THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC EDUCATION IN RELATION TO CHILDREN’S

DEVELOPMENT AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

Education and Learning MA

University College Birmingham

Validated by: The University of Birmingham

April, 2022
 Abstract

Music has the ability to bring a significant impact on human cognition and social and
emotional skills, its effects being recognised by previous psychological and educational
studies. This research aimed to explore the relation between music education and
children’s development, in terms of cognitive functions, creativity, social and emotional
development, and educational achievement in primary school. These themes are also
investigated through several perspectives, namely ethnical, cultural and gender.

Approaching a secondary method of collecting data, the researcher proposed to review,

analyse and evaluate qualitative studies related to the effects of musical training on
cognitive abilities, multiple intelligences involved in the process, children’s motivation
and beliefs about their abilities to accomplish tasks, and the creativity skills developed
through music education. The literature review revealed gaps worthy to be explored,
thus the previously mentioned elements were linked to the ethnicity effect on children’s
musical perception (referring to the absolute pitch), the gender influence on the process
of choosing a musical instrument and the cultural impact of music reflected on the
acculturation’s trajectory.

Four objectives were established by the researcher, in order to help achieve the research
aim, namely: to critically analyse the link between musical training and school
performance, to explore the benefits of playing a musical instrument on children’s
development in primary school, to compare the academic results of children who
practice a musical instrument with those who are not involved in music, and to establish
the impact of music education on children’s creativity and intelligence.

The findings indicated that musical training can improve children’s memory and verbal
activity, reflecting on school achievement, intellectual performance and engagement in
learning. It also displayed that it has the ability to improve intrinsic motivation among
children through characteristics such as creativity, expression, physical activity and
social connection. According to the results, playing a musical instrument in childhood
involves multiple intelligences such as musical, spatial, mathematical and kinaesthetic
intelligences, resulting in a beneficial complementary effect. In terms of musical
perception, children’s ethnicity might represent a predisposing factor in the acquisition
of absolute pitch (AP), but later analyses displayed that it cannot be generalised,
showing possibilities of the acquisition due to the exposure to a tone language or a
different music education environment. Furthermore, the results argued that music is a
cultural product that may contribute towards the development of ethnic identity in many
adolescents, being a significant contributor to the process of acculturation. Related to
gender, the research suggested that it has a significant impact on children’s choice of
musical instruments, and other differences between males and females were found in
regards to the experience of music performance anxiety.

It was concluded that playing an instrument and music education in general produce a
wide range of cognitive benefits, moreover representing activities in which children
engage not only because of the process of learning music itself, but also for feeling
connected to individuals who share the same interests as them. The implications of
creativity and multiple intelligences are considered advantages of music education, thus
it should be valued and flourished by the educational departments.
Contents
Chapter 1....................................................................................................................................1
Introduction.................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Aim........................................................................................................................................1
1.2 Objectives............................................................................................................................2
1.3 Rationale..............................................................................................................................2
1.4 Framework...........................................................................................................................2
Chapter 2....................................................................................................................................4
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................4
2.1 Previous research...............................................................................................................4
2.2 Recent research..................................................................................................................6
2.3 Motivation.............................................................................................................................8
2.5 Creativity............................................................................................................................13
2.6 Learning and music..........................................................................................................15
2.7 Gaps in the literature........................................................................................................16
Chapter 3..................................................................................................................................18
Literature Matrix.......................................................................................................................18
Chapter 4..................................................................................................................................23
Methodology.............................................................................................................................23
4.1 Choice of research design...............................................................................................23
4.2 Construction of method....................................................................................................25
4.3 Sample...............................................................................................................................26
4.4 Chapter Summary.............................................................................................................30
Chapter 5..................................................................................................................................31
Analysis and Evaluation of Findings.....................................................................................31
5.1 Ethnicity effect on musical perception and education..................................................31
5.2 Gender influences in music education...........................................................................36
5.3 Culture and music education among children...............................................................45
Chapter 6..................................................................................................................................49
Conclusions and Recommendations....................................................................................49
6.1 Conclusions.......................................................................................................................50
6.2 Recommendations............................................................................................................53
6.3 Recommendations for further research.........................................................................54
Chapter 7..................................................................................................................................56
References...............................................................................................................................56
 Chapter 1

Introduction

As defined by Pitts (2017), music education refers to the practice of music teaching,
preparing individuals for careers as primary or secondary music teachers, or as directors
of music academies and conservatory ensembles. Music education can also lead
individuals to a music performance career. Furthermore, scholars are engaged in
original research on how to teach and learn music. During the process of learning music,
children in primary schools are often taught to play instruments such as keyboard,
violin, to sing in small choirs, and learn about the elements of music and its history
(ibid., 2017). 

It is considered that music can bring a significant impact on human cognition and social
and emotional skills (Biasutti & Concina, 2014). Psychological and educational studies
have been made, in order to explain the process of transferable musical skills, which
could have positive effects on language development, creativity, self-discipline,
measures of intelligence, concentration and social skills.

Although the literature related to the topic is quite broad, the paper will target the
relevant findings and will establish theories that relate to children’s development and
the effects of music on their academic progress, which is best described as students'
ability to meet the goals, achievements, and objectives of a programme or course
implemented by primary schools (Caballero et al., 2007).

1.1 Aim
The aim of the paper is to explore the relation between music education and children’s
development, in terms of cognitive functions, creativity, social and emotional
development, and educational achievement in primary school.

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1.2 Objectives
1. To critically analyse the link between musical training and school performance
2. To explore the benefits of playing a musical instrument on children’s
development in primary school
3. To compare the academic results of children who practice a musical instrument
with those who are not involved in music
4. To establish the impact of music education on children’s creativity and
intelligence.

1.3 Rationale
The rationale behind the research is displayed through the fact that music is gradually
becoming less important in education, representing a significant issue when it comes to
children development. The relationship between musical training and academic
achievement must be explored, in order to establish the benefits of music lessons
reflecting upon school progress. Creating awareness about the link between these two
elements could be a first step for the educational departments to take action in
promoting music education at a high standard.

1.4 Framework
The theoretical framework below displays the process of the research construction.
Thus, it subsumes the aim of the research, representing the nucleus of the paper, which
is surrounded by the theories that were used as tools of construction.

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 Theoretical Framework

Figure 1: Theoretical Framework

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 Chapter 2

Literature Review

2.1 Previous research

In order to explore the benefits of musical training on children’s development, the
present paper proposes to introduce cognitive learning theory (CLT). The theory was
developed by the educational psychologist Jean Piaget and it is used to analyse mental
processes and how, in order for the learning process to take place, individuals are
influenced by surrounding factors, as well as by internal ones. The cognitive approach
focuses on the mental processes, rather than just observable behaviour.

According to the above, it is worth mentioning that some forms of musical activities
require functional areas of the brain, which may stimulate the intellectual performance,
as Hallam (2010) states:

“Extensive active engagement with music can induce cortical reorganisation. This may produce
functional changes in how the brain processes information”

Several authors share the same opinion as Hallam, claiming that musical training is a
multisensory motor activity that is usually introduced when a child is young (Schlaug et
al., 2005), and the process of playing an instrument necessitates a wide range of
abilities, including reading a complex symbolic system (musical notation) and
translating it into sequential, bimanual motor activity, dependent on visual and aural
feedback (ibid. 2005). Moreover, it involves fine motor skills coupled with metric
precision, as well as memorisation of long musical passages and improvisation within
given musical parameters (ibid. 2005). Studies of the way that the brain processes sound
showed how musicians had earlier brainstem responses to the onset of a syllable than
non-musicians, as stated:

“Musicians playing since the age of five had quicker responses and increased activity of
neurons in the brain to both music and speech sounds. The longer the musician had been
playing the sharper the responses”

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 (Gaab et al., 2005).

Ho, Chan & Cheung (2003) made a comparison between children of a primary school
(starting from the age of 6) who were currently receiving musical training for a period
of 1-5 years with their classmates who had no musical instruction, aiming to establish
the connection between music and verbal memory. The results showed that children
who received music instruction remembered nearly 20% more words from a list of 16
words which was presented three times, comparing to their peers who did not receive
musical training. They also performed better in two delayed recognition trials, in terms
of verbal recall.

Ho et al. (2003) also contrasted the results of a longitudinal study on children from the
original cohort who had started or continued music lessons for a year with those who
had stopped music lessons at least 9 months before. The verbal learning and retention
scores of both the novices and the continuing group improved significantly, but the
results of those who had stopped their musical instruction remained unchanged.
Notably, while not improving their verbal memory ability, the discontinued group
retained their verbal memory dominance over non-musicians, suggesting that the
benefits of playing an instrument may have a significant impact on cognition, and they
could also be long lasting (Ho et al., 2003). Furthermore, musicians' superior verbal
memory appears to be linked to the number of years of formal music instruction (Ho et
al., 2003; Jakobson et al., 2008), implying that musical training underpins verbal
memory enhancement. Thus, it is worth noting that even brief intervals of musical
involvement might have a good impact on cognitive capacities (ibid. 2008).

Other findings from previous research demonstrated that music lessons can improve
general intelligence (Schellenberg, 2006). These studies were used to support the idea
that music has a broad benefit, with general intelligence as the underlying cause.

Regarding musical instruction, the Ontario Ministry of Education states that such
training is subdivided into basic musical components, including pitch and timbre, as
mentioned below:

“duration, pitch, dynamics and other expressive controls, timbre, texture/harmony, and form”

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 (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009, p. 18).

The majority of studies on cognitive development through music believe that

coordination of the previously mentioned elements produces benefits. The combination
of these elements simultaneously across sensory modalities (auditory, visual and tactile)
and across time represents the main process musicians must comprehend and achieve,
going through different performance levels (Moreno & Bidelman, 2014; Pearce &
Rohrmeier, 2012). Researchers argued that learning music implies the activity of
coordinating multimodal demands, which will lead to standard performance and goal-
directed cognitive processes (LaPlume & Wiseheart, 2018).

Many aspects of music have been proposed to require high levels of cognitive abilities,
including the ability to monitor performance and make changes (Caballero et al., 2022).
Moreover, according to previous studies, playing music requires the ability to switch
between auditory streams (Slevc et al., 2016), paying attention to timing and rate change
involved in playing an instrumental piece (Loehr, Large, & Palmer, 2011), as well as
adjusting to other performers (Palmer & Deutsch, 2013). Furthermore, musical training
and attention have both been demonstrated to have similar cognitive transfer (Neville et
al., 2008).

