A piano education improves a student’s performance in school. Scientific evidence has proven playing the piano increases a person’s abilities in math, science and reading. One such study showed that after just eight months of piano participants tested showed a 46% boost in their special IQ, which is necessary for higher brain functions (Francis Rauscher, PhD., University of California, Irvine).
The College Board reports students with an involvement in piano scored an average of 100 points higher on the SAT test than students without any piano training. (Source: The College Board, September 1997)
“Music can change the world because it can change people.” – Bono
That’s more than just an opinion. Scientific studies have long confirmed that young people who receive music/piano lessons consistently surpass their peers in terms of
- cognitive and non-cognitive skills,
- spatial-temporal reasoning abilities (crucial to mathematics- and science-related fields),
- school attendance,
- test scores and grades, and
- community engagement (e.g., getting a college degree, choosing a professional career path, voting, volunteering).
No other activity that is regularly practiced these days—neither sports nor computer games—provide such benefits. Significantly, those benefits are even more pronounced among disadvantaged students, whose music training makes them far more likely to acquire the strong math and language skills needed to succeed in life.
Additionally, since taking music lessons as a child increases brain plasticity, its benefits extend into adulthood, helping us to withstand the effects of cognitive decline as we age.
Perhaps best of all, though, is the effect playing piano has on one’s quality of life. By giving joy, satisfaction, self-esteem, and self-confidence, it instills in its practitioners a sense of peace and harmony that, if shared by everyone, would make our society a better place to live.
“Whoever has skill in music is of good temperament and fitted for all things. We must teach music in schools.” – Martin Luther