Want a better memory? Take up the violin!

MUSICIANS have better memories than ordinary people, while bilingual speakers use less effort, a study says.

Mastering an instrument requires concentration and memorisation, while bilingual people’s brains are used to switching between different languages and blocking out whichever one is not needed.

Researchers from the University of Toronto found musicians performed better than nonmusicians in a memory test.

Bilingual speakers did no better than regular English-speakers, but showed less brain activity when completing the task.

Dr Claude Alain, who led the study, said the results showed that ‘a person’s experiences, whether it’s learning to play an instrument or a language, can shape how the brain functions’.