2.2 Recent research

More recent findings such as Hincu’s (2016) focus on the importance of memory
development in children, stating that music education has a positive impact on
cognitive, social and emotional development, with an emphasis on memory and
reasoning which are beneficial for learning. In this regard, an earlier study made by
Fujioka et al., (2006) validates Hincu’s statement. The authors established the link
between memory and music through a comparison between children involved in
musical classes, being part of the “Suzuki” method (developed by the violinist and
pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki) and children who had no musical training. When compared
to children who did not receive music lessons outside of school, students of the violin
“Suzuki” method showed general memory improvements and reactivity to musical
stimuli after one year of teaching. Thus, after four months, these advantages were
noticeable (ibid., 2006).

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In order to contrast these studies with even earlier research, it is worth mentioning that
some of the findings contradict earlier ones, in the sense that the former found the
magnitude of the benefits of music on cognitive development to be small.

A study of Costa-Giomi (1999) analysed the relationship between musical training and
cognitive abilities, through observation of children who received individual piano
classes (63 children) and another group of participants not provided with musical
training (54 children), from Year 1 to Year 6. At the beginning of the study, there were
no differences between them, in terms of motor-proficiency, cognitive abilities, musical
abilities, school achievement and interest in learning piano. However, although the
researcher’s results concluded that the intervention had an impact on cognitive and
general development, the magnitude of these effects was minimal.

Moreover, Hyde et al. (2009) compared the experiences of two groups of 6 year old
children, one of them being involved in private keyboard lessons for 15 months, and the
other who participated in a group music lesson that included singing and playing with
drums and bells. The researchers used deformation-based morphometry as a method of
analysis, in order to determine the differences between the groups throughout the whole
brain before and after musical training. The study revealed that children who were
exposed to piano lessons had larger relative voxel sizes in the motor areas of their brain,
in particular the right precentral gyrus which corresponds to motor hand area, and the
middle body of the corpus callosum, with differences that were also noticed in the right
primary auditory region, which is in concordance with the plastic changes observed in
professional musicians (Norton, 2009). There were structural differences in various
frontal areas of the brain, but these differences did not correlate with improvements in
behavioural performance (ibid., 2009).

There is also evidence that regular musical instruction during that period can alter brain
structure, but these changes are unlikely to be due to pre-existing differences in
morphology (ibid., 2009). However, the authors stated that 14 months is not enough for
statistically significant growth in white and gray matter volumes (Schlaug et al., 2005),
and the differences observed may be influenced by parents’ higher educational level –
in terms of attainment (Hyde et al., 2009).

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2.3 Motivation
In regards to children’s school achievement, it is worth mentioning that motivation is a
significant characteristic when considering the learning process itself. Harlen (2006)
states:

“developing motivation for learning is seen as an important outcome of education in the twenty-
first century and it is essential to be aware of what aspects of teaching and learning practice act
to promote or inhibit it”

The authors Grant & Shin (2012) described motivation as the conditions and processes
responsible for arousing, directing, increasing and maintaining the effort, while Stiggins
(2001) made a link between motivation and learning, identifying motivation as the
'engine' of learning. Thus, considering the relation between these two elements, the
motivation theory of Abraham Maslow (1943) is used in the current paper to highlight
the influence of music education on children’s motivation. This psychological theory
contains a hierarchy of needs displayed by Maslow through a pyramid (Figure 1) which
includes five levels of human needs, in the following order: physiological (food and
clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-
actualisation. Several authors subsume in their research some of the deficiency needs
and growth needs, such as belonging, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic and self-actualisation.
The present paper correlates these needs to music education, exploring the findings
related to these elements, as well as highlighting the process of improving motivation’s
needs through musical training.

Figure 2: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Source: https://patimes.org/public-service-motivation-applying-maslows-hierarchy-understand-
employee-motivation-engagement/

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In this regard, Woody (2020) considers that one of the significant benefits of music
education is represented by its power of instilling virtue and motivation in children.
Several studies of music psychology stated that musical training has the ability to
improve intrinsic motivation among children through characteristics such as creativity,
expression, physical activity or social connection (ibid. 2020).

By linking social connection with Maslow’s pyramid of motivation, it is noticeable that

this element is comprised in the psychological needs of an individual (belongingness).
Thus, one of the three components highlighted by theories of motivation is interpersonal
relatedness (Vansteenkiste, Ryan & Soenens, 2020). Several authors found that music
participation is used by people of all ages to make new acquaintances and spend time
with people who share the same interests (Creech et al., 2013; Hewitt & Allan, 2013;
Parker, 2016). The social advantages occur not only in the immediate vicinity of the
music activity, but also during the collaborative processes of conception, rehearsal, and
performance (Biasutti, 2018; Woody & McPherson, 2010). According to the
researchers, the influence of peers can be an important factor in motivating young
people to learn, sustaining their participation throughout the educational process
(Cantero & Jauset, 2017; Evans, McPherson, & Davidson, 2013).

An earlier research displayed a deeper analysis of the intrinsic motivation, focusing on

the relationship between children’s achievement goals and their achievement behaviour

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(Meece et al., 2006). According to Ames (1992), performance goals, such as ego-
centred goals and mastery goals (task-focused) are correlated with performance and task
choice. The author stated that when children have ego-involved or performance goals,
they strive to outperform others and are more likely to engage in tasks they know they
can do. Children who are mastery-oriented tend to choose challenging tasks, focusing
more on their progress, than on exceeding others (ibid., 1992). 

Researchers studying motivation found that students' beliefs about their abilities to
accomplish tasks are crucial motivational mediators of achievement behaviour
(Domenech-Betoret, Abellan-Rosello, Gomez-Artiga, 2017). Moreover, children's
ability beliefs express how they rate their abilities in different subjects. There is
evidence that children's and adolescents' ability beliefs occur in conjunction with
performance, predicting their progress in academic fields, for instance in math and
reading, even when previous performance is controlled (Meyer et al., 2020). According
to the previously mentioned authors, individuals’ expectations of success are associated
with their ability beliefs. In this context, the term “expectations” refers to the way
children expect to perform on an upcoming task, rather than how good they believe they
are at the task in general (Stipek & Tannatt, 1984). Moreover, the authors argued that
these beliefs also have an impact on the child's performance, in regard to different tasks.
For instance, if children believe they can accomplish a task, they are more likely to
achieve it, which reinforces the intrinsic motivation.    

Seddon & Biasutti (2009) strengthened Stipek’s finding, by claiming that one of the
factors which influences a child’s belief and implicit their intrinsic motivation is
represented by a learning environment which encourages experimentation, as stated
below:

“Many young musicians are encouraged to ‘encounter music’ and experience the emotional
pleasures of musical invention if they are given a learning environment that encourages
experimentation” (Seddon & Biasutti, 2009, p. 199)

Researchers claim that one of the main elements that musical training can offer to
children is composition, which may be immediately accessible and interesting to
primary music students because of the new challenges of increasing complexity,

10
keeping them motivated and engaged (Richmond, McLachlan, Ainley & Osborne,
2016). Experimentation is also an essential part of composers’ intuitive thinking
(Pohjannoro, 2016). According to previous literature, beyond the motivational benefits
of creating new music, possessing an experimental mindset may reflect in other school
areas, thus being beneficial to children’s learning progress. (Hatfield, 2015; Biasutti,
2015). Moreover, the process of introducing improvisation during musical practise since
early childhood seems to be connected to future attainment of the highest level of
performance (Moore et al., 2003).

2.4 Multiple intelligences

Musical training involves multiple intelligence elements which are interconnected.

Therefore, several studies explored the relation between the types of intelligence used in
playing an instrument, such as musical intelligence, spatial intelligence, mathematical
intelligence and kinaesthetic intelligence (Liu, 2010).

In this regard, the theory of multiple intelligences was introduced by Howard Gardner
in his book called “Frames of Mind” (1983). He stated that an individual’s intellectual
intelligence or IQ does not characterise everything about their potential. Therefore,
Gardner theorised the existence of eight distinct intelligences, even suggesting the
presence of the ninth, so-called existential intelligence (Gardner, 1999). In his opinion,
each individual is represented through a unique amalgam of skills and talents, and
memory and logic are not the only elements that define them (Brualdi et al., 1996).
Furthermore, the authors stated that children can only have an excellent musical ear, but
they can also have talents that are inclined towards story-telling, space-orientation, and
empathy to the emotions of other individuals. According to their research, the way these
multiple intelligences are combined is what differentiates individuals, determining how
people solve problems and evolve later (ibid. 1996).

Several years later, Sandberg et al. (2013) investigated the impact of mixing music and
physical activity in the education of Year 1 students, linking musical education to
experimentation, thus reinforcing the kinaesthetic intelligence applied in musical
training. The findings displayed increased attention and engagement among children, as
well as a better classroom environment. Freer (2007) reported the recommendation of
many to incorporate physical movement into the lessons in a review of research on
choral music participation. The author suggested that fewer adolescents would drop out

11
of school choir if the lessons would be created in order to meet their need for physical
activity. According to the research, humans are predisposed to move in response to
music, and incorporating physical movement into learning experiences makes learning
more enjoyable for music students, while also facilitating the development of musical
knowledge and abilities (Abril, 2011). Furthermore, Hallam & MacDonald (2013) states
that even adults who participate in community music groups benefit from their active
involvement in a variety of ways.

Liu (2010) applies Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences in a study who aims to
identify the types of intelligence used in musical training with an emphasis on piano
classes, and to describe the way they are explored. Thus, five types of intelligence were
mainly used when playing piano, as stated: musical-aural intelligence, linguistic-verbal
intelligence, spatial-visual intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence and
kinaesthetic-bodily intelligence (ibid. 2010).

Considering kinaesthetic intelligence, it is worth mentioning Liu’s findings in which he

explores the physical execution of playing an instrument, focusing on piano. The author
states that the physical act of playing this instrument is best described as synchronised
movements of fingers, hands, wrists, arms, and shoulders, which necessitates good
coordination (ibid., 2010). Hence this, playing piano develops children’s kinaesthetic
abilities, while involving and improving the other types of intelligence (ibid., 2010).

Based on the same theory, M. J. Singer (2008) describes the musical intelligence as

“the ability to appreciate and use rhythm, pitch and timbre and to compose tunes”.

Sirb (2017) sustains Singer’s idea, claiming that musical intelligence involves the
capacity to recognise sounds, rhythms, melodies, patterns which are sensitive to tones,
and musical sound qualities such as intensity, duration, pitch and timbre. This
intelligence is also described as the ability to create and reproduce music using musical
instruments or voice (ibid., 2017).

