Does musical training improve school performance?

Abstract

In a retrospective study, we compared school performance of 53 children practicing music (group 1) with 67 controls not practicing music (group 2). Overall average marks as well as average marks of all school subjects except sports were significantly higher in children who do (group 1) than in those who do not practice music (group 2). In a multiple regression analysis, musical training, parent's income, and educational level (grades) correlated significantly with overall average marks. A slight decrease of overall average marks over 4 years from grades 3 to 6 was found in the control group only. Musical training evidently correlates with children's better performance at school, but is obviously part of a multifactorial dependence. Continuous musical training appears to help achieve and maintain school performance at a high level over time.