Benefits of Music Study ~ All Ages

Psychologists, neuroscientists, and experts in early childhood development have demonstrated that music does more for children than bring them joy; it helps their brain cells make the connections needed for virtually every kind of intelligence. Our music curriculum is built on this research. By moving and dancing to music and playing simple instruments, children improve their gross and fine motor skills. Activities that encourage freedom within a fun and friendly structure spark their creativity, but did you know:

• The corpus callosum, the bridge between the right & left sides of the brain, of musicians is thicker and more fully developed than in other people?

• The "wiring" in the brain is different for musicians, allowing for faster and an increased number of synapses (connections) between brain cells?

• Musicians have an IQ score a full 7 points higher than their non-musician friends

• Students who study music, and more specifically. take piano lessons, have enhanced abstract reasoning skills and have scored higher than their peers on tests of spatial cognitive development, the very faculties needed for performance in math, science, engineering and language arts?

• Adult students taking piano lessons actually decrease their risk for Alzheimer's disease by up to 75%

These are just a few of the facts that have been discovered by E. Glenn Schellenberg from the University of Toronto, Dr. Frances Rauscher of the University of Wisconsin and Dr. Gordon Shaw of the University of California at Irvine.