A similar concept is found by Armstrong (2009) who agrees with the previous authors.
He also creates a link between musical intelligence and emotions, stating that this type
of intelligence involves active listening, increased sensitivity to ambient sounds,

12
requiring a strong connection between music and the ability to respond emotionally to
it, consequently involving the emotional intelligence. This connection is proven when a
person discovers the melody in the birds’ sounds, in the appealing rhythm of the noises
of a city, but especially in the vocal singing or playing a musical instrument (ibid.,
2009).

Both directions can be improved and complemented by each other with complementary
effect, but also by other types of intelligence, leading to greater efficiency in the
activities undertaken by children (ibid., 2009). Thus, if the musical intelligence is at a
high level, the verbal intelligence can be improved by reading the words aloud for a
good listening to their sonority, as well as rhythmicising the expressions or words that
need to be memorised (ibid., 2009).

2.5 Creativity
The concept of musical intelligence is closely linked to creativity, and according to
Running (2008), the facets of creativity has been explored in many ways, such as
historically, philosophically, quantitatively and qualitatively. In an earlier research,
Franken (1994) stated the following:

“Creativity is the tendency to generate or recognise ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may
be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and
others”

Another significant author claimed that art itself is a field of creativity and music uses
material applicable both to the development of musical creativity and to the
development of creativity at other levels (Sandor, 2012). From a musical point of view,
creativity can be viewed in many ways, including compositional creativity and
interpretive creativity (ibid., 2012).

Similarly, Lindblom (2018) analysed the relation between these elements, suggesting
that music education promotes the development of children’s creativity by increasing
their musical understanding and abilities. For instance, improvisation has an important
role in musical training, representing a good exercise of experimentation and
imagination, by associating new and mainly different musical ideas (ibid., 2018).

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Beghetto & Kaufman (2007) underline similar ideas in their earlier research by
exploring the ‘little-c’ creativity concept, which considers the previous mentioned
aspects being effective not only for children’s musical creativity but for creativity in
general, thus reflecting on the school progress in particular subjects.

The ‘little-c’ idea of creativity emphasises everyday activities, including those creative
activities that non-experts may engage in every day. These areas of research are
designed to demonstrate how creative potential is widely distributed (Kaufman & Baer,
2006), by examining how people perceive creativity. Considering that, layperson
theories tend to de-emphasise analytical abilities, which are typically associated with IQ
tests, instead foregrounding imagination, unconventional, liberty and curiosity
(Sternberg, 1985). There is also a ‘Big-C’ creativity concept, which is characterised by
the creative contributions that are distinguished by their clarity and eminence (Beghetto
& Kaufman, 2007). Thus, significant creators who might be studied as examples include
eminent classical and opera composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven or W.A. Mozart,
whose work have endured throughout history (ibid., 2013).  

‘Little-c’ theory is applicable to children, whose creativity develops through flexibility,

fluency, and originality, representing an indicator of their interdisciplinary nature
(Beghetto & Kaufman, 2007). In a school setting, children engage in creative and active
learning through innovative teaching and effective strategies that enable them to ask
questions, be self-reflective, be flexible, and direct their own learning (ibid., 2007).
Thus, these types of activities enhance their ability to explore and see things from
different perspectives. In this regard, music classes represent the perfect environment
that fosters creative thinking (Lindblom, 2018).

According to previous studies, music creativity research, through its own very nature,
has been closely linked to general creativity research, which has largely been influenced
by general creativity theories. However, early researchers such as Kratus (1995) and
Webster (2003) thought that despite the fact that studies of musical creativity have
evolved significantly since they began in the 1970s, there still remains a need for more
research and analysis.

It was argued that early years’ initiatives that produce creative learning for children lay
the groundwork for creative thinking, contributing in the later development of creative
cognition (Stables, 1998). The importance of creativity is also highlighted by Robinson

14
& Azzam (2009) in an interview, asserting that creativity is the critical 21st century
ability, and that creative achievements are important because of the tremendous ideas,
discoveries, and discipline they have provided to society (Azzam, 2009). This statement
leads back to the benefits brought by musical training to creativity development and the
opportunities that children have to discover cultures, history and new notions through
music.

2.6 Learning and music

A paper by Holmes & Hallam (2017) reinforces points made in a previous article about
the influence of musical activities on intellectual performance, spatial–temporal
reasoning and other skills advantageous for learning. The authors used a quasi-
experimental methodology in which groups of children aged 4 to 7 took part in a music
programme that included a range of musical and rhythmical exercises. Control groups
were made up of parallel classes.

The project’s findings backed up the premise that music training influences the
development of spatial–temporal abilities. Moreover, there was a statistically significant
higher progression in most of the intervention groups compared to the control groups
throughout all assessment periods. Although the achievement in general mathematics
did not usually differ between the intervention and control groups, the analyses revealed
a continuous and statistically significant improvement in learning mathematics among
the program's youngest participants.

Another relevant literature of Xie & Leung (2011) claims that young individuals who
choose to study music at school are more likely to feel that learning is essential in
general. It is considered that when music meets a student’s psychological requirements,
they are more inclined to value this subject at school (Freer & Evans, 2018). However,
according to some authors, music appreciation can wane after primary school, but those
who keep it throughout secondary school are encouraged to excel in their music studies
because it has become personally important to them (McPherson et al., 2015).

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2.7 Gaps in the literature
Considering the literature, it is fair to be mentioned that most of the authors of the
present paper cover similar topics and share complementary opinions, with a few
exceptions. Thus, the literature uses concepts and theories related to music education,
children development and cognition, such as creativity, multiple intelligences and
motivation. It also aims to highlight the positive effects of music education among
children in primary school, which reflects on other skills, by exploring the way children
could use transferable musical skills in other areas or subjects.

However, even though the literature focuses on the implication of musical education in
children’s development, further areas should be explored more. There are evident gaps
within the research, and aspects such as ethnicity, gender and culture could be analysed
in depth, in order to establish the link between them and to explore how these aspects
could influence children’s development in terms of music education and academic
achievement.

A connection between verbal activity and musical training has been observed in the
literature review. Starting from this point, a further discussion will be developed in the
main body of the paper by analysing the ethnicity effect on children’s musical
perception and progress, with an emphasis on the languages that they speak. Due to the
fact that the language-to-music transfer effect was less studied than the other direction
(music-to-language), a correlation between these elements needs to be analysed. Thus,
OPERA theory (Patel, 2012) will be used in order to describe the transfer effects from
music to language, referring to the following theory elements: overlap, precision,
emotion, repetition, and attention (Samuel, 2018).

Gender represents another less explored domain in the literature within the context of
music education among children. In the further discussion, gender role will be analysed
in depth, using theories and concepts related to the main topic of the paper. Aspects
such as the preferences of boys and girls for playing particular instruments and the
differences between them in terms of musical engagement will be highlighted.
Moreover, the paper will approach issues such as MPA (music performance anxiety) by
analysing the way it affects young musicians, as well as how they overcome the stress
and what differences were found between males and females. The multidimensional

16
anxiety theory will be discussed and the key authors focusing on these elements are
Trollinger (2021), Hallam (2008), Kim (2021), Dempsey & Comeau (2019).

The element of culture will be also mentioned, by exploring the cultural experience with
music across genders and its variations’ influence within society, referring to
traditionalism, secularism and the multidimensional functions of music: personal, social
and cultural (Boer et al., 2012).

17
 Chapter 3

Literature Matrix

The following literature matrix has been designed to offer an overview of the literature
reviewed in the current paper, in order to signpost the reader to the sources of the
literature and the main themes and theories which they relate to, by highlighting the
most significant topics discussed in the work.

Author Year J/B/W Children’s Musical Multiple Creativity in

cognitive training in Intelligences music
development relation to education
motivation
and school
achievement
Hallam 2010 J Musical Musical/Aural
activities Intelligence
stimulate the
intellectual
performance
Ho, Chan & 2003 J Verbal memory
Cheung enhancement

Fujioka et al. 2006 J Children’s

reactivity to
musical stimuli
Hyde et al. 2009 J Deformation-
based
morphometry
analysis
Moreno & 2014 J Sensory
Bidelman modalities
(auditory, visual
and tactile)
Schlaug et al. 2005 J Reading musical Kinaesthetic
notation, Intelligence:
memorisation fine motor
and skills involved
improvisation when playing
a musical
instrument

18
 LaPlume & 2018 J Coordinating
Wiseheart multimodal
demands will
lead to standard
performance and
goal-directed
cognitive
processes
Caballero et 2022 J Music requires
al. high levels of
cognitive
abilities
Loehr, Large, 2011 J Playing a
& Palmer musical
instrument
involves
attention to
timing and rate
change
Hincu 2016 J Music education
in relation to
memory and
reasoning
development
Harlen 2006 J Motivation for
learning - an
important
outcome of
education in the
twenty-first
century
Grant & Shin 2012 Defining
motivation
Maslow 1943 B Psychological
theory –
Hierarchy of
Needs
Woody 2020 J Music
education has
the power to
motivate
children in
learning
Vansteenkiste, 2020 J Interpersonal
Ryan & relatedness in
Soenens relation to
motivation
Parker 2016 J Music Creative
participation, activities
social forming social

19
 connection and connection
school
achievement
Meece et al. 2006 J Intrinsic
motivation in
relation to
children’s
achievement
goal and
achievement
behaviour
Domenech- 2017 J Students'
Betoret et al. beliefs are
crucial
motivational
mediators of
achievement
behaviour
Seddon & 2009 J The learning Encouraging
Biassuti environment experimentation
influences through music
children’s
intrinsic
motivation
Liu 2010 J Musical
training
involves
multiple
intelligence’s
elements,
which are
interconnected
Gardner 1983 B The existence
of eight
distinct
intelligences
Sandberg et 2013 J Mixing music
al. with physical
activity
Sirb 2017 J Musical Creating and
intelligence – reproducing
the capacity to music using
recognise musical
sounds, instruments and
rhythms, voice
melodies, and
musical sound
qualities
(intensity,
duration,

20
 pitch, timbre)
Armstrong 2009 J Creating music Musical
involves active intelligence
listening and linked to
other cognitive emotional
functions intelligence
Running 2008 J Defining the
concept of
creativity
Sandor 2012 J Music uses
material
applicable both
to the
development of
musical
creativity and to
the
development of
creativity at
other levels
Lindblom 2018 J Music
education
promotes the
development of
children’s
creativity by
increasing their
musical
understanding
and abilities,
through
elements such
as
improvisation
Beghetto & 2007 J Children engage Little c
Kaufman in creative and creativity, Big
active learning C creativity;
through
innovative
teaching and
effective
strategies that
enable them to
ask questions, be
self-reflective, be
flexible, and
direct their own
learning
Webster 2003 J The studies’
evolution on

21
 musical
creativity
. Freer & 2018 J Music and
Evans student's
psychological
requirements;
motivation to
value it at
school

22
 Chapter 4

Methodology

This chapter will describe the research methods used within the project in order to
collect data. A critical evaluation of the sources and technique used through secondary
research will be made, in terms to establish the process and to show that a thorough
investigation into the topic has been made.

