Despite abundant and persuasive anecdotal evidence that there are real benefits to people who play and study the piano (and that most people believe this), there is little serious scientific data on the subject. Such studies are expensive and time-consuming, and the credibility of the results must be supported by the very highest of standards and credentials.

In 1994, researchers at McGill University in Montreal were commissioned by the National Piano Foundation to seriously and methodically examine the effects of piano study on third and fourth grade children in the following major categories:

• Self-esteem
• Cognitive Abilities
• Academic Achievement
  

Two groups of children, a control group and an experimental group, were chosen from the Montreal area. To further underscore the results, if any, none of the children selected had engaged in piano study before, nor were there any pianos in their households. Also, these groups were largely selected from the core metropolitan area of the city and were more likely to be considered "at risk" because of such factors as income and social environment. Many were from single-parent households.

The experimental group was given pianos on loan from member firms belonging to the National Piano Foundation. Thus, each child in the experimental group was able to begin piano study with a new instrument.

The purpose of the control group was to establish the "norm". None of these children play or study the piano and were not given pianos. However, this group was used to compare developmental differences with the experimental group of new piano students.

While it is still to early in the project to establish conclusive results, some interesting trends are beginning to be evident.

The Initial Phase
At the beginning of the 1994-95 school year the children were tested, and interviewed with their parents. Two widely accepted standardized tests were administered at this point:

• The Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventories (SEI)
• Developing Cognitive Abilities Test (DCAT)
  

These results "benchmarked" the data for future comparison and measurement between the experimental and the control groups.

Although not officially a part of the project, students from the experimental group (those studying the piano), were invited to give a recital in a local school auditorium after nine months of piano instruction.

Only three students had discontinued by that time, less than 10% of the original experimental group. Attending members of the National Piano Foundation believed that there was a high likelihood that this was due to the advantages that a young student gains with a new, high-quality instrument as opposed to a used, worn instrument upon which children often are expected to begin. Again, this was an interesting observation of the Foundation and not a part of the research project.

During the recital, all of the students displayed a remarkable degree of musical development and poise, particularly since few, if any, had ever performed on a stage before a packed auditorium.

One Year Later
At the end of the first year of the project, the students' report cards were gathered, and the tests and interviews were again performed with the students and parents.

Statistical analyses had been done on both groups which took into consideration a number of factors such as gender, family income, number of working adults in the family and the number of parents.

Again, while the results are inconclusive, this data was examined and interpreted.

Self-Esteem
Overall, the children's performance in the self-esteem test improved significantly in the second test. However, according to the researchers, this improvement can be attributed to the normal course of the children's development. While the improvement from 1994 to 1995 was more evident for the piano students than for the control group, the relative gain between the two groups was not statistically different.

But further analysis revealed that piano instruction might benefit the self-esteem of children from single-parent families. When comparing single-parent children only from the two groups, it was found that the scores of control group (non-piano students) did not improve significantly from 1994 to 1995, but the scores of children taking piano lessons did.

Cognitive Abilities
Cognitive abilities were tested to measure quantitative, spatial and verbal development.

Again, the children in both groups scored significantly higher overall in 1995 than in 1994, and again, this is the result of the children's normal development.

However, this time the improvement in quantitative ability was significantly larger for the piano students than for the control group. This difference tended to be greater for children whose family incomes were higher.

Spatial abilities were also more pronounced for the piano students than for the control group. But no statistical differences could be established between the groups in verbal ability.

Academic Achievement
No differences could be established between the groups at this time.

Conclusions
According to the researchers, the initial results are positive. They believe that certain trends may become more obvious after the second year of piano instruction.

Currently, subjective information about the children and their families will be deeply analyzed. Also, information from the progress reports of the piano lessons, exams and academic behaviors reported by their classroom teachers will be studied. Data presented in the current report will be re-examined and taken into consideration when studying the results of this additional information.