Does learning to play an instrument have an impact on change in attainment from age 11 to 16?

Baker, David; Hallam, Susan; Rogers, Kevin

doi:10.1017/s0265051723000116

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…At both time points, the music group also demonstrated higher grades in school, and the difference grew larger over time. Similar results were evident at ages 11 and 16 in a sample of students from the United Kingdom: At both time points, grades were higher in English and mathematics for students who had learned to play a musical instrument (Baker et al 2023). In other words, high-functioning individuals appear to do well in school and to take music lessons, and their intellectual advantages may grow larger over time.…”

Section: Intelligence and Academic Achievementsupporting

confidence: 61%

Music Training and Nonmusical Abilities

Schellenberg,

Lima

2024

Annu. Rev. Psychol.

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Music training is generally assumed to improve perceptual and cognitive abilities. Although correlational data highlight positive associations, experimental results are inconclusive, raising questions about causality. Does music training have far-transfer effects, or do preexisting factors determine who takes music lessons? All behavior reflects genetic and environmental influences, but differences in emphasis—nature versus nurture—have been a source of tension throughout the history of psychology. After reviewing the recent literature, we conclude that the evidence that music training causes nonmusical benefits is weak or nonexistent, and that researchers routinely overemphasize contributions from experience while neglecting those from nature. The literature is also largely exploratory rather than theory driven. It fails to explain mechanistically how music-training effects could occur and ignores evidence that far transfer is rare. Instead of focusing on elusive perceptual or cognitive benefits, we argue that it is more fruitful to examine the social-emotional effects of engaging with music, particularly in groups, and that music-based interventions may be effective mainly for clinical or atypical populations. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 75 is January 2024. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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Section: Intelligence and Academic Achievementsupporting

confidence: 61%

Music Training and Nonmusical Abilities

Schellenberg,

Lima

2024

Annu. Rev. Psychol.

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“…To provide evidence for the significance of musical instrument practice, multiple studies have shown that musicians excel in various cognitive tasks compared with non-musicians (see [ 2 ]). Specifically, musical training is believed to enhance various cognitive and emotional abilities, including verbal memory, fluency, perception, creativity, spatial skills, IQ scores, and empathy [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. However, after evaluating evidence produced by other researchers, Schellenberg and Lima [ 13 ] concluded that causal inferences cannot be made.…”

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confidence: 99%