Through a brief definition, Polit and Beck (2004) describe the methodology as the
process of obtaining, systematising and analysing data. A methodology is the entire
structure of the research study. It includes the size and sample methods, the practices
and techniques involved in collecting data, as well as the process of analysing the data
(Bowling, 2002). According to Creswell (2003), it represents a mix of methods that
harmonise and work together in order to produce information and findings that support
the research question and are in line with the researcher's purpose. 

4.1 Choice of research design

Research is defined as a systematic process for discovering new knowledge and for
advancing human understanding (Gratton & Jones, 2010). The purpose of the research
design is to provide an appropriate framework for any study. It is considered that during
the research design process, the choice to be made regarding the research approach is
crucial, because it determines how relevant information will be obtained for the study
(Sileyew, 2020). In this regard, the current research design was outlined through a
deductive approach by starting from a well-established theoretical framework, including
theories related to cognitive development, creativity, motivation and intelligences,
which were applied to children development and music education.

In order to successfully complete this project, secondary research was chosen as the
most suitable method, because there is a considerable amount of relevant literature
available on the topic, which was thoroughly researched. Several authors’ opinions and
findings will be reviewed and analysed, in order to clarify the relation between ethnicity
and gender regarding music education and children’s development, as well as the
cultural influence in this area of study.

23
Research that is conducted through secondary methods is described as an investigation
in which the researcher relies exclusively on existing data for the purposes of the
investigation (Curwin & Slater, 2007). A secondary research project also known as desk
research involves synthesising existing data and sources from the internet, textbooks,
peer-reviewed journals, libraries and government archives. This research design
involves organising, collecting, and analysing these data samples to derive valid
conclusions. According to the previously mentioned authors, secondary researchers look
for patterns that have already emerged in previous studies and apply this information to
the current research context (ibid., 2007). Thus, journal articles and academic papers
will be used as the main secondary sources in this project. 

The present paper displays qualitative data which will be explored through a mix of
methods. According to Walters (2009), qualitative research involves the gathering and
interpretation of subjective data that is often influenced by the social, cultural, and
political conditions that are prevalent at the time of the collection. In reanalysing or
reinterpreting such data during another period, social, cultural, and political changes
may cause investigators to explore research questions or use analytical strategies that
are inappropriate or may lead to misinterpretation of the original data. In this regard, the
literature was chosen in order to maintain the relevancy of the study, including articles
from such periods as 2017, 2018, 2020 or 2021. 

A more recent definition of qualitative data states that this type of research implies
multiple methods and has an interpretative, naturalistic focus. As part of qualitative
research, a variety of materials are examined and collected, such as case studies,
personal experience, interviews, observational, historical, interactional, and visual texts
- that describe problematic moments and meanings in individuals’ lives (Aspers &
Corte, 2019). Qualitative researchers investigate phenomena in the context of their
natural environments, trying to understand or interpret them in terms of the meaning
that people attach to them (ibid., 2019). 

4.2 Construction of method

Constructing a secondary research involves reviewing and referring to the literature in
an analytic manner, evaluating it through comparison to other studies on similar topics,
sharing concepts and ideas that have to be analysed through a critical perspective
(Rudestam & Newton, 2001). How the author chooses the literature is a crucial step and
24
a structured method will be developed, in order to achieve the main objectives of the
literature in a coherent process (Saunders et al., 2012). The present project will display
external data sources related to the main topic, which are applicable to secondary
research. According to Krasikov et al.,

"External data refers to any type of data that has been captured, processed, and provided from
outside the company."

(Krasikov et al., 2020)

The systematic review will be used in the current paper as the main method for
secondary research. A systematic review is best described as a method of examining the
existing literature and studies on a topic using systematic methods, and synthesising the
findings of the available studies (Fitchburg State University, 2020). Through the
selection of the literature, an assessment schematic was developed in order to compare
and assess the studies’ validity and reliability. The following questions were used
during research:

Assessment Scheme

1. What is the major problem that is The first area evaluated is related to the key
investigated? issues, indentifying the concept of the author’s
work in order to compare similar studies and
findings.
2. What is the authors’ purpose of the Comparing the aims and objectives of the
study? authors in relation to the researcher’s aims and
purpose of the study, by evaluating the
similarities.
3. What methods of collecting data is the Qualitative and quantitative data collection
author using? methods will be evaluated, in order to establish
their applicability to the researcher’s project.
4. What claims is the author making? The next area that will be evaluated is
represented by the authors’ claims and their

25
 arguments. These have to be constructed in a
convincing manner, according to the theories
and concepts applied in the work, in order to
have relevance.
5. Does the study include theories Another important area of evaluation is
related to the topic? represented by the key theories used by the
authors. They must be analysed so as to
evaluate their relevance on the topic and
applicability.
6. How many references were used? The references used by the authors should also
be evaluated, as an extended list of references
will display a thorough and objective research,
which could be considered to be reliable.
7. Is the source of the study included in The provenance of the articles is another point
an academic journal? of evaluation, the academic sources being the
most reliable and suitable for the research
process.
8. Are there contradictory findings and The findings and conclusions will be evaluated
conclusions in the studies? at the end, by checking if the authors have
followed a logical path, giving consistent
conclusions meant to achieve the initial aims
and objectives.
Table 1: Assessment Schematic

4.3 Sample
Research samples are defined as smaller sets of data selected from a larger population
by a researcher, based on a predefined methodology. This process is performed in order
for the data to be examined and to obtain an answer to the research question (Vartanian,
2010). Researchers commonly refer to these data elements as samples, units, or
observation points.

26
For the current secondary research, the samples will include research materials such as
academic journals, articles, books and government documents, containing information
about music education in relation to children development, as well as the gender,
ethnical and cultural influence on children’s musical skills. Some of the most significant
literature that will be further used in this research is represented by the following
authors: Iverson (2011), Green (2011), Pineda (2017) being particularly relevant to
ethnicity, Trollinger (2021), Dempsey & Comeau (2019), Green (2002), Walker (2004)
focusing on gender in particular, and Boer et al. (2012) referring to culture.

The sample size will be determined after the process of inclusion/exclusion criteria will
be applied to the literature. This includes an analysis of the information obtained
through a checklist, containing factors such as relevance, suitability, validity, years of
publication and number of references. By analysing the data against the assessment
schematic, the reliable literature will be extracted. The resources chosen in the project
were analysed in depth and have been selected for their valuable content, while other
papers have been dismissed due to being poorly referenced and due to the lack of
specific aspects and dissimilarities in terms of theories and concepts. The following
table will describe the process of inclusion and exclusion during the secondary research
process:

Issue Reason for Inclusion Reason for Exclusion

Year Published The researcher has been Articles older than 10

looking for articles and
Journals
books dated within the past
Websites 10 years, however if valid
points were found before
this period of time, they
Books have been included in the
project.
years are avoided, unless
those articles contain
information that is still
valid and relevant, such
as well-grounded theories
that remained valuable in
time.

The articles or books If the articles or books do

contain at least two of the not contain information
Relevance
following topics: Music regarding the topics

27
 Education/Training, previously mentioned,
Children Development, they are not included in
Creativity, Gender, the project.
Ethnicity and Culture.

The sources need to contain The lack of references

a significant amount of
References
relevant references, which
will display that the
information has been
thoroughly investigated,
thus is reliable.
represents an issue for the
investigation, thus the
authors who do not use
any or enough references
are discarded.

The authors have to discuss Authors who are

their findings from a fair subjective in their
Discussion of findings
perspective, giving both findings are considered
positive and negative biased, so they will not be
results in their work, in included in the study.
order to be considered
valuable and to be included
in the project.

Considering that the The authors that analyse a

current paper focuses on
Population
children of primary school
age, only sources that refer
to this certain population
are included in the paper.
different age group than
primary school children
are excluded from the
research.

Table 2: Literature Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

In order to have an in-depth comprehension of the topic of the study, the researcher uses
the triangulation method as a sampling strategy, which provides more accurate ideas

28
and structure for the current research, facilitating the identification of gaps on the
research topic literature.

In a brief definition of the triangulation method, Heale & Forbes (2013) states the
following:

“Triangulation in research is the use of more than one approach to researching a question. The
objective is to increase confidence in the findings through the confirmation of a proposition
using two or more independent measures.”

Considering this, using the triangulation method (Figure 3) will be useful to explain the
research questions and to have a better understanding of the issues:

The ethnical influence on children’s

school achievement in relation to music education

(Ethnicity)

Research
Questions

The cultural effect on

Factors that differentiate the
children’s music
boys and the girls in terms of perception (Culture)
musical skills (Gender)

Figure 3: Triangulation Method

29
4.4 Chapter Summary
This section of the research project has evaluated the main sources of information that
have been used in the current paper. Furthermore, the chapter justified the choice of the
present research design and it explained its construction and the sample technique
applied, according to an assessment of the data. The following chapter will explore the
main issues found and it will evaluate aspects related to music education and gender,
ethnicity and cultural influences among children.

30
 Chapter 5

Analysis and Evaluation of Findings

At this stage of the research project, all data has been gathered through well-established
techniques which were described and evaluated in the methodology. The literature on
the main topic has been reviewed and critically examined, and the present chapter will
have the role of analysing the findings in depth, giving a critical perspective on the gaps
that have been found, in order to answer the research questions. It will also focus on the
detailed and structured evaluation of findings related to the theoretical framework, this
process leading to the final conclusions and recommendations.

The base of the current chapter will focus on the core theories and models applied to
music education among children of primary school. This will be linked to the gaps
found in the literature review, namely ethnicity, gender and cultural influences on
musical skills, performance and school achievement. These elements will be related to
the Objectives 1 and 2, by exploring the relation between musical training and school
performance and comparing the academic results of children who practice a musical
instrument to those who are not involved in music.

