Jj is for Jottings 162.  The Connection Between Literacy and Music.

There is a strong connection between literacy and music. Here, music includes learning a musical instrument and/or singing.  It actually goes further: children who learn and practise music also have improved performance in executive function, arts and mathematics. (The core areas of executive function are working memory, inhibitory control, and selective attention.)  Let’s go into why this is the case.

BRAIN CIRCUITRY, LITERACY AND MUSIC.

It all comes down to good old neuroplasticity – again.  The brain has areas dedicated to language and to music.  But it doesn’t have a reading area.  Nor have any “reading genes” been discovered within cells.  Humans invented reading and writing around 5,000 years ago.  Basically, they rewired existing brain structures for vision, hearing and language into a specialized circuit.  This enabled them to quickly scan visual symbols and turn them into meaning.   Obviously they didn’t set out to do this rewiring; it was a result of using symbols in this way.

So, put simply, the neural circuit for reading combines processes from different areas of the brain.

• Vision in the visual cortex, to see written letters and words.
• Hearing in the auditory cortex, to hear the sounds and rhythms that letters and words make and connect them to the written words.
• Language in the left hemisphere, to comprehend the meaning of written letters and words.

Music is a Parallel Process to Reading.

According to neuroscientists, playing or learning to sing music is a parallel process to reading.  For example, a student who plays the piano scans the notes on the page of music and connects them with the sounds they make.  They listen intently to connect the notes and hear if they’re played at the right pitch and time.  And they actively anticipate what’s coming next in the music. See the symbol on the page, hear the sound the symbol makes, anticipate what’s likely to come next.  That sounds a lot like reading.

Of course, there are variations, according to whether you are singing or what instrument you might be playing.  Stringed instruments such as violins, guitars, cellos etc. need to be tuned before you play.  And you must put your fingers on the strings in the exact spot to make a particular note.  Otherwise the note will be out of tune.  This requires finer listening (and hearing) skills than those required for playing the piano.  When playing the piano, if you press the same key it will always play the same note. (Pianos do go out of tune, but it is a very slow process.)  So you don’t have to do any fine-tuning.  Singing is a little different again.  You DO have to do the fine-tuning, and you have the added layer of language.  (And sometimes languages which are foreign to you.  At the moment, the little choir I sing with is singing pieces in English, German, Latin and Hungarian.  I learned French and German at school and have found them extremely useful over a lifetime of singing.)

Working on challenging musical tasks over and over again dramatically strengthens this reading circuit, and has spin-offs across the board.

Image by Freepik.

More on the Hearing Connection Between Literacy and Music.

Infants learn through hearing.  Music sharpens the brain’s attention to sound, increasing the ability to differentiate small units of sound.  This enhances the ability to detect fine differences between speech sounds.  And this increases phonological awareness, a vital part of learning to read.

Not only does music enhance the sound aspects of literacy, but it also increases vocabulary, grammar and comprehension.  (Singing, not playing an instrument.)  In the same way that reading to children introduces them to new vocabulary, so does singing a variety of songs.

And all forms of music lead to better memory skills.  See research below.

RESEARCH INTO THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LITERACY AND MUSIC.

Improved Focus, Attention and Memory.

Research supports the observations made by teachers. A two year US study gave music students a series of tasks to test their working memory, inhibitory control and selective attention (i.e. executive function).  Students performed at a higher level than their peers on select tasks of executive function and short-term memory.  They also found that the students scored higher on standardised tests and earned better grades in language, arts and maths.

A Japanese study of preschoolers found improved self-regulation after 12 weeks of singing, dancing and basic music theory.

A Canadian study showed that, after music training, children showed a strong transfer of executive function skills to non-musical tasks.

Music Learners Are a Year Ahead.

Another recent study into the benefits of continuous multi-year music training adds further support.  Neuromusical researchers found that students highly engaged in music were, on average, academically over one year ahead of their peers who were not engaged in school music. The study identified evidence of positive relationships between school music participation and secondary school exam scores in English, mathematics, and science.  When reading music, either for playing an instrument or for singing, you constantly have to do rapid little arithmetical sums. You have to make sure that the length of the notes you are playing or singing add up to the correct number of beats in the bar.

Keeping the Beat.

Being able to keep a beat is also an essential part of reading readiness. Research says that clapping in time requires universal coordination and connection between motor and sensory systems.  There is also a fine timing ability to control the movement to be on beat. The ability to synchronise beats demonstrates multiple connections going on in the brain.

ALL THOSE INCREDIBLE BENEFITS…..

Sadly, in Australia, many schools don’t offer specialist music programs, particularly in the public sector.  A vast majority of private schools offer comprehensive music programs right throughout the school.  The children who are not offered specialist music programs miss out on two counts.  The first is the enhanced literacy, academic success and brain function as discussed above.  The second is the enormous pleasure which can arise from making music in a group.  And, without exposure to various aspects of music within a good school program, there may be many children who have unrecognised and untapped musical talents.  So they may be missing out on a prospective career path, or at the very least a huge lifelong source of pleasure and stimulation.

Making music in a group is wonderful fun as well as being a serious endeavour to produce music at as high a standard as possible.  And the majority of my close friendships have begun in a choir. (And more than friendship– I married the conductor!)

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