Music Makes You Smart

Well, if you play it anyway. That is what a recent study is saying, as covered by the BBC.

Learning to play an instrument boosts intelligence and general well-being and should be a central part of the school curriculum, a study says.

So I have this question: With all of the studies out there saying that music education has such a profound and positive impact on the development of higher brain function, why are we still cutting music programs in schools, and at the same time wondering why test scores are going down?

It is interesting that even Plato knew the value of teaching music to children, and we still have to prove to ourselves that it is a worthwhile endeavor:

“I would teach children physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for in the patterns of music and all the arts are the keys of learning.”