5.1 Ethnicity effect on musical perception and education

One of the most significant findings from the literature reviewed was that articles
focusing on the cognitive learning theory revealed a connection between verbal activity
and musical training among children. According to the findings, music education could
improve the verbal activity and memory. The transferable effect from music to language
and vice versa will be analysed from an ethnical point of view, in order to establish the
differences of musical perception between certain ethnical groups of children, with an
emphasis on the languages that they speak.

According to Henthorn & Deutsch (2007), one of the musical skills that appear to be
very rare among Caucasian children, but appears to be a common phenomenon among
Asian children is the acquisition of absolute pitch (AP). The AP is described as the
ability to identify or produce any musical note in the absence of a reference one. Szeto

31
(2017) supports this statement, by characterising this trait as the “Perfect Pitch”,
claiming that

“AP possessors are able to identify pitch in any kinds of sound without a reference point”

(Szeto, 2017)

The authors argued that ethnicity represents a predisposing factor in the acquisition of
this trait. However, on a later reanalysis it was claimed that the conclusions concerning
ethnicity were unwarranted, but there might be a link between the environment of
certain countries and the predisposition to acquire AP. In East Asia, the prevalence of
AP in early childhood is significantly higher than in North America, regardless of
whether the cohort consisted of Asian children or Caucasian. This pattern of results
strongly suggests that some environmental factors are responsible for the differences in
prevalence of AP found in the researchers’ survey.  

According to the study, the East Asian children living their early childhood in East Asia
had considerably higher rates of AP than did Caucasians living their childhood on the
North American continent. Moreover, this difference was also significant for each of the
East Asian subgroups separately: Asian Chinese, Asian Japanese and Asian Koreans.

The following figure illustrates the data of prevalence of AP by ethnicity and region of
early childhood:

Figure 4: Prevalence of AP by Ethnicity and Region of Childhood

Source: Henthorn & Deutsch (2007)

32
The study revealed that the East Asian children living their early childhood in East Asia
had a higher prevalence of AP than those who live their childhood in North America.
Consequently, the researchers questioned the results, aiming to discover why East
Asians exposed to East Asian early childhood showed a higher prevalence of AP than
did other groups. However, despite the possibility that the type of early music education
they received might influence possession of AP, the authors show that in comparing
respondents with early musical education of the ‘fixed do’ type rather than ‘moveable
do’ type (the factor most likely to influence possession of AP), their pattern of results
cannot be explained this way.   

In this regard, the authors explored the relation between the exposure to a tone language
since infancy and the acquirement of AP, highlighting that a bond between these
elements might be possible. They argued that tone languages, such as Mandarin and
Cantonese, can predispose the individual to AP. Yip (2002) states that the meaning of
words differs according to the pitch in which they are pronounced in tone languages.
Additionally, a pitch accent plays an important role in the structure of certain dialects of
the Korean language (ibid., 2002). Thus, exposure to these languages during infancy
could also influence the children's development of AP.

Another significant findings related to the effects of musicianship on language are

displayed by Choi (2021) using Patel’s OPERA theory during the research process.
OPERA hypothesis suggests that long-term exposure to music increases neuronal
sensitivity to language-specific features, including tones (Patel, 2011). Thus, the
hypothesis clearly distinguished between perception characteristics, such as tones and
musical pitch and, acoustic characteristics, referring to elements such as periodicity.

As stated by Patel (2011), music-to-language transfer occurs only when the following
theory elements are met: overlap, precision, emotion, repetition and attention. In regards
to ‘overlap’, whereas various perceptual properties such as musical pitch and tones are
processed differently at the cortex level, their acoustic component (i.e., periodicity)
recruits overlapping sub-cortical networks. According to the finding, music necessitates
more complex processing than speech for ‘precision’. In terms of ‘emotion’, musical
activities must evoke positive emotions. The ‘repetition’ refers to the fact that musical
acts must be repeated frequently in order to reach a positive transfer to language. It also
implies a focused ‘attention’. Furthermore, when the parameters listed above are met,

33
musical experience improves neuronal precision in the sub-cortical area shared by
music and language. Improved sub-cortical processing of the acoustic property will aid
in the processing of the linguistic perceptual attribute (Choi, 2021).

Delogu et al. (2010) analysed the tonal differences, their results displaying that these
elements were identified more accurately by musicians when compared to non-
musicians. These findings were displayed in a study that used monosyllabic Mandarin
word sequences with tonal segmental violations. During the research, the word
sequences were presented to Italian musician participants, Italian non-musicians and
Italian Mandarin learners. The results suggested that the music-to-language transfer was
limited to tones.

In a more recent study related to tone languages, English listeners were been exposed to
hearing of Mandarin sentences, half of which featured a syllable with a deviant tone.
During the analysis, the F0 level of the syllable was increased by 10% - F0 refers to the
utterance-level intonation (Zheng & Samuel, 2018). When compared to non-musicians
in England, English musicians were better at detecting tonal variations. Thus, this
demonstrated that music-to-language transfer was not confined to single words.

These findings support the OPERA theory hypotheses, highlighting the fact that music
plays a key role in the strengthening of the neural network used for language and music
perception, and the enhancement of sub-cortical plasticity for tone perception (Patel,
2014).  

In regards to language-to-music transfer, the results displayed that musicianship could

have a significant contribution to this process. A number of studies have shown that
experience with tone language enhances musical pitch perception (Zhang et al., 2020).

An intriguing finding of a previous study was that language-to-music transfer occurred

only among non-musicians. According to the researchers, when possessing relevant
musical experience, the Cantonese language was no longer useful for the perception of
musical pitch. These results are similar to those from two previous studies in which
music and language were investigated in the opposite direction (Maggu et al., 2018).
Cooper & Wang (2012) reinforced the relation between music and language, claiming
that musical ability and language experience have a significant interaction effect.
However, although the authors considered that these elements are interconnected, they

34
argued that tone language experience and musicianship did not contribute to tone word
learning. Considering this, English listeners were found to have an advantage due to
being musicians, as opposed to Thai and Mandarin listeners.

In relation to ethnicity, Cox & Kilshaw (2021) explored another direction of this
concept, by creating a study for the Arts Council England, in which they analysed the
ethnical diversity of younger learners accessing instrumental learning opportunities.
According to the findings, in the elite training opportunities for young people, there is
still a substantial proportion of learners from Black, Asian, and ethnically diverse
backgrounds. Nevertheless, certain ethnic groups are underrepresented in these training
opportunities, such as the Black or Black British musicians who are underrepresented at
each stage. Thus, the overall intake of trainees becomes less diverse as the training stage
progresses. Furthermore, the study displayed that some instruments are played and
learned by a more ethnically diverse group than others, and there is some evidence that
socio-cultural perceptions of instruments could influence the choice of certain musical
instruments. 

In terms of specific ethnicity, while Black or Black British learners are able to access
whole class instrumental instruction and learning through projects like ‘In Harmony’,
they are underrepresented in elite training opportunities such as the National Children’s
Orchestra (NCO) and National Youth Orchestra (NYO) as they are in conservatoire
training. ‘In Harmony’ represents a national programme that aims to inspire and
transform the lives of children in deprived communities using the power and disciplines
of ensemble music-making (Arts Council England, 2016), thus representing a good
opportunity to engage in music performance and to have access to this sort of education.

The findings on ethnicity and ensemble participation displayed that in the NCO,
musicians from Asian or Asian British backgrounds are well represented, especially
Chinese-born young musicians, but are less so in NYO and amongst conservatory
acceptances (Cox & Kilshaw, 2021). Furthermore, it appears that mixed-race musicians
are also prominent among NCO members and NYO activities. This result suggests that
the Asian communities might have more cultural oriented musical interests.

There is also a finding suggesting musical instruments choices in terms of ethnicity.

String instruments, particularly the violin, and wind instruments, to a lesser extent, have
a more ethnically diversified group of players than other instruments (ibid., 2021).

35
According to research on Asian and Asian American musicians, socio-cultural value
systems influence instrument choice. For instance, instruments like piano, violin, and
cello are often seen as more highbrow instruments, owing to the wider amount of
repertoire and the possibility of a solo career in music performance.

5.2 Gender influences in music education

In this area of research, there is a considerable amount of findings related to gender role
within the context of music education, and the differences between males and females in
terms of musical engagement and preferences for particular musical instruments.
Trollinger (2021) reviewed some of the most valuable early studies on the issue of
sex/gender in music education.

The research findings about disparities in attitudes toward music education between
boys and girls arose curiosity in gender differences. The data of a study that analysed
children’s attitudes towards music education revealed that boys disliked the music
lessons, while girls enjoyed being engaged in music. Furthermore, the results revealed
that there were too few boys in choirs, this issue reflecting in poor part balancing and
literature limits. From the girls’ perspective, although having considerably better
attitudes toward music, they were less commonly rewarded for their achievements
(ibid., 2021). With the exception of prominent chairs in flute or strings, they were rarely
placed as ‘first’ chairs at instrumental festivals, even if they performed at a high level.

According to Herndon (1990), it is critical to distinguish between sex and gender. He

states that sex represents a biological construct, but gender is more of a cultural or
sociological construct. Thus, gender construction, whether cultural or sociological,
begins immediately after a child is born (ibid., 1990).

It has been demonstrated that when children are young, they divide themselves into
gender groups. Walker (2004) cited Archer (1992), who discovered that same gender
play preferences emerge as early as 2 years of age. According to the authors, these
phenomena occur across civilisations, but to differing degrees of intensity and duration
of segregation.

In addition, Bruce and Kemp (1993) discovered that identifying members of their own
sex is a characteristic of children's instrument preferences. This could be interpreted as
sex segregation. In this regard, other significant research of Hallam et al. (2008) noticed
36
that gender has an influence in musical instrument choice, some differences between
boys and girls being evident at an early stage. The author states that historically, males
and females preferred different musical instruments, with girls preferring smaller,
higher pitched instruments. The authors investigated whether these gender preferences
have persisted in the United Kingdom, despite nowadays the gender equality increased
consistently in the majority of aspects of life (ibid., 2008).

As part of a larger survey, data were collected from 150 Music Services in England.
Some students directly gave statistics on the sex of students playing each instrument. In
other cases, the names and instruments of the students were compared with data from
the national Common Basic Data Set, in order to determine gender. The study revealed
distinct trends for various instruments. Hence this, girls were dominant in harp, voice,
flute, clarinet, piccolo, oboe and violin, while boys were dominant in electric guitar,
bass guitar, drums, trombone and tuba. The results revealed that African drums, cornet,
French horn, saxophone, and tenor horn were the least gendered instruments. The
researchers claimed that with a few exceptions, the gendered pattern of learning
remained rather stable across education phases.

