body movements.
These activities involve executive functions. These mental skills help people manage attention, control responses, remember information, and adapt to different situations.
A study published in Cognition found a relationship between music training and inhibitory control, which is the ability to suppress spontaneous or unnecessary responses.
In simple terms, music practice may help children avoid reacting immediately to something. It may also help them control responses that are not needed for a particular situation.
Another study published in Frontiers in Psychology examined how music training relates to different cognitive abilities. One area that may respond to music training is working memory.
Working memory allows people to temporarily hold information and use it while completing a task. The study found relatively stronger effects among preschool-aged children, particularly those around 3 to 6 years old.
However, the findings have not been completely consistent. The results can also vary depending on how music education is delivered.
So, does taking music lessons actually make children smarter?
Research published in Memory & Cognition found that music training was associated with children’s cognitive and academic abilities. However, after researchers accounted for study quality, the effect became very small and approached zero.
There is also an important issue with cause and effect. Children who take music lessons may already have different experiences from those who do not.
For example, they may receive more stimulation at home, have different access to education, or have characteristics that make them more interested in music.
Therefore, better academic performance among children who take music lessons does not automatically mean that music lessons caused the improvement.
The relationship can also work in both directions. Music training may influence certain cognitive abilities, while a child’s existing characteristics may influence their interest in learning music.
For parents, music does not have to be introduced solely to increase a child’s IQ. Learning an instrument can still provide an activity that combines listening, memory, movement, rhythm, and attention.
