Music lessons improve children's cognitive skills and academic performance

A structured music lesson significantly improves children's cognitive skills, including language-based reasoning, short-term memory, planning, and inhibition, leading to better academic performance. A large-scale, longitudinal study incorporated into the regular school curriculum was led by Dr. Artur Jaschke, from VU University of Amsterdam, with Dr. Henkjan Honing and Dr. Erik Scherder. The researchers demonstrated that lessons in the visual arts considerably enhance children's spatial and visual memory. Children who received music lessons also showed a stronger ability to plan, organize, and complete tasks.