In regards to the children’s instrument choice, the findings sustained the idea that
parents appear to share these instrument gender prejudices and they have an influence
over the children’s decision regarding instrumental choice. According to the results of
the study, from a list of eight instruments, parents favoured violins, flutes and clarinets
for girls, while drums, trombones, and trumpets were chosen for boys.

The findings also displayed the relative numbers of pupils learning the following
instruments: violin, guitar, flute, clarinet, keyboard, drums, piano, trumpet and voice
training. Considering the results, the violin appeared to be the most widely played
instrument (19%), owing to its low cost and availability in a wide variety of sizes for
young children. The next largest group comprised of students who played guitar,
including acoustic, electric, bass, and other (16.3%), preceded by students who played
flute (10%) and clarinet (9% ). 7%  of children played the keyboard, 4.3% played the kit
drum, 4.5% played the piano, 4.6% played the trumpet, and 4% had vocal instruction.
(Hallam, 2008).

Overall, the girls learning to play instruments were in proportion of 60%. In pre-school,
this proportion was 51%, followed by a 6% increase, thus reaching 57% in Key Stage

37
1.  After that, it remained steady at 60% for the remainder of compulsory schooling.
The following statistics represent the list of the most gendered instruments (ibid., 2008):

 Harp - 90% girls
 Flute - 89% girls
 Clarinet - 73% girls
 Trombone - 71% boys
 Electric guitar - 81% boys
 Bass guitar - 81% boys
 Voice - 80% girls
 Fife/piccolo - 79% girls
 Oboe - 78% girls
 Tuba - 77% boys
 Kit drum - 75% boys
 Tabla (Indian hand drums) - 74% boys

African drums, saxophone, tenor horn, French horn, and cornet were the least gendered
musical instruments. With a few exceptions, the gendered pattern of playing remained
very stable across all major phases.

However, the recent findings of Kim (2021) displayed a decline regarding gender-
stereotyping of musical instruments in the current years. Although this, a similarity
between Hallam (2008) findings and the present author has been noticed, in terms of the
parental influence over children’s instrumental choice, which is still applicable to
present days.

According to Kim’s findings, 25.5% of male students play the flute and clarinet, which
are typically associated with girls. In contrast, 28.7% of female students play
instruments that are unusual for their gender, such as trumpet, trombone, saxophone and
drums. Overall, the results of the author’s survey highlighted a significant number of
crossed over children. The following statistics will display exactly the number of boys
and girls practicing 6 musical instruments (Kim, 2021):

 Flute – 43.9% girls; 10.9% boys

 Clarinet – 26.8% girls; 14.6% boys

38
  Saxophone – 17% boys; 9.1% girls
 Trumpet – 28% boys; 9.7 % girls
 Trombone – 15.8% boys; 6.3% girls
 Drums – 12.8% boys; 3.6% girls

A series of interviews from Kim’s study revealed that both direct and indirect parental
influences were noticed in the process of selecting a musical instrument for their child.
Similarities among the interviews were noticed and analysed. Thus, all participants
resulted to have a common history in regards to music education, either formal or
informal, and as Wiedenfeld (2012) stated, it appears that there is always a rationale
which is taking into consideration, when selecting a musical instrument.

Kim, citing Conway (2000) stated the following:

"Stereotypes arise as a result of society, parental influences, and the media."

(Conway, 2000)

As a result of the author’s study, three of the interviewed parents had gender-
stereotyping the musical instruments. The parents observed and admitted that a child’s
musical instrument choice is related to a specific gender, whether typical or atypical.
The researcher highlighted the differences between the three of the interviewees, stating
that their influences are evident in the process of selecting the musical instrument for a
child.

Considering the analysis, one of the participants of the interview explained that their
child is a girl who chose to play a percussion instrument, in order to be different from
her sister, who plays the flute (Kim, 2021). In regards to this, some authors discovered
that several of the students who broke gender stereotypes discussed their wish to be
distinct from the crowd, when analysing the common characteristics among children
who broke gender stereotypes (Conway, 2000).

Furthermore, another female child of one of the interviewees informed that she chose
the flute because she already had a strong interest in it, gained from her early music
class experiences, thus reinforcing the music history influence on decision making in

39
the process of selecting music instruments. When it comes to the male children, one of
the parents who participated to the Kim’s interviews directly suggested a piano for his
son (Kim, 2021).

However, at the end of the research, the author suggests that further investigations
should be taking into consideration when it comes to gender stereotyping of musical
instruments, claiming that it is difficult to indicate whether parental influence has a
crucial impact on children’s decisions and reasons of choosing cross-over instruments,
the author highlighting that selecting a musical instrument is defined as a wider process,
requiring complex procedures that include cultural background, social perceptions, or
ethnicity (ibid., 2021). A greater number of samples might be required, in order to
determine the factors and influences in musical instrumental selections from
more diverse perspectives.

Other important findings that are worth discussing are those of Dempsey & Comeau
(2019), in regards to music performance anxiety (MPA) influenced by gender and age.
Their study examined how gender moderates the relationships between MPA, age, and
self-efficacy among young musicians. It is important to be mentioned that the research
did not only include primary school children, but it also analysed children between ages
11-17.

According to the authors, musicians’ education starts at an early age, children being
exposed to public performances, which include auditions, recitals, exams, and festivals.
As a result of these demands, which often serve as a central part of music education,
numerous studies reported that young performers experience music performance anxiety
(Patston & Osborne, 2015). Despite the increase in the literature about MPA in children
and adolescents, some authors claimed that there is not too much information in regards
to the influence of age and gender affecting MPA in a sever manner (Dempsey &
Comeau, 2019).

The study of the previous mentioned authors highlighted the fact that a variety of
subjective, somatic, and behavioural symptoms of MPA can be observed in musicians
who experience this problem, including disruptions in concentration, memory issues,
worry, negative thoughts that might interfere while trying to focus on performance,
sweating, shaking, increased heartbeat, numbness, dry mouth, muscle tension, shortness
of breath or changes in breathing, and avoidance behaviour (Hallam et al. 2009).

40
Different symptoms can have varying degrees of influence on performance (Yoshie et
al., 2009), and one of the theories explaining the cognitive and somatic dimensions of
performance anxiety is the multidimensional anxiety theory.  

Martens et al., (1990) developed a multidimensional framework of anxiety that

addressed two dimensions of competitive sports anxiety, which could be applicable to
musicians. Cognitive and somatic anxieties are treated as two distinct and partly
independent components of competitive performance anxiety, according to the
previously mentioned framework. In a definition of cognitive anxiety, the authors
explained this phenomenon with the following terms:

“negative expectations and cognitive concerns about oneself, the situation at hand, and the
potential consequences”

(Martens et al., 1990, p. 120).

Furthermore, somatic anxiety was defined as 

“physiological and affective elements of the anxiety experience that develop directly from
autonomic arousal”

(Martens et al., 1990, p. 121). 

Thus, a person’s experience of somatic anxiety which is best described as the physical
manifestation of anxiety is based on how they perceive their physiological symptoms,
such as increased heart rate, arising from their autonomic nervous system’s fight or
flight response (ibid., 1990). The third factor presented in the model is self-confidence,
which refers to an individual's subjective perception of self-confidence. It is thought to
influence the levels and types of anxiety. The results of previous studies (Yoshie et al.,
2009) found that technical performance accuracy was negatively correlated with
cognitive anxiety, while somatic anxiety was not significant. Each study shows that
performance anxiety can take on multiple dimensions and supports the notion of
applying a multidimensional anxiety framework to MPA.  

According to the researchers, within the music literature MPA has been well
documented among adult and university-level musicians (Liu, 2016). The studies found
various internal and external factors that might contribute to MPA among professional
41
and university-level musicians. For instance, factors such as perfectionist tendencies or
self-efficacy, and evaluations or performance type external have a significant influence
when it comes to MPA among children and adults who experience music performance. 

Another study displayed that young musicians with high levels of MPA often struggle
with factors such as musical genre, trait anxiety, and perfectionism (Patston & Osborne,
2016).

Piaget (1970) found that MPA occurs very often in adolescent musicians, which
coincides with the period of development of formal operational thinking, as children
progress from the concrete operational phase, which is typically between 7-12 years old,
to the formal operational phase which is represented by adolescence to adulthood.
Increases in retrospection and self-evaluation occur throughout this stage of
development, and formal operational thinking frequently develops in areas of particular
interest to the adolescent (ibid., 1970).

Kenny (2000) stated that adolescents have the ability to imagine they know what other
people are thinking throughout this stage of development, thus over-thinking
representing an element that can contribute to worry. While the development of this
capacity helps to explain the MPA experienced by adolescent musicians, the absence of
formal operational thinking does not rule out the possibility of MPA in younger children
(ibid., 2000). According to the results of studies analysing performance anxiety, three
and four-year-old children displayed stress responses, higher cortisol secretions, and
anxiety behavioural signs on the performance day (Boucher, 2008). Other studies
supported these findings, displaying that children can experience MPA while being on
stage (Boucher & Ryan, 2011; Kenny & Osborne, 2006).

The results of studies analysing the gender effect on MPA in adolescents displayed that
females reported higher levels of performance anxiety (Nusseck et al., 2015; Sarbescu
& Dorgo, 2014). Leblanc et al. (1997) used a self-designed Personal Performance
Anxiety Report to assess music performance anxiety and discovered that females’
measurement score was significantly higher than males’ score, after the music
performances. They measured the physiological signs of anxiety using heart rate
monitors and discovered that gender was a major predictor of heart rate during
performance. Considering this, the authors explained that heart rate monitors measure
physiological responses rather than somatic anxiety, thus these findings are worth

42
highlighting because they are being supported by other important results that displayed
how physiological arousal, as measured by heart rate, can follow a similar pattern to
somatic anxiety (Hardy & Parfitt, 1991).

Nevertheless, gender studies of MPA in younger musicians have revealed more

complex patterns of performance anxiety. According to Boucher (2008), they were no
significant differences discovered on self-reported anticipatory tension, cortisol levels,
or behavioural anxiety symptoms of male and female between three and four years old.
Furthermore, when analysing the male and female children of Year 4 and Year 5, the
researchers discovered no significant variations in MPA scores (Errico, 2012).
However, an investigation of physiological arousal, behavioural anxiety, and MPA
experienced by Year 6 students suggested disparities in the perception of performance
anxiety between male and female musicians. While girls had higher anticipatory worry
before performances, as evidenced by increased heart rate, boys' heart rates outpaced
those of the girls, throughout the music performances. Boys also exhibited greater
worried behaviours prior to and during the performances, indicating higher levels of
behavioural anxiety (Ryan, 2004).

