Playing in the band always has offered plenty of benefits: You get to hang out with other band people. You wear colorful uniforms that’d be wholly inappropriate elsewhere. You get to march in relatively straight lines. As it turns out, there may be other less obvious perks to participating in the high school band program: You get smarter.

Researchers from Northwestern University (home to a very nice band program) followed approximately 40 high school students from low-income Chicago neighborhoods beginning when the students were freshmen. Half of these students spent at least two or three hours a week in instrumental group music instruction. The other half was enrolled in Reserve Officers Training Corps, which focused more on physical activity.

During the next three years, researchers found that kids in the band displayed greater sensitivity and quicker improvements in sound-based language skills than those who did not. Researchers believe that playing in the band may improve brain development overall.

“While music programs are often the first to be cut when the school budget is tight, these results highlight music’s place in the high school curriculum,” says study author Nina Kraus. “Although learning to play music does not teach skills that seem directly relevant to most careers, the results suggest that music may engender what educators refer to as learning to learn.” (HealthDay)