Cognitive, Musical and Environmental Correlates of Early Music Instruction

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Abstract
This study investigated the effects of early music instruction on music perception skills as well as specific areas of cognitive development (non-verbal/spatial abilities). Participants were 29 children enrolled in beginning music instruction, and 29 children matched in age and gender attending preschool, without formal music lessons. The children were assessed on a music perception task (melody recognition) and a variety of cognitive measures (receptive vocabulary, visual-motor integration, an embedded figures task, and puzzles), prior to beginning music instruction and four months later. The results indicated that preschool children taking music lessons may be a select group; they were more likely to have previous musical experience and additional extra-curricular activities. After four months of music lessons, children in the music group showed the greatest improvement on the music task. A transfer effect was observed primarily for visual-motor skills, with the music group improving significantly on the visual-motor integration task. The findings are discussed as relevant to previous research. Implications for music education are also discussed.