Some studies that investigate the effect of gender on self-efficacy in adult and university
musicians found that males have higher self-efficacy than females (Egilmez, 2015),
while other studies did not find a significant difference (Kreutz, et al., 2009; Ritchie &
Williamon, 2011a;). According to the results, different performance settings may affect
gender differences in self-efficacy. When Abel and Larkin (1990) examined males’ and
females’ self-efficacy in two conditions, a laboratory session in which participants did
not perform and immediately before performing in front of a jury, they found no
significant difference between the conditions. The self-efficacy of males at baseline and
just before performance did not differ significantly, while the self-efficacy of females
increased significantly.

Similarly, Nielsen (2004) investigated differences in self-efficacy scores between males

and females, finding an interaction between gender and degree programme.
Performance and church music students’ self-efficacy ratings were higher than their
female peers, while female music education students had higher self-efficacy scores
than their male peers.  

43
Furthermore, research on self-efficacy among young musicians yields conflicting
results. In an investigation of primary school children, Leung (2008) found that males
had higher self-efficacy levels than females. On the other hand, young musicians
generally did not show significant differences based on gender (Clark, 2010; White,
2010) or as far as levels of self-efficacy are concerned (Ritchie & Williamon, 2011).
Researchers have found that performance settings may influence gender differences in
self-efficacy both in young and adult musicians. 

Another piece of information related to gender effect on self-efficacy is highlighted by

Hendricks et al. (2015) who measured musicians’ self-efficacy scores over the course of
a three-day music festival. Researchers noted a significant interaction effect between
gender, orchestra (level), and time, such that females in the lower and higher orchestras
showed significant self-efficacy increases. According to the results, prior to auditioning
and at the first rehearsal, male students had significantly higher levels of self-efficacy.
However, this was no longer valid for male students once the festival had reached its
midpoint (Hendricks et al., 2015).  

5.3 Culture and music education among children

According to Dave’s et al. (2015) findings, music represents a cultural product to which
adolescents are attracted both inside and across socio-cultural contexts. Enculturation
illustrates the main process of how people grasp universal musical characteristics, such
as rhythm and pitch, from which they learn complex musical systems, for instance
harmony and scales (ibid., 2015).

Universal and cultural differences are involved in the emotional and cognitive processes
related to music perception (Brown & Jordania, 2013; Thompson & Balkwill, 2010).
The main findings on this topic displayed a comprehensive list of potential music
universals: rhythm, pitch, instruments, vocal, style, melodic structure, context, contents,
behaviour, expressive devices (Brown & Jordania, 2013). 

Moreover, there is evidence that socio-cultural factors can have a significant impact
on aspects of music perception, for example on emotion perception, memory, relative
pitch distinction, consonance and dissonance (Hannon & Trainor, 2007; Hove,
Sutherland, & Krumhansl, 2010).

44
Fuligni et al. (2009) highlighted the importance of ethnicity and cultural variation in the
lives of adolescents, claiming that a cultural-developmental psychology of music in
adolescence must take into account these elements.  Particularly for adolescents who are
investigating and committing to multiple ethno-cultural backgrounds, the development
of ethnic identity is essential (French et al., 2006; Phinney & Ong, 2007). The
importance that people place on their ethnic music is already employed as a cultural
marker in scales that measure ethnic identity. In addition, researchers contend that
music is a cultural product that may especially contribute towards the development of
ethnic identity in many adolescents.

Earlier studies found that music may contribute to shape an individual's ethnic identity
during adolescence, claiming that hip hop represents an excellent illustration of this
process. According to Larson et al. (2009), adolescents around the world enjoy listening
to and performing hip hop music, and it has become a positive force due to the
reciprocal effect of their local culture, especially the African American urban culture.
As an example of the role of music in ethnic identity development during adolescence,
African American music exemplifies this in many mixed environments. A study of
Sarkar & Allen (2007) displayed the fact that in the multiethnic community of Quebec,
Canada, hip-hop vernacular continues to play a role in forming ethnic identity among
adolescents.

Significant findings were made on the relation between music's influence and the
process of acculturation. Researchers claimed that music can also aid in the process of
acculturation, which shapes intercultural identity throughout adolescence (Dave, 2015).
Acculturation is defined as the following:

"the process of cultural and psychological change that occurs as a result of cultural contact"

(Sam & Berry, 2010, p. 472)

Nguyen & Benet-Martnez (2013) argued that the concept of multiculturalism entails
situating oneself among other cultures. For instance, identifying with both of a heritage
culture and a host one is considered biculturalism. Acculturation is a crucial component
in the process of multi- or biculturalism, since it might include changes in one's cultural
identity, in terms of cultural practises, beliefs, and identities inside and beyond

45
reception settings (Schwartz, Unger, Zamboanga, & Szapocznik, 2010). Therefore,
young people form multilateral hybrid identities through their exposure and immersion
in multiple cultures (Jensen, 2012; Larson et al., 2009).

Research has shown that adolescents are partially committed to their cultural roots, and
as a result they are receptive to multiple cultures (Arnett, 2002). The authors have also
recognised music and media as a useful resource, which they refer to as a "cultural
space" where adolescents can experiment with a wide range of values, emotions,
identities, and taboos, maintain competency and social capital through their knowledge
of popular culture, learn about the world, and blend local and global cultures (Larson et
al., 2009; Roberts et al., 2009). Therefore, music provides ethnic minority adolescents
experiencing acculturation in mixed communities with socio-cultural resources, such as
songs, concerts, and celebrations that might enable them to change their cultural
identification.

The experience of music as a cultural form can differ greatly based on cultural
background. An earlier study (Inglehart, 1997) addressed the cultural dimension of
traditionalism versus secularism and their findings suggested that these movements
might influence people's use of music to enhance their self-esteem collectively.

In general, traditionalism refers to a focus on the past of the group in question. Any
group may have traditions, but traditionalists are often interested in the past of their own
large groups, such as ethnic, national, and religious groups (Duckitt & Bizumic, 2013).
The psychological studies of traditionalism, however, have mostly focused on social
conservatism, and on individuals who aim to preserve social values, morals, norms, and
practices (ibid., 2013).

On the other hand, secularism is defined as a principle that attempts to manage and lead
human affairs on secular, naturalistic grounds (Galen, 2016). It is characterised as the
separation of religion from civic affairs and the state, but it may also refer to the
necessity to eliminate or diminish the influence of religion in any public category (ibid.,
2016).

Considering the previous mentioned findings on traditionalism and secularism, it is

worth mentioning that a sense of collective self-esteem can be created through social
groups and collectives (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992) and the role of music has more

46
chances to have a prominent influence when it comes to fostering collective self-esteem
in a traditional environment (Boer et al., 2012). Moreover, the traditional values
emphasise the significance of family throughout life, leading to greater family
relationships in traditional communities through music (ibid., 2012).

Alternatively, the findings displayed that in civilisations that value secularism above
traditionalism, the function of music may be stronger, in terms of reflecting more
secular interests such as political sentiments (Boer et al., 2012). Hence, the researchers
assumed that musical functions for cultural identification and family connection will be
favourably connected with traditional social values, while musical representation of
political beliefs would be associated with secular principles.

In regards to the intrapersonal functions of music among societies, a study including

participants from Philippines, Turkey, Kenya, New Zealand, Germany and Mexico has
found that music was used as a tool for emotional expression and stress control, also
improving attention (ibid., 2012). These functions are predisposed to be utilised in
private settings when listening to music alone. The most significant elements of the
utilisation of music reinforced by the study are the emotional expression and venting
through music, among the six cultural examples. This supports the concept that
individual functions take precedence over relational and communal ones (Sedikides &
Gaertner, 2001). The researchers found minor cross-cultural differences in all
intrapersonal functions of music, despite the fact that they did not predict any cross-
cultural differences. The Filipino participants were the most predisposed group to
experience the intrapersonal functions of music, while the New Zealand individuals
taking part of the study experienced these functions less strongly, as well as Kenyan and
Turkish (Boer et al., 2012). These findings indicate a significant relationship between
the Filipino self and music (Santos, 2005). According to the previous mentioned author,
the musical context is integrating many areas of the Filipino life, which appears to
highlight the relevance of music for intrapersonal purposes.

The results highlight that music facilitates the harmonisation of value development with
the values conveyed by music. According to Markus & Kitayama (1991), music has the
ability to represent socially accepted values, being an external guide for norm-oriented
and conventional value formation that is supported by the interdependent self. This

47
notion reinforces the conclusion that the value development function of music can have
cross-cultural disparities, according to each traditional cultural value.

Hofstede (2001) stated that the key characteristics defining societies and civilisation are
represented by family, politics, and cultural identity. Thus, according to the evidence,
music's socio-cultural roles vary the most among cultures, having medium to high
impact sizes. Music functions related with socio-cultural reflection serve as political
manifestations (Boer et al., 2012). Socio-cultural reflection emphasises the use of music
to communicate feelings about social topics.

As opposed to this, the socio-cultural roles of identification in music make themselves

visible at an affective level, without taking into consideration the basic messages of
music (ibid., 2012). Cultural identity represented via music is used to celebrate and
appreciate communal identities that occur during traditional ceremonies, local fairs, or
sport events, being distinct from more introspective uses of music to communicate
political views. Because the meaning of family in people’s life is heavily influenced by
the society in which the family is situated, social bonding among families can also be
regarded a socio-cultural function of music (ibid., 2012).

Previous research on music’s cultural identification function supports this concept, with
country scores in secular vs. traditional values explaining 90% of the between-country
variance (Boer et al., 2012). In civilisations that prioritise traditional values above
secular ideals, music appears to be a more potent indicator of collective cultural
identity. This result is supported by previous research that shows national pride is a
predictor of traditional values. Moreover, this notion is applied to everyday activities
such as music listening as a source of collective self-esteem and a sign of identity.
Despite the fact that previous research has shown that traditional local music forms are
disliked by young people in particular (Tekman & Hortacsu, 2002), traditional styles
continue to express cultural identity across cultures (Boer et al., 2012).

