Professor Susan Hallam of the the University of London's Institute of Education has recently detailed, in an article entitled 'The Power of Music', the beneficial effects of studying music. Here is a summary of the main findings:

Recent advances in the study of the brain have enhanced our understanding of the way that active engagement with music may influence other activities. The cerebral cortex self-organises as we engage with different musical activities, skills in these areas may then transfer to other activities if the processes involved are similar. Some skills transfer automatically without our conscious awareness, others require reflection on how they might be utilised in a new situation.

Learning an instrument has an impact on intellectual development, particularly spatial reasoning. A review of 15 studies found a ‘strong and reliable' relationship; the author likening the differences to one inch in height or about 84 points on standardised school tests. A study contrasting the impact of music lessons (standard keyboard, Kodaly voice) with drama or no lessons found that the music groups had reliably larger increases in IQ. Children in the control groups had average increases of 4.3 points while the music groups had increases of 7 points. On all but 2 of the 12 subtests the music group had larger increases than control groups.

There is a consistent relationship between active engagement in music and general attainment but much research has been unable to partial out confounding factors. A recent study, adopting more sensitive statistical modelling overcame these difficulties. Two nationally representative data sources in the USA with data from over 45,000 children found that associations between music and achievement persisted even when prior attainment was taken into account.

So there you have it, studying an instrument develops all sorts of skills without you even knowing!