Brock Ballard 12/10/2014 ENGL 1010 6th period

Should Your Child Be Playing a Musical Instrument?

For generations there has been a lot of positive press regarding the theory of musics
impact on general intellectual development, which can be best summed up, and is most
commonly heard as the slogan, Music makes you smarter (Demorest et al. 1). Albert Einsteins
mother must've believed in this theory. In the article, Does Playing a Musical Instrument Make
You Smarter, Christopher Bergland talks about Alberts mother and the effect that she had on
her children. She, being a very talented musician, made musical expression a daily part of their
life. Albert Einstein, one of the smartest people in the world, began playing the violin when he
was 6 years old. By the age of 13, he was already playing Mozarts Sonatas. Although it wasn't
always easy for his mom to entice Albert to practice his instrument, he stuck with it. And he
definitely didn't regret it. Einstein once said, life without playing music is inconceivable to me.
I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music... I get most joy in life out of
music (Bergland 1).
The very minute I hit kindergarten my mom started teaching me piano. I would scream
almost every time I had a lesson about how much I hated the piano and wanted to quit. She
would tell me that someday I would thank her for what she was doing. The rule in my home was
that in order to play a sport, we had to practice an instrument of some sort. I would bawl my eyes
out, threaten to quit all my sport teams, say mean things, and lose control of my self constantly.
It was a brutal battle with my mom for many years and I know she wanted to give up multiple
times.
Many parents may ask the same questions that Im sure my mom, and Albert Einsteins
mom asked many times: Is it really worth it? Is it worth fighting my child on a daily basis to
make him practice his instrument? Cant my child pick up an instrument at a later time in his life

when he is more mature? Does learning an instrument have any impact on my childs future life
and well being? Im here to reassure you and make you feel more confident and determined in
the decision youve made to have your child learn an Instrument.
Although many headaches, anger, and tears may result in the efforts to keep your child
practicing his instrument, I will argue that the benefits your child will receive from learning an
instrument will outweigh any stated discomfort or hardship. People who play musical
instruments have distinctly different brains than those who do not. Learning to play an
instrument at a young age could help prevent deafness in old age. Research has shown that
learning to play an instrument can make it easier to learn new languages. Overall, many good
habits and lessons will be learned from practicing and playing musical instruments.
Gottfried Schlaug, a Harvard neurologist, did a study in 2003 where he consistently
found that After 15 months of musical training in early childhood, structural brain changes
associated with motor and auditory improvements begin to appear (Cole 2). Many people forget
that a childs brain learns very easily at a young age. This study shows us that even just 15
months of music study can start to have a positive effect on the brain. Alison Balbag, a
professional harpist who began musical training at the age of five, holds a doctorate degree in
music, and is currently earning her Ph.D. in gerontology (with a special focus on the impact of
music on health throughout the lifespan) at the University of Southern California states: Whats
unique about playing an instrument is that it requires a wide array of brain regions and cognitive
functions to work together simultaneously, in both right and left hemispheres of the brain (2)
This statement shows that there are many parts of the brain that are being used while playing a
musical instrument. We can then infer that the more we play an instrument, the stronger our
brain will ultimately become, which leads me to suggest that by playing a musical instrument,

we will become smarter. In the article, Can Playing an Instrument Make You Smarter, the
author tells us that many experts conducted studies, attempting to link the learning of musical
instruments with a persons improved IQ. Their results were clear.
Learning an instrument indeed helps a person gain a few IQ points. In a research
conducted by experts from the University of Zurich, results showed that children who
learned how to play musical instruments [increased] their IQ by as much as seven
[points]. [1]
We learn here that even ones IQ can be improved by learning how to play a musical instrument.
This quotation shows proof that studies were done to test this fact. The author continues to go on
and say, those who practice a musical instrument perform significantly better on tests of:
spatial-temporal skills, math ability, reading skills, vocabulary, verbal memory, and phonemic
awareness (Can Playing an Instrument Make You Smarter 2). He gives many reasons why
music makes you smarter, and the areas that are most impacted. This quotation is just another
example of the impact that playing a musical instrument can have on a persons brain.
Although I agree with the fact that learning an instrument has many benefits, I think that
the age when one starts to learn the instrument determines the depth of those benefits. It was
shown in studies that adults who received formal music instruction as children have more robust
brainstem responses to sound than peers who never participated in music lessons (Skoe et al. 1).
The age when one starts to learn an instrument is crucial. The author goes on to say, Our results
suggest that neural changes accompanying musical training during childhood are retained in
adulthood (Skoe et al. 1). These quotes are both examples that not only does a person receive
greater benefits from learning an instrument at a young age, but the benefits will stick with that
person throughout their life as well. Sound is important and playing a musical instrument

