Does learning a musical instrument have real benefits for a child's development?
You'll hear that music makes kids smarter and 'builds brain connections.' It's greyer than that: the brain really does change — but so it does with any practice, and there's no general boost to intelligence, just small, specific gains in listening and language.
The short answer
Yes, but modestly and specifically. Learning an instrument is linked to small gains in listening and language skills — not a broad 'makes kids smarter' effect. The clearest benefits sit close to music itself (hearing, rhythm, fine motor), and even those are small and debated.
The key studies
A meta-analysis of 62 studies (3,928 children) found a small effect of music training on children's listening and language skills — which became non-significant after correcting for likely publication bias.
Neves et al. (2022) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
In a 6-month trial, 74 children (aged 4-5) were assigned to piano, reading or no lessons; only the piano group gained in consonant-based word discrimination and neural pitch processing, with no group difference in IQ, working memory or attention.
Nan et al. (2018) · PNAS
A longitudinal study found that childhood music training measurably changed children's brain structure, including auditory and white-matter pathways — direct evidence that training reshapes the brain.
Habibi et al. (2018) · Cerebral Cortex
Near-zero transfer from music training to children's broader cognitive or academic skills.
Sala & Gobet (2020) · Memory & Cognition
What the research shows
A meta-analysis pooling 62 studies (3,928 children) found a small positive effect of music training on auditory and language skills — one that shrank to non-significant once likely unpublished studies were factored in. A 6-month controlled trial of 74 children (aged 4-5) found piano lessons gave a specific edge in telling similar-sounding words apart and in the brain's processing of pitch, but no boost to IQ, working memory or attention. And brain-imaging studies confirm music training physically reshapes the brain — though a brain change is not the same as a real-world benefit.
What it means for you
Learn an instrument because it's a joy and a skill worth having in itself — and because it may give a small nudge to listening and language. If you've heard it 'builds brain connections' — that's real, but so does any practice, and it isn't proof of a smarter child. Don't take it up expecting a maths or IQ boost; that part doesn't hold up.
By the numbers
62 studies, 3,928 children: a small overall effect (about g = 0.31) on auditory and language measures, which became non-significant after correcting for publication bias (Neves et al., 2022). In a separate 6-month trial of 74 children (aged 4-5), only the piano group gained in word discrimination and pitch processing; IQ, working memory and attention improved equally in all groups (Nan et al., 2018).
What we still don't know
Whether the small listening and language gains are truly caused by music training or partly reflect who takes lessons — and whether they translate into any lasting real-world advantage.
The honest caveat
The benefits are specific and small — not a general intelligence boost. And one popular idea deserves a flag: yes, music training does change the brain and strengthen certain connections (see Habibi et al., 2018) — but the same plasticity happens with any sustained practice (juggling, sport, chess), and a brain change on a scan is not proof of a smarter child or better unrelated skills. Much of the research also has quality problems: about 62% of studies carried a risk of bias, and there are signs of publication bias inflating the results. Children who take up music also differ from those who don't (family, motivation), which observational studies can't fully separate.
Where the evidence disagrees
Learning an instrument clearly builds musical and listening skills — but whether that adds up to a real, lasting developmental benefit is genuinely disputed.
The strongest counter-evidence: The largest, most careful review found the effect on children's listening and language skills was small to begin with, and became statistically non-significant once likely unpublished studies were accounted for — with about 62% of studies carrying a risk of bias (Neves et al., 2022). And meta-analyses of transfer to school and cognitive skills find near-zero effect (Sala & Gobet, 2020).
How we weigh it: There's a real but small signal for listening and language, and no reliable boost to general intelligence or school results. That mix — a modest, specific benefit next to an oversold general claim — is why we rate it Mixed.
Related studies
Can music help a child calm down or handle big feelings?
There's promising but still-developing evidence that music can help regulate mood and arousal. Slow, familiar music tends to soothe and lively music can lift or energise; singing calms babies, and music-based activities are used to support emotional regulation. But rigorous, child-specific studies showing music reliably teaches lasting emotion-regulation skills are still limited - much of the strongest evidence is in adolescents and adults, who report using music to manage their moods.
Is there a 'best age' to start an instrument?
There may be a sensitive window. Some research finds that musicians who began training early in childhood (before around age 7) show advantages in precise timing and sensorimotor skills that later-starters don't fully catch up on, even after matching total years of practice. Brain-imaging work links early training to differences in the brain's white-matter 'wiring' involved in timing - hinting the young brain is especially primed for certain motor-timing aspects of music.
Does singing to your baby actually do anything?
Yes - babies are especially tuned to singing. In studies, infant-directed singing kept babies calm and content for longer than talking did, delaying the onset of distress, and babies attend closely to a caregiver's song. Related work shows singing helps regulate a baby's mood and arousal - a natural, shared bonding tool, long before they understand any words.
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