Piano teachers have known for years, that children who take piano lessons or keyboard lessons, do significantly better in school. Now, new research has validated this.

Many people think of IQ as a genetic trait you’re born with it. However, research is now showing that a person’s IQ can rise and fall over the years. IQ Scores can change gradually or quickly, after as little as a few weeks of cognitive training. In one study, IQ scores increased as much as 15% or more for some students.

Recent studies by several researchers have made a connection between music lessons and IQ level. The most pronounced results were in younger people. According to research by E. Glenn Schellenberg, psychology professor at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, music lessons are linked to higher IQ throughout life. He states that six years of music lessons increased children’s IQ scores an average 7.5 points.

In a 2011 study, researchers at the University of Kansas found that practicing musicians who are active for a decade or more continue to post higher IQs beyond age 60. A score in the 90 to 110 range is considered average. A “genius” may score 140 and above. A person’s IQ score fluctuate over their lifetime and is influenced by complex musical training, jobs, advanced schooling experiences, and new experiences. It has been discovered that learning new tasks stimulates the brain the most.

People can take practical steps to increase their long term improvements to IQ. People whose work involves complex relationship or problem solving perform better long term on cognitive tests. Peoples whose jobs little thought will experience declining IQ scores. A 30-year study at the National Institute of Mental Health found that people whose work involves complex relationships, setting up elaborate systems or dealing with people or difficult problems, tend to perform better over time on cognitive tests. Test scores of people whose jobs are simple and require little thought actually tend to decline, according to the research.

from the WSJ