The benefits of string instrument education

Playing a stringed instrument can be one of life's most rewarding experiences. The extent of nuance and tone variation available to string players is unsurpassed by any other instrumental group. This also makes the mastery of these instruments both the most rewarding and the most challenging. There are also benefits to the brain that occur as one studies any instrument.  Research has shown  that children  who play a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children with no music training on verbal  ability, auditory discrimination and finger dexterity, and also on  tests measuring verbal ability and visual pattern completion -- skills not normally associated with music.(UPI.com, Nov. 6, 2008). At Stanford University, research with adults has found that musical training improves how the brain processes the spoken word, a finding that researchers say could lead to improving the reading ability of children who have dyslexia and other reading problems. The study  is the first to show that musical experience can help the brain improve its ability to distinguish between rapidly changing sounds that are key to understanding and using language. The research also eventually could provide the "why" behind other studies that have found that playing a musical instrument has cognitive benefits. "What's promising about the study, researchers believe, is the notion that the brain isn't an immutable organ fixed at birth but is adaptable -- that, with training, people can change their mental agility.