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Can Music Help Low-Income Students Close the Academic Gap?

Tina Barseghian
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Fascinating research: "Children’s brains show evidence of faster development when they are learning to play an instrument. And studies comparing the brains of adult musicians and non-musicians find the most pronounced enhancements in brain structure in those who began their music training early in childhood."

Using Music to Close the Academic GapSeveral times a week, a group of at-risk youth in Los Angeles reports to makeshift music rooms at Alexandria Elementary School near Koreatown for lessons in violin or cello or bass-and to Saturday ensemble programs where they learn to play with bands and orchestras. As the students study their instruments, researchers study the students' brains.

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