BOSTON -- You may remember a tune, but can learning how to play music help your memory?

Those dreaded piano lessons may pay off with increased memory, according to a new study published in the July issue of Neuropsychology.

Psychologists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong studied 90 boys ages 6 to 15. Half had musical training as members of their school's string orchestra program, plus lessons in playing classical music on Western instruments, for one to five years. The other half of the study participants had no musical training.

They found that the children who played musical instruments had better recall of things like written words.

The researchers believe the key may be that music strengthens the left brain, aiding other left-brain functions like memory. They also said that the more music training a child has, the better his or her memory may become -- which can have far-reaching effects.

"Students with better verbal memory probably will find it easier to learn in school," lead researcher Agnes Chan said.