More than meets the ear: What music practice means for a developing brain

Sitting through an 8-year-old's shaky rendition of Christian Petzold's "Minuet in G" may be music to a proud parent's ear. To everyone else at the recital, it might not sound like encore material. Behind those wobbly notes, however, a far more complex mental production is underway—and the skills it exercises may reach far beyond music.

≈