So science says your kids will have better grades if they learn music, but hey – grades are one thing, actual ability is another. We’ve seen enough cases showing that academic performance isn’t an accurate measure of ability level. This makes us ask: will our kids actually be more competent with school subject matter, and not just better at getting good grades?
The answer is an emphatic yes. Researchers from Stanford University and Vanderbilt University set out to verify previous claims about music’s benefits to language ability, and came to a conclusion about music’s influence on phonological awareness, an ability critical to reading ability:
“Results supported the hypothesis that music training leads to gains in phonological awareness skills. “