Taking Notes: Making music, especially throughout childhood, can increase your intelligence

It’s time we all pick back up our dusty old instruments and sing along a little louder in the car.

Every week from ages 6 to 14, my parents would tell me the same thing.

“Playing piano is a beautiful skill, but will also make you smarter! Studies say so. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.”

I’d roll my eyes as I packed my tote bag to go to my piano and voice lesson. While I did love playing the singing and accompanying myself, getting to lessons each week became dreadful. I simply lost interest. 

I never considered the possibility that my above-average test scores on state assessments in elementary school or the ease in which I completed assignments could be attributed to my commitment to learning music theory and perfecting my vocal exercises. 

As I got older, music became less of a priority for me. AP and IB classes started to become overwhelming and sports became more important to me. My parents loosened their grip on their dreams of me being a star pianist with an angelic voice. Slowly but surely, I moved on. Now, I don’t play piano or sing for weeks at a time.

But as I shifted my focus away from music, I began to realize the profound impact it had on me — both in processing various emotions and taking in information at school. As it turns out, my parents weren’t lying to me. Music actually does make you smarter. 

According to Peter Gouzouasis, who has a PhD from the University of British Columbia, playing an instrument long term can put students as much as a year ahead of their peers.  Suddenly, my advanced math classes throughout elementary and middle school make sense. Since leaving music, I’ve found that various subject matters have become more difficult for me to take in — more so than they would have been previously.

Students that participated in music and were more engaged in music had higher test scores across all subjects. While these connections were more evident for those who played instruments rather than sang. 

Now that I’m no longer in theater, show choir, or performing in piano rehearsals and singing for my family, part of me wishes I’d stuck with it. Maybe my parents were right this time. If I could give younger me and other kids one piece of advice, it would be to stick with it. It’s well worth the inconvenience of not having as much free time. Maybe if I stuck with it, my junior year wouldn’t feel so overwhelming academically.

Additionally, music not only enhances one’s academic mind, but it also increases emotional intelligence. 

According to Gouzouasis, all that goes into learning and perfecting an instrument provides experiences that increase children’s cognitive abilities and overall life balance. I have to argue that he’s correct.