The effects of three years of piano instruction on children's cognitive development

Abstract

The relationship between music and cognitive abilities was studied by observing the cognitive development of children provided (n = 63) and not provided (n = 54) with individual piano lessons from fourth to sixth grade. There were no differences in cognitive abilities, musical abilities, motor proficiency, self-esteem, academic achievement, or interest in studying piano between the two groups of children at the beginning of the study. It was found that the treatment affected children's general and spatial cognitive development. The magnitude of such effects (omega squared) was small. Additional analyses showed that although the experimental group obtained higher spatial abilities scores in the Developing Cognitive Abilities Test after 1 and 2 years of instruction than did the control group, the groups did not differ in general or specific cognitive abilities after 3 years of instruction. The treatment did not affect the development of quantitative and verbal cognitive abilities. © 1999 by MENC-The National Association for Music Education.