“Researchers at the Boston Children’s Hospital worked with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), they found early musical training enhances areas of the brain responsible for executive functioning. Children with at least two years of private lessons showed enhanced cognitive control, which aids in information retention and behavior regulation.
Musical training may actually help to set up children for a better academic future,” said Senior Investigator Nadine Gaab, PhD, of the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience.”

“When you look at children ages two to nine, one breakthrough in that area is music’s benefit for language development, which is so important at that stage,” says Luehrisen. While children come into the world ready to decode sounds and words, music education helps enhance those natural abilities. “Growing up in a musically rich environment is often advantageous for children’s language development,” she says. But Luehrisen adds that those inborn capacities need to be “reinforced, practiced, celebrated,” which can be done at home or in a more formal music education setting."