Researchers like Fran Rauscher of the University of Wisconsin have conducted studies that suggest that "music training at an early age can develop the neural connections that are necessary for understanding complex mathematical and scientific concepts". Research shows an "important link between musical training and other cognitive abilities, particularly spatial abilities." Put another way, using and developing the areas of the brain that recognize pitch and rhythm increases the brain's capacity to determine, say, the calculations necessary for a good chess game.
If you're looking to boost your brainpower, you might want to pick up a saxophone! Despite the current philosophy that music in education is a luxury or superfluous to the "Three R's", new research is proving music may make you smarter!