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A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science.
-- Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb, "Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning," Neurological Research, Vol. 19, February 1997

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Students in two Rhode Island elementary schools who were given an enriched, sequential, skill-building music program showed marked improvement in reading and math skills. Students in the enriched program who had started out behind the control group caught up to statistical equality in reading, and pulled ahead in math.
-- Gardiner, Fox, Jeffery and Knowles, as reported in Nature, May 23, 1996.

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Researchers at the University of Montreal used various brain imaging techniques to investigate brain activity during musical tasks and found that sight-reading musical scores and playing music both activate regions in all four of the cortex's lobes; and that parts of the cerebellum are also activated during those tasks.
-- Sergent, J., Zuck, E., Tenial, S., and MacDonall, B. (1992). Distributed neural network underlying musical sight reading and keyboard performance. Science, 257, 106-109.

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Researchers in Leipzig found that brain scans of musicians showed larger planum temporale (a brain region related to some reading skills) than those of non-musicians. They also found that the musicians had a thicker corpus callosum (the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two halves of the brain) than those of non-musicians, especially for those who had begun their training before the age of seven.
-- Schlaug, G., Jancke, L., Huang, Y., and Stainmetz, H. (1994). In vivo morphometry of interhemispheric assymetry and connectivity in musicians. In I. Deliege (Ed.), Proceedings of the 3rd interational conference for music perception and cognition (pp. 417-418). Liege, Belgium.

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A University of California (Irvine) study showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ.
-- Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Ky and Wright, "Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Casual Relationship," University of California, Irvine, 1994.

* * *

Researchers found that children given piano lessons significantly improved their spatial-temporal IQ scored (important for some types of mathematical reasoning) compared to children who received computer lessons, casual singing, or no lessons.
-- Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb (1997). Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial temporal reasoning. Neuologocal Research, 19, 1-8.

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A McGill University study found that pattern recognition and mental representations scores improved significantly for students given piano instruction over a three-year period. They also found that self-esteem and musical skills measures improved for the students given piano instruction.
-- Costa-Giomi, E. (1998, April). The McGill Piano Project: Effects of three years of piano instruction on children's cognitive abilities, academic achievement, and self-esteem. Paper presented at the meeting of the Music Educators National Conference, Phoenix, AZ.

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Researchers found that lessons on songbells (a standard classroom instrument) led to significant improvement of spatial-temporal scores for three and four-year-olds.
-- Gromko and Poorman (1998). The effect of music training on preschooler's spatial-temporal task performance. Journal of Research in Music Education, 46, 173-181.

* * *

In the Kindergarten classes of the school district of Kettle Moraine, Wisconsin, children who were given music instruction scored 48 percent higher on spatial-temporal skill test than those who did not receive music training.
-- Rauscher and Zupan (1999). Classroom keyboard instruction improves Kindergarten children's spatial-temporal performance: A field study. Manuscript in press, Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

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An Auburn University study found significant increases in overall self-concept of at-risk children participating in an arts program that included music, movement, dramatics and art, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale.
-- N.H. Barry, Project ARISE: Meeting the needs of disadvantaged students through the arts, Auburn University, 1992.

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		A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science. -- Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb, "Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning," Neurological Research, Vol. 19, February 1997 *** * *** Students in two Rhode Island elementary schools who were given an enriched, sequential, skill-building music program showed marked improvement in reading and math skills. Students in the enriched program who had started out behind the control group caught up to statistical equality in reading, and pulled ahead in math. -- Gardiner, Fox, Jeffery and Knowles, as reported in Nature, May 23, 1996. *** * *** Researchers at the University of Montreal used various brain imaging techniques to investigate brain activity during musical tasks and found that sight-reading musical scores and playing music both activate regions in all four of the cortex's lobes; and that parts of the cerebellum are also activated during those tasks. -- Sergent, J., Zuck, E., Tenial, S., and MacDonall, B. (1992). Distributed neural network underlying musical sight reading and keyboard performance. Science, 257, 106-109. *** * * Researchers in Leipzig found that brain scans of musicians showed larger planum temporale (a brain region related to some reading skills) than those of non-musicians. They also found that the musicians had a thicker corpus callosum (the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two halves of the brain) than those of non-musicians, especially for those who had begun their training before the age of seven. -- Schlaug, G., Jancke, L., Huang, Y., and Stainmetz, H. (1994). In vivo morphometry of interhemispheric assymetry and connectivity in musicians. In I. Deliege (Ed.), Proceedings of the 3rd interational conference for music perception and cognition (pp. 417-418). Liege, Belgium. * * *** A University of California (Irvine) study showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ. -- Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Ky and Wright, "Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Casual Relationship," University of California, Irvine, 1994. *** * * Researchers found that children given piano lessons significantly improved their spatial-temporal IQ scored (important for some types of mathematical reasoning) compared to children who received computer lessons, casual singing, or no lessons. -- Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb (1997). Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial temporal reasoning. Neuologocal Research, 19, 1-8. * * * A McGill University study found that pattern recognition and mental representations scores improved significantly for students given piano instruction over a three-year period. They also found that self-esteem and musical skills measures improved for the students given piano instruction. -- Costa-Giomi, E. (1998, April). The McGill Piano Project: Effects of three years of piano instruction on children's cognitive abilities, academic achievement, and self-esteem. Paper presented at the meeting of the Music Educators National Conference, Phoenix, AZ. * * *** Researchers found that lessons on songbells (a standard classroom instrument) led to significant improvement of spatial-temporal scores for three and four-year-olds. -- Gromko and Poorman (1998). The effect of music training on preschooler's spatial-temporal task performance. Journal of Research in Music Education, 46, 173-181. *** * * In the Kindergarten classes of the school district of Kettle Moraine, Wisconsin, children who were given music instruction scored 48 percent higher on spatial-temporal skill test than those who did not receive music training. -- Rauscher and Zupan (1999). Classroom keyboard instruction improves Kindergarten children's spatial-temporal performance: A field study. Manuscript in press, Early Childhood Research Quarterly. * * *** An Auburn University study found significant increases in overall self-concept of at-risk children participating in an arts program that included music, movement, dramatics and art, as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. -- N.H. Barry, Project ARISE: Meeting the needs of disadvantaged students through the arts, Auburn University, 1992.