Music Training, Musical Ability and Language Skills in Children From Disadvantaged Socioeconomic Backgrounds

Research has suggested positive associations between music training and musical ability with language skills. However, these relationships in children from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds remain understudied. One hundred and two children from the second grade of public primary schools, in an economically and socially disadvantaged area of Portugal, participated in this study. Classes were randomly assigned to the Music group (a musical programme of weekly 60-min sessions over 30 weeks) or the Control group. Regression analyses were performed using sex, IQ, musical ability, music training, and language skills (oral comprehension, reading and writing, and grammar). IQ was a significant predictor of all three dimensions of language skills. A significant effect was found for music training concerning oral comprehension, but not for grammar and reading and writing. Children’s musical ability was associated with language skills for oral comprehension, reading and writing, but not for grammar. Among the musical abilities, melody and memory were correlated with language skills. Our study found a positive effect of musical ability on language skills, while music training seems to play a less important role. These results suggest that the effects on language skills may be based on pre-existing differences in cognitive ability and musical ability.