Music training improves speech-in-noise perception: Longitudinal evidence from a community-based music program

Behav Brain Res. 2015 Sep 15:291:244-252. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.05.026. Epub 2015 May 22.

Abstract

Music training may strengthen auditory skills that help children not only in musical performance but in everyday communication. Comparisons of musicians and non-musicians across the lifespan have provided some evidence for a "musician advantage" in understanding speech in noise, although reports have been mixed. Controlled longitudinal studies are essential to disentangle effects of training from pre-existing differences, and to determine how much music training is necessary to confer benefits. We followed a cohort of elementary school children for 2 years, assessing their ability to perceive speech in noise before and after musical training. After the initial assessment, participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group began music training right away and completed 2 years of training, while the second group waited a year and then received 1 year of music training. Outcomes provide the first longitudinal evidence that speech-in-noise perception improves after 2 years of group music training. The children were enrolled in an established and successful community-based music program and followed the standard curriculum, therefore these findings provide an important link between laboratory-based research and real-world assessment of the impact of music training on everyday communication skills.

Keywords: Auditory; Education; Learning; Listening; Longitudinal; Music; Speech-in-noise perception.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • Child
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Learning*
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Music*
  • Noise
  • Psychoacoustics
  • Random Allocation
  • Speech
  • Speech Perception*