Music and the Brain

Music is an art that puts sounds together in a way that people like or find interesting. It may well teach too. Montreal researchers find that music lessons before age seven create stronger connections in the brain. If you started violin lessons in grade one, or played the recorder in kindergarten, thank your parents and teachers.

 The younger you started music lessons, the stronger the connections in your brain. A study published last January in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that musical training before the age of seven has a significant effect on the development of the brain, showing that those who began early had stronger connections between motor regions — the parts of the brain that help you plan and carry out movements.