We've seen a number of studies showing the value of music training for children's development of language skills. A new study has investigated what happens if the training doesn't begin until high school.
The study involved 40 Chicago-area high school students who were followed from their beginning at high school until their senior year. Nearly half the students had enrolled in band classes, which involved two to three hours a week of instrumental group music instruction in school. The rest had enrolled in junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), which emphasized fitness exercises during a comparable period.
The music group showed more rapid maturation in the brain's response to sound, and demonstrated prolonged heightened brain sensitivity to sound details. While all students improved in language skills tied to sound-structure awareness, the improvement was greater for those in music classes.
The finding is encouraging in that it shows that adolescent brains are still receptive to music training.
It's also encouraging in involving students from low-income areas. Children from families of lower socioeconomic status have been found to process sound less efficiently, in part because of noisier environments and also due to linguistic deprivation. A previous small study by the same researchers looked at the benefits of a free community music program for a group of disadvantaged students (the Harmony Project). In this small study, students more engaged in the program (as assessed by attendance and participation) showed greater improvement after two years, in how their brains processed speech and in their reading scores. Those who learned to play instruments also showed greater improvement than those who participated in music appreciation classes.
(2015). Music training alters the course of adolescent auditory development.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 201505114.
(2014). Engagement in community music classes sparks neuroplasticity and language development in children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Cognitive Science. 5, 1403.