Chineye picked the reading text from her desk. She quickly flipped to the page and began reading the comprehension. It was almost unbelievable the change that had taken place in her reading ability. Chineye, the eight-year-old pupil, was promoted on trial to the next class because she was behind in reading. Her class teacher, Mr. Abdul, was asked to give extra attention to her learning. At the tail end of the session, with additional attention to teaching her to read and taking free music lessons, she could string words together. What made the difference?

According to a  research cited on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation website, children between the ages of three and four who could keep a steady musical beat were more reading-ready at age five than those who couldn’t keep a beat.

Learning and listening to music transcends mere entertainment; it is a gateway to enhanced cognitive development, particularly in the realm of reading for children. Research consistently shows that children who engage in music education from an early age demonstrate notable improvements in their reading abilities.

Have you ever wondered why children without music education find it difficult to pick the words of a song, especially in an unfamiliar language? But when those undergoing music education listen to the same music, they can sing along after listening to it repeatedly and sampling it on an instrument. It is so because learning music sharpens children's auditory discrimination skills. Children who can recognize different notes, tones, and rhythms can distinguish subtle variations in sound – a skill crucial for recognizing phonetic patterns in language - because their auditory skills are fine-tuned.

When learning music, including an instrument, children are introduced to various phonemes, or sound units, through lyrics and melodies. This exposure helps them become more attuned to the nuances of spoken language, which directly benefits their reading fluency and comprehension.

Also, learning music helps children build their vocabulary as they encounter new words, phrases, or clauses. Imagine a child who couldn't spell "squirrel" is taught a song about the animal during a music lesson. Learning to spell the word becomes an easy feat. Songs often introduce new words and phrases to children's vocabulary. As children engage with song lyrics, their language repertoire grows, thus contributing to a richer and more nuanced understanding of written text.

Music education helps children with pronunciation. As children listen to the words pronounced in the lyrics, they can learn to pronounce unfamiliar words. Sometimes, they make extra effort to learn to spell the words. Likewise, children can take on learning a new language by interacting with it and learning music from the culture.

There's no doubt that early music education is a dynamic catalyst for holistic cognitive development, with reading skills reaping substantial benefits. By engaging with music from a young age, children fine-tune their auditory and visual while also spelling and pronunciation abilities crucial for reading proficiency.

Considering these outlined benefits, the African Music Library through its African music education initiative, Foster, is committed to bringing free music education to socio-economically disadvantaged children across Africa. You can join us in various ways - volunteering, funding or fundraising, leading new frontiers - here as we take the gift of music to underprivileged African children.

Early Music Education Enhances Reading Skills in Children

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