Can Playing an Instrument Increase your IQ?

27th November 2017

Did you know that music isn’t just good for you but also provides many intellectual benefits? New studies have shown that regularly playing instruments changes the shape and power of the brain and improves cognitive skills. What’s more, music itself can also boost IQ in children and adults, according to studies.

There’s growing evidence that musicians have structurally and functionally different brains when compared to non-musicians. This is evident in the parts of the brain which control motor skills, hearing, storing information and memory.

Lutz Jäncke, a psychologist at the University of Zurich, said that learning to play a musical instrument can potentially increase the IQ in children and adults by seven points. The general make-up of the brain changes since the components in charge of hearing, memory and motor skills develop.

In children, Jäncke discovered that learning to play an instrument teaches them skills such as self-discipline, attentiveness and planning. The development of these skills results in an improved academic performance, therefore, making the child brighter.

He also said that music can aid people who wish to learn foreign languages and increases perception in interpreting other people’s emotions. By learning a musical instrument, you’re also learning about tones and scores and thus, improving your ability to store audio information. This not only makes it easier to learn other languages but also makes it easier to know what others mean just through the tone of their voices.

The research carried out by Jäncke in the online publication, ‘Faculty of 1000 Biology Reports‘, aims to extend to the field of neuropsychological rehabilitation.

If you, or your child, would like to benefit from the above wonders brought about by musical instruments, and fancy increasing your IQ, then come on over to Olimpus in Mosta. We stock a large variety of high-quality musical instruments and equipment ensuring that you’re learning through the best possible tools.

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