Glenn Rutz of Elmhurst, Illinois, writes:
Marilyn: A reader asked whether studying music helps children with math skills. (May 10, 2009) I agree with your answer (no solid evidence exists), but I do think that there is a relationship. I believe a triangular relationship exists among music, computer science, and math. This relationship, however, is not one in which one skill set reinforces another. Rather, one skill set is indicative of the other. My background includes an undergraduate degree in music education and ten years of professional performance, plus my current career in information technology, as well as some level of proficiency in math.
All three disciplines have one characteristic in common: To truly become skilled, one must be willing to drill problems repetitively. In music, repeated practicing of scales, technical exercises, playing techniques, and performance pieces is absolutely necessary. In math, the learning process requires (to my youngest daughter‚s never-ending chagrin) drilling of similar, but slightly different, problems. In computer science, one takes a programming class in which the target language syntax is repeated in an ever-expanding cycle of options and variations.
I do not think that one area helps another, but I do believe that this skill correlation can be observed readily in the real world.