Quick Takeaways

1. Brains that are better at processing and remembering sounds are also better at reading.

2. Singing and basic music skills help to develop the brain’s sound processing and memory—this results in higher reading achievement.

3. Tapping a steady beat is correlated with reading achievement; children who cannot keep a steady beat are likely to struggle with reading.

Graphic from the Auditory Neuroscience Lab at Northwestern University. See their slide show about reading.

A neuroscientist describes how music training

develops bigger, better brains

recent studies

Rhythm, Pitch, and Reading Are Correlated

• Alagöz, G., Eising, E., Mekki, Y. et al. (2024). The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm. Nat Hum Behav. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02051-y

• Bonacina, S. Otto-Meyer, S., Krizman, J., White-Schwoch, T. Nicol, T., Kraus, N. (2019) Stable auditory processing underlies phonological awareness in typically developing preschoolers, Brain and Language, 197, 104664, ISSN 0093-934X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2019.104664.

• Kertész, C., Honbolygó, F. (2021). Tapping to music predicts literacy skills of first-grade children. Frontiers in Psychology: 12. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741540

• Lu, H., Zhang, K., & Liu, Q. (2020). Reading fluency and pitch discrimination abilities in children with learning disabilities. Technology and Health Care: Official Journal of the European Society for Engineering and Medicine, 28(S1), 361–370. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7369083/