Does Music Instruction Help Children Learn to Read? Evidence of a Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This meta-analysis of 30 studies using a variety of music interventions to affect reading skills resulted in a moderately strong, significant, overall effect size of d = .32. When music activities incorporate specific reading skills matched to the needs of identified children ( d = .44) or contingent music is used to reinforce reading behavior ( d = .66), benefits are large. The music activities that pair alphabet recognition with phonetic patterns, incorporate word segmentation and sound blending skills, and promote rapid decoding skills are effective in enhancing reading instruction and require little transfer to the assessment methodology. Benefits are greater when the special music reading activities are added to an existing music education curriculum than when replacing it. All schedules of intervention are equally effective regardless of whether daily, intense, short-term, or weekly periodic intervention spread across the school year.