Music helps to Improve Reading Skills

The benefits of knowing how to read efficiently and effectively, goes far beyond acquiring new information. Being able to read is necessary if the child is to go through the different stages of education leading up to landing that awesome job. As a matter of fact, knowing how to read is fundamental to survival, since every aspect of society and life requires one to do some amount of reading. One who cannot read is a danger to others and to oneself. George R.R. Martin puts it nicely when he said, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” From entertainment to educational advancement, the necessity of being able to read can never be over emphasized. 

Perhaps this is why educators and other stakeholders alike have been working assiduously to implement new interventions to help children improve their reading skills. Music is one such intervention that has been receiving much recognition, since it has been found to improve reading skills in young children. There have been numerous studies done to highlight the insurmountable benefits of music as it relates to helping children learn to acquire the crucial skill of reading.

Among studies done to prove the benefits of music to reading is a study done by Joseph M. Piro and Camilo Ortiz from the Long Island University. After studying children from 2 elementary schools in the USA it was discovered that there are positive connections with excellent reading and music whether it was done in school or through private lessons. In their study, the experimental group (children who were exposed to music) was made up of 46 children and the control group (children who were not exposed to music) consisted of 57 children. The children in the experimental group were given the opportunity to study piano formally for three consecutive years as a part of a literacy intervention.  Both groups were given a pre-test and a post-test. When the scores were analyzed it was discovered that the group that was exposed to the three year piano lessons scored significantly higher in reading that their counterparts who had no piano lesson. This signals the fact that piano lessons have a positive impact on the reading skills of young children.

Additionally,childrensmusicworkshop.com posted an article entitled Music and student Development in which it was reported that music participation does have a positive impact on reading. According to the New York City Board of Education, a reading program in New York discovered dramatic improvement in the reading achievement scores after including music and art in the curriculum. The 3 R’s and an M, Music Educators Journal, p. 40 states that learning to read music coincidentally help to enhance children’s ability to develop the skills necessary for fluent reading. Therefore, it can be concluded that having children involved in music lesson from a young age will help them in their reading as they become older.

Further, Stephen McClard in The Cognitive Benefits of Music Reading pointed out the fact that the skills needed to read music are quite similar to the ones need for the formal reading of a book. Therefore exposing children to the skills of reading music at an early age automatically provides them with the basic skills needed for actual reading to be mastered. Therefore, exposing children to music lessons provides them with a fun way to acquire the pre-requisites necessary for them to become competent readers. Additional, the discrimination of sounds which is a basic skill thought in music lesson is one of the most important skill needed for mastering of phonemic awareness and phonics, which is a necessary component of beginning reading.

Echoing the same sentiments is Music and Literacy: Strategies Using "Comprehension Connections" by Tanny McGregor. This article emphasized the fact that Music and literacy share many of the same skills. McGregor emphasized the fact that literacy skills such as pronunciation, articulation, fluency, sentence pattern, and auditory processing are highly promoted in music instructions. She also highlighted the fact that students are more motivated to learn to read when teachers include music in their reading programs. Therefore, music is seen as a catalyst to competent reading.

Added to that, Juanita Huber in her dissertation on Music Instruction and the Reading Achievement of Middle School Students at the Liberty University conducted a comparative analysis with 267 students from grades 6, 7, and 8. In her study, she examined responses based on data gathered through descriptive questionnaires which examined the length of time student spent on music participation, the kinds of musical instruments learned, and their results on English Language assessments administered by the state. After deep scrutiny, it was discovered that the general findings revealed that there is significant relationship between being exposed to music instructions and reading development in middle school children. Additionally, further study revealed that the positive effects of being exposed to music lasted over two years after music instructions were received. This once again proves that there are many long lasting benefits to be derived through music instructions.

Finally, Charles Anzalone in his article entitled “Study Finds Link Between Music and Preschoolers Reading Readiness” reported that there has been new research done by the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education found a positive relationship between music and reading readiness. In a two year study using 156 preschool children who were taught by 11 teachers who received rigorous training to help them to effectively teach music to young children it was discovered that exposing these preschoolers to early music instructions significantly increase the9r reading, vocabulary, and grammar skills.

There is overwhelming evidence to prove that music has a positive correlation with the improvement of reading skills in young children. Literacy Connections called Music and Literacy a Perfect Match. Tonya Wright in her article reemphasizes the fact that music is a universal language that effectively promotes reading, creativity, and comprehension skills. Therefore, it is up to you as parents to ensure that your children receive the much needed music instructions that will set them on the path of being competent readers. This invaluable opportunity should not be left up to the school, since they are constrained by government policies as to how much music can be taught if any at all. Make use of the opportunity to enroll your child in music lessons. It all belongs with you.

At Music Lessons of Austin, LLC, we provide the Austin-based music instruction in student homes. You can sign yourself or your child up for piano lessons, drum lessons, guitar lessons, violin lessons, and more, and we would love to hear from you.