We all know that music class is more than learning “Hot Cross Buns” on the recorder. But do you know the far-reaching benefits of music education on your child’s cognitive development? From spatial awareness to creativity-boosters, here are five ways musical training can enhance cognitive and social development.
Enhanced language and reading capabilities
Want your child to ace their next spelling test? Surprisingly, music can help. Studies have shown a distinct relationship between speech processing, reading comprehension and music education. Particularly, musical training can assist with auditory discrimination, fine motor skills, vocabulary and nonverbal reasoning. Attention to auditory processing found in music education facilitates the “subcortical encoding of speech,” which, in simple terms, is the ability for the brain to understand and apply the sounds of letters to writing, a key building block to literacy. Research also shows that music education “speeds-up” literacy development and foreign language skills in elementary-age students. Connecting written music notes with their corresponding sounds functions similarly in the brain as learning the ABCs, allowing students to hone in their language and reading processing skills.
Memory and selective attention
Research has found that a correlation between musical training and improvements with both visual and auditory working memory. Listening to and performing music has shown to activate the areas of the brain associated with memory by bringing back old memories and helping create new ones. Have you ever tried to remember something by changing the lyrics to your favorite song or a catchy jingle? It’s just like that! The benefits of musical practice and performance extend past schoolchildren—researchers and music therapists have been uncovering the powerful effect of music on memory for those recovering from brain injuries and strokes and patients with dementia.
Spatial reasoning
Can band class help you solve a math equation? Spatial reasoning, or the ability for the brain to configure the visual world, form mental images and predict patterns and variations of physical objects, is a key foundational skill for children to connect math to the physical world. Spatial reasoning has also proven to be a good indicator for mathematical achievement in young students. Research also indicates that musical training through active instruction and performance can improve reasoning through spatial tasks, and this is particularly true for elementary-age children. Research has also demonstrated that this correlation may have the greatest positive impact for low-income students, as one study found that students with a struggling socio-economic background displayed “a particularly dramatic improvement in spatial-temporal reasoning” after receiving musical training.
Creativity and Connection
We know that band class can be a safe haven for students, and research supports this. The act of practicing and performing music as a group has been proven to increase pro-social behavior and a greater sense of social cohesion. Additionally, research has demonstrated that classes with more hours devoted to music education had higher levels of social integration than those without. Practicing music together can foster a sense of social belonging with peers through connecting creatively. One study found that music education has the ability to “enable children to not only be aware of each other, but relate to others in a very unique way through creative musical play.”
a. “In experimental studies, it has been demonstrated how short-term exposure to music, or synchronization in particular, is able to create social cohesion. Hove and Risen have found that tapping in synchrony—which is essential for making music together with someone—causes affiliation.”
b. “For instance, a study carried out in Switzerland from 1988 to 1991 compared classes that were given 5 weekly hours of music education to classes with a standard 1-2 weekly hours. The results suggested that the classes with the extended music education were more socially integrated than the normal classes.”
c. “The results suggest that studying music does provide measurable social benefits. In the comprehensive school, pupils in the classes with extended music education were generally more satisfied with school life than pupils in the classes with a normal music education curriculum.
- What made this category distinct was the unrestricted and spontaneous play that seemed to consume the children’s attention and energy. It is this combination of freedom and musical engagement that according to Mihalyi Cziksentmihalyi (1996) enables the flow of creativity.
- Thirdly, while the ability to make music is a universal capacity, the carefully constructed shared musical experiences, informed by Greenspan and Shankar’s (2004) theory on the evolution of symbols and reflective thinking, enable children to not only be aware of each other, but relate to others in a very unique way through creative musical play such as guided composition, free exploration, and spontaneous improvisation.
d. Pupils in EM class (a) enjoyed attending a class with like-minded peers with similar hobbies, (b) felt good about school because they received appreciation from adults for their public performances, (c) obtained intense emotional and aesthetic experiences in school and (d) may benefit from the pro-social effects and increased feelings of affiliation produced by joint musical activities.”
Academic achievement and motivation
Some studies have shown that students engaged in music education displayed greater rates of academic achievement than their counterparts did, and that students who played an instrument the longest had the highest rates. However, boosting your IQ isn’t as simple as picking up the nearest clarinet. Researchers have cited increased academic motivation due to higher levels of self-esteem and confidence through music education as the driving force behind this academic aptitude. The mood-boosting effect of mastering a piece of music carries into other areas of learning. Who knew?
Though research has well established the neurological benefits of musical training in children, there is still so much to uncover about the unique relationship between music education and the brain. So, at your child’s next orchestra concert, you can pat yourself on the back for all the hidden ways music is stimulating their cognitive and social development.
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