Researchers at Harvard University have found that children who practice a musical instrument for at least three years demonstrate a higher degree of verbal ability and nonverbal reasoning than children who do not have training in a musical instrument. The study, published in PLoS ONE and reported in Science Daily, is compelling because it found both expected and unexpected results.
It isn’t particularly surprising that two study findings showed children who practiced an instrument had heightened auditory discrimination abilities and fine motor skills. But what was particularly interesting was that those students also showed increased vocabulary and nonverbal reasoning skills—two outcomes more distantly related to music.
But does this mean we should run out and put our children in front of a piano for the next three years?
Although the benefits of playing an instrument are getting most of the attention, it is very interesting to see that practicing an instrument did not seem to improve spatial skills, phonemic awareness or mathematical abilities. This portion of the findings is actually contrary to previous research, and is perhaps the best indication that while the findings in this study are interesting and valid, they aren’t the end all be all of how to raise children.
However, it’s hard to completely ignore the findings in this study and the potential benefits of instrumental music education. It’s important to note that the results of this study provide only a correlation, not causation. This means that we can reasonably predict that children will have improved language abilities, for example, if they play an instrument for three years. It does not mean that playing the piano is what allows the child to excel in that area (although it may be).
This means that the researchers examined several possible explanations for their results. It is possible that the cognitive abilities associated with playing an instrument are more directly related to other cognitive abilities than we realized, so playing an instrument has a cause and effect kind of relationship to language.
It is also entirely possible that non-causal factors are at play, something perhaps as simple as the child’s environment. Perhaps the type of parents who encourage their child to play an instrument consistently for several years are more likely to create an environment that supports nonverbal reasoning skills. When other factors such as this are taken into consideration, the picture is muddled considerably.
So we’re back to the beginning: should we stick our children in front of a piano for the next several years? Well, that of course is an individual decision and it’s one that shouldn’t be made on the basis of any one study. Some researchers will insist it is a great idea to help with math skills while obviously these researchers would say math skills won’t be improved.
My take is that it doesn’t hurt to have children try playing an instrument. If they show an interest, then stick with it. Not because a research paper said to, but because it seems right for your family. Besides, even though each research study may have different results, none of them have ever suggested it hurts to have children playing instruments.
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