Can Music Improve Children’s Learning Skills?
Did you ever use a melody to memorize the alphabet, or rhymes to recite multiplication tables? You’re not alone. Music has helped many people with these tasks.
Dr. Jonathan Bolduc, Canada Research Chair in Music and Learning, is exploring the potential impacts that music education can have on academic achievement in reading, writing and mathematics, during infancy and childhood.
Bolduc and his team are documenting the cognitive processes involved in learning music, language and mathematics, and are examining the influence of music education on academic achievement. They are also linking their research to ongoing research in neuroscience, particularly on the brain’s natural ability to change.
Bolduc aims to demonstrate that learning music can promote the development of useful knowledge in early literacy, reading, writing and mathematics, and that it can help some children do better in school.
His research will offer concrete ways that music can be used to improve the situation of many children who face learning challenges.