Taking into consideration the above, musical family functions correspond to the cultural
value of traditionalism. The study of Boer et al. (2012) goes beyond assessing musical
preferences and dislikes, in order to demonstrate that young people from traditional
societies cherish and appreciate the importance of local music in individuals’ cultural
identity and familial relationships more than young people from more secular cultures.
Thus, the predicted cultural tendencies have little to do with the political importance of

48
music. Individual differences in political attitudes may explain why music is used for
this purpose in each cultural milieu (ibid., 2012).

Chapter 6

Conclusions and Recommendations

The present research aimed to explore the relation between music education and
children development in terms of creativity, motivation, intelligence and cognitive
development, focusing particularly on primary school children. Additionally, it also
examined the influence of ethnicity on children’s music perception with an emphasis on
the language-to-music transfer, the gender effect on selecting a musical instrument and
the parental influence during this process, and the music’s cultural functions among
adolescents. This chapter will provide conclusions and recommendations for further
research through a brief summary of the study, by highlighting the major findings based
on the research objectives.

The secondary approach of collecting information was chosen as the most suitable
method, because there is a considerable amount of relevant literature available on the
topic, which was thoroughly researched. The main findings from the literature will be
enunciated and discussed below.

6.1 Conclusions
1. Musical training can improve children’s cognitive abilities, such as memory and
verbal activity, reflecting on school achievement, intellectual performance and
engagement in learning.

In the literature review, the majority of studies on cognitive development in relation to

music education claimed that coordination of duration, pitch, dynamics and other

49
expressive controls used in playing instrumental music produces benefits. The findings
highlight that coordinating multimodal demands will lead to standard performance and
goal-directed cognitive processes (LaPlume & Wiseheart, 2018). Thus, a link between
musical training and attention has been found, both elements been demonstrated to have
similar cognitive transfer (Neville et al., 2008).

The results show that when music meets a student's psychological requirements, they
are more inclined to value it at school (Campbell et al., 2007; E. Freer & Evans, 2018).
Nonetheless, music appreciation can wane after primary school, but those who keep it
throughout secondary school are encouraged to excel in their music studies because it
has become personally important to them (McPherson et al., 2015). The studies also
claimed that young individuals who choose to study music at school are more likely to
feel that learning is essential in general (McPherson & Schubert, 2014).

2. Music education has the ability to improve intrinsic motivation among children
through characteristics such as creativity, expression, physical activity or social
connection.

The findings in the literature review offer information according to which one of the
significant benefits of music education is represented by its power of instilling virtue
and motivation in children, due to being a creative process (Woody, 2020). Several
authors found that music participation is used by people of all ages to make new
acquaintances and spend time with individuals who share the same interests (Hallam et
al., 2012; Hewitt & Allan, 2013; Parker, 2016), thus becoming motivated to pursue the
musical learning process because of the pleasant experience of social and creative
activities. Other authors sustained the idea that the influence of peers can be an
important factor in motivating young people to learn, supporting their participation
throughout the educational process (Cantero & Jauset-Berrocal, 2017; Evans,
McPherson, & Davidson, 2012).

According to Lindblom (2018), music lessons represent the perfect environment that
fosters creative thinking. The authors claimed that children engage in creative and
active learning with the help of teachers, through experiencing innovative and effective
strategies implemented by them, in order to enable children to ask questions, to be
motivated and flexible, self-reflective, and direct their own learning. Thus, these types

50
of activities enhance their ability to explore and see things from different perspectives
(ibid., 2018).

3. Musical training involves multiple intelligences such as musical, spatial,

mathematical and kinaesthetic intelligences, resulting in a beneficial
complementary effect.

The findings observed in the review of the literature displayed that five types of
intelligence were mainly used when playing piano: musical-aural intelligence,
linguistic-verbal intelligence, spatial-visual intelligence, logical-mathematical
intelligence and kinaesthetic-bodily intelligence (Liu, 2010). Liu’s findings also
explored the physical execution of playing an instrument, focusing on piano. He stated
that the physical act of playing this instrument is best described as synchronised
movements of fingers, hands, wrists, arms, and shoulders, which necessitates good
coordination. Hence, playing an instrument develops children’s kinaesthetic abilities,
while involving and improving the other types of intelligence.

When focusing on the kinaesthetic intelligence, the findings also displayed increased
attention and engagement among children and a better classroom environment due to
the implementation of physical activity (Abril, 2011).

4. Children’s ethnicity might represent a predisposing factor in the acquisition of

absolute pitch (AP), however, it cannot be generalised due to a later reanalysis
showing possibilities of the acquisition due to the exposure to a tone language or a
different music education environment in the early childhood.

As it can be seen from the analysis of the work, In East Asia, the prevalence of AP in
early childhood is significantly higher than in North America, regardless of whether the
cohort consisted of Asian children or Caucasian. The pattern of results strongly suggests
that some environmental factors are responsible for the differences in prevalence of AP
found in the researchers’ survey.  According to the study, the East Asian children living
their early childhood in East Asia had considerably higher rates of AP than did
Caucasians living their childhood on the North American continent. This difference was
also significant for each of the East Asian subgroups separately: Asian Chinese, Asian
Japanese and Asian Koreans.

51
It was also found that a relation between the exposure to a tone language since infancy
and the acquirement of AP might be possible. Tone languages, such as Mandarin and
Cantonese, can predispose the individual to AP. In those Asian languages, the meaning
of words differs according to the pitch in which they are pronounced in tone languages.
Additionally, a pitch accent plays an important role in the structure of certain dialects of
the Korean language. Thus, exposure to these languages during infancy could also
influence the children's development of AP.

5. Gender has a significant impact on children’s choice of musical instruments,

parental influence being included as one of the factors of gender-stereotyping.

According to the analysis of the study, gender has an influence in musical instrument
choice, some differences between boys and girls being evident. Historically, males and
females preferred different musical instruments, with girls preferring smaller, higher
pitched instruments. The studies revealed distinct trends for various instruments. Girls
were dominant in harp, voice, flute, clarinet, piccolo, oboe and violin, while boys were
dominant in electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, trombone and tuba. The studies revealed
that African drums, cornet, French horn, saxophone, and tenor horn were the least
gendered instruments. With a few exceptions, the gendered pattern of learning remained
rather stable across education phases.

Research has showed that parents appear to share these instrument gender prejudices
and they have an influence over the children’s instrumental choice. From a list of eight
instruments, parents favoured violins, flutes and clarinets for girls, while drums,
trombones, and trumpets were chosen for boys. However, the recent findings displayed
a decline regarding gender-stereotyping of musical instruments in the recent years.
Although this, a similarity between Hallam (2008) findings and Kim (2021) has been
noticed, in terms of the parental influence over children’s instrumental choice, which is
still applicable to present days.

6. Music is a cultural product that may contribute towards the development of

ethnic identity in many adolescents, being a significant contributor to the process
of acculturation.

Research analysis has shown that adolescents are partially committed to their cultural
roots, and as a result they are receptive to multiple cultures. The authors have also

52
recognised music and media as a useful resource, which they refer to as a "cultural
space" where adolescents can experiment with a wide range of values, emotions,
identities, and taboos, maintain competency and social capital through their knowledge
of popular culture, learn about the world, and blend local and global cultures (Larson et
al., 2009; Roberts et al., 2009). Therefore, music provides ethnic minority adolescents
experiencing acculturation in mixed communities with socio-cultural resources, such as
songs, concerts, and celebrations that might enable them to change their cultural
identification.

6.2 Recommendations
Practical recommendations are provided below, with the purpose of improving music
education for children in primary schools and promoting inclusive music activities that
can improve cognitive, social and emotional development.

Based upon conclusion 1, the findings concerning cognitive development through

music should encourage teachers to value music in schools, applying innovative
and creative methods in the lessons.

Since the results related to children’s cognitive development displayed that playing
instrumental music produces benefits, a suitable recommendation for teachers is to
engage in creative music lessons and to encourage the students towards playing a
musical instrument, in order to achieve the benefits that music education can create on a
cognitive level. Moreover, musical training has the ability to improve attention, which is
very important in school. Thus, this element will reflect on other areas of subject.

Based upon conclusions 2 and 3, the results showing improvement of motivation in

children through physical activity and social connection, with the multiple
intelligences involved in the process should motivate education departments and
music hubs to offer interactive group activities for children.

It was concluded that music participation represents an activity in which children

engage not only because of the process of learning music itself, but also for feeling
connected to individuals who share the same interests as them. Thus, a proper
recommendation for the education departments and music hubs will be to offer
interactive group activities for children, financed by the government, in order for all
pupils to have access to them and to benefit from the social connection provided
53
through music. Activities such as playing in musical ensembles, singing in choirs while
including physical movements and dance and music theory games should be taking into
consideration.

6.3 Recommendations for further research

It is highly suggested that further studies be developed on the environmental factors
implied in children’s musical perception. There is also a need for a more in depth
analysis of the parental influence in regards to children’s choice of musical instruments.
Furthermore, the cultural role of music in a traditional community and a secular society
could be investigated from more perspectives. Future researchers on music education
could therefore explore these issues.

Based upon conclusion 4, further research should be conducted in order to expand

the analysis of the environmental factors involved in children’s musical perception,
referring to absolute pitch.

The research argued that a relation between the exposure to a tone language since
infancy and the acquirement of AP might be possible. However, in regards to the later
analysis on the environmental factors that could influence the acquisition of AP, more
research needs to be made, in order to establish which elements of the environment have
the biggest impact in early childhood, in regards to musical perception and AP. There is
also a need for expanding the study beyond the Asian and Caucasian ethnical groups.

Based upon conclusion 5, further research is required to analyse the cause of

parental prejudices and influence on children’s choices of musical instruments.

The researchers claimed that it is difficult to indicate whether parental influence has a
crucial impact on children’s decisions and reasons of choosing their musical instrument.
According to the study, selecting the most suitable instrument for a child is a wider
process, requiring complex procedures that include cultural background, social
perceptions, or ethnicity. Thus, a greater number of samples might be required, in
order to determine the factors and influences in musical instrumental selections from
more diverse perspectives.

54
Based upon conclusion 6, a further study could be made in order to explore more
the cultural role of music and its influence among children in a traditional
community, as well as in a secular society.

Considering the previous mentioned findings on traditionalism and secularism, it is

worth looking forward to analyse the process of creating a sense of collective self-
esteem through social groups experiencing music as a tool of fostering self-esteem.
Moreover, it is worth expanding the study on the traditional values expressed through
music and their influences over social relationships.

Alternatively, the function of music in a civilisation that values secularism has different
meanings that may be useful to be investigated in depth. Elements such as political
beliefs in relation to music education should be explored, in order to establish their
cultural function.