improves your ability to discern it. Learning to play a musical instrument produces immense
changes in childrens brains that kids actually can hear and process sounds they couldnt hear
otherwise. According to Greg Toppo, a widely known and trusted newspaper editor,
Researchers found that those who played an instrument for two years showed a stronger
neurophysiological distinction between certain sounds than children who didnt get the
instrumental training. For instance, the music-makers more easily could tell the
difference between the words bill and pill, a key skill [needed] in learning how to
read. [1]
Toppos statement reinforces that those who play an instrument can interpret sounds much better.
His examples show the different beginning sounds musical children can distinguish.
Many tests have been done on this subject. One test done by Nina Kraus, a
Neuroscientist of Northwestern University in Chicago, found positive effects in hearing and
communication on older adults who had early musical training. She measured the electrical
activity in the auditory brainstems of forty four adults who were of the ages of 55 to 76, as they
responded to the synthesized speech syllable da. Although none of the people who were tested
had played an instrument in forty years, those who had trained the longest, between the ages of
four and fourteen years old, responded significantly faster. That is important considering hearing
tends to decline as people age, including the ability to quickly and accurately discern consonants.
Childhood music lessons pay off in old age, and thats a fact.
One of the ways childhood music lessons pay off is that it can make it easier to learn new
languages. Researchers at Northwestern University conducted a study that involved measuring
the neural responses of volunteers who were given little segments of language that they were
unfamiliar with while watching movies. They found that those with backgrounds in music could

track the language considerably better than those who had no background in music. It is never
easy to learn a language. In school, everyone is required to take some type of a language study.
Wouldnt you want your kid to have that mental edge in learning a language? I sure would. I
would want my child to have as much of an advantage as he could so that eventually he would be
able to support himself and not be dependent on me his whole life.
Many people think that making their child practice an instrument would only be causing
added stress to their childs life. Although I agree that musical training can be stressful at times,
studies show that learning to play a musical instrument can dramatically reduce the effects of
stress in your childs life. It is stated in the article Why Your Child Should Learn to Play an
Instrument, that it is the rhythm in music that creates a calming effect on a child. This
technique [learning and practicing an instrument] has such highly effective results that it is used
to treat children with neurological illnesses such as anxiety and depression (1). This statement
supports the claim that playing a musical instrument reduces stress. It is even used to treat
children with stress related problems. Playing an instrument also teaches us life long lessons.
Lutz Jancka, a psychologist at the University of Zurich, said:
For children especially we found that learning to play the piano for instance teaches them
to be more self-disciplined, more attentive[,] and better at planning. All of these things
are very important for academic performance, so can therefore make a child brighter.
[Alleyne 1]
As one can see, good habits can make kids smarter. He relates important traits one can receive
from learning to play an instrument, specifically the piano.
I want to use myself as living proof of the benefits received from learning to play a
musical instrument. I am a 4.0 student. I am well disciplined and can manage my stress

effectively. Even though it was a struggle for me to practice my instrument when I was little, I
am grateful that my mom made that decision to put me in music lessons. I will be able to
experience these benefits throughout the rest of my life. By playing a musical instrument, the
brain is made stronger. It has been proven that music training can help prevent deafness in old
age. Research shows that even learning a new language can be easier if one has musical training.
Is it worth the battle to ultimately help your child get to the next step socially, mentally, and
physically? Yes, it definitely is! The benefits your child will receive from music training at a
young age will outweigh any of the stress it takes to make your child practice. Musical activity
cannot only immensely enrich our lives but the associated benefits for our physical and mental
functioning could be even more far-reaching than proposed in previous research (How Playing
an Instrument Can Sharpen The Mind 1). Music really does enrich our lives and the lives of
those around us. Get practicing!

Works Cited:
Alleyne, Richard. "Playing a Musical Instrument Makes You Brainier." The Telegraph.
Telegraph Media Group, 25 Apr. 0041. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
Bergland, Christopher. "Does Playing a Musical Instrument Make You Smarter?"
Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. Psychology Today, 25
June 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
"Can Playing an Instrument Make You Smarter?" Examined Existence. Examined
Existence, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
Childhood music lessons pay off in old age. Australian [National, Australia] 7 Nov.

2013: 3. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

Cole, Diane. Your Aging Brain Will Be in Better Shape If Youve Taken Music Lessons.
National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 03 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
"How Playing An Instrument Can Sharpen The Mind." Education Journal 174 (2013):
14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
"Music Enhances the Mind." Music Makes You Smarter. Woodwind & Brasswind, n.d.
Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Skoe, Erika, and Nina Kraus. "A Little Goes A Long Way: How The Adult Brain Is
Shaped By Musical Training In Childhood." Journal Of Neuroscience 32.34 (2012):
11507-11510. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
Toppo, Greg. "This Is Your Brain on a Musical Instrument." USA Today. Gannett, 02
Sep. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
"Why Your Child Should Learn to Play an Instrument."Music Education in Children.
N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.