I've been playing the clarinet for almost 10 years and music has been deeply rooted in my life for even longer. I do not remember a time when I did not know how to read music, and it is basically a second language to me now. All of the other facets that come with playing instrumental music in an ensemble are a second to nature to me as well.

From counting different time signatures to learning different rhythms, and then coordinating it altogether to physically get the sound to come out of my clarinet, music has taught me so much, including skills that are useful beyond playing my instrument.

Within the last ten years, different scientific and psychological studies have emerged that link both intelligence and success to musical training, especially in children. Whether it is instrumental or choral, musical training has been shown to sharpen minds and coordination skills.

A 2014 study from Northwestern University that appeared in Frontiers in Psychology, an academic psychology journal, revealed that in order to fully reap the cognitive benefits of a music instruction, kids can’t just sit there and let the sound of music wash over them. They have to be actively engaged in the music and participate in the class.

It has also shown that when children learn to play music, their brains begin to hear and process sounds that they couldn’t otherwise hear. This helps them develop “neurophysiological distinction” between certain sounds that can aid in literacy, which can translate into improved academic results for kids. They found this data by hooking up electrode wires on the students’ heads to capture the brain’s responses.

A different 2011 study published in the US National Library of Medicine, tested about 200 8-9-year-old boys by measuring reading and spelling performance, and nonverbal intelligence. The surveyors also asked parents about musical activities since preschool.

Data showed that 53 percent of the boys had learned to play a musical instrument, and intelligence was higher for boys playing an instrument. The end findings argue an association between music education and general cognitive ability as well as a specific language link.

So how do these various psychological improvements lead to real success? At the top of many different professional fields are individuals with serious and long-term musical training. Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State, was trained as a concert pianist. Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, was a professional clarinet and saxophone player. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen was trained in violin as a child and now plays guitar. Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Woody Allen played clarinet weekly in a jazz ensemble. The list goes on and on.

I have also observed these similar effects of musical training at my high school but on a smaller scale. I graduated from Hampton Bays High School, a small school with about 650 students, and I graduated in a class about 150 students. Including myself, eight of the top 20 students in my graduating class were enthusiastically involved in our music department; five of those students were in the top six. The valedictorian, also my close friend for many years, has been playing piano since she was eight years old.

My friends from the music department and I at our graduation

Most of the students in the music department's Chorus and Concert Band were highly involved in other areas of the school as well. Between after school sport teams, numerous Advanced Placement and Honor's classes, and other activities outside of school, the students like me also involved in music were sometimes considered 'the cream of the crop.'

Sometimes I wonder if I would not have done as well in high school and my first year of college had it not been for my music education. I was successful in a small number of AP, graduated near the top of my class, and overall had a good high school experience. Most of my friends I made in the music department as well. So thank you to everyone in my life along the way for supporting me and helping me achieve my goals, music related or not.

Though I'm not a music major, I enjoy playing in my school's Chamber Orchestra once a week (along with my time alone in the practice room). It keeps my mind quick and my coordination sharp. During my first semester I wasn't involved in the music department here and I not only missed the feeling of playing in an ensemble but also felt that I wasn't doing as well in my classes as I could be. I'm still learning and I know I will never be perfect, but my life will forever be positively changed by learning how to play the clarinet.