Band Class Helps Teens Learn How to Learn

Music training, introduced as late as high school, may help improve how a teenager’s brain responds to sound and could sharpen their hearing and language skills, too.

"Although learning to play music does not teach skills that seem directly relevant to most careers," says Nina Kraus, "music may engender what educators refer to as ‘learning to learn.'" EaglebrookSchool/CC BY 2.0

Music training, introduced as late as high school, may help improve how a teenager’s brain responds to sound and could sharpen their hearing and language skills, too.

The findings suggest that music instruction helps enhance skills that are critical for academic success. The gains were seen during group music classes included in the schools’ curriculum, suggesting in-school training accelerates neurodevelopment.

“While music programs are often the first to be cut when the school budget is tight, these results highlight music’s place in the high school curriculum,” says Nina Kraus, senior study author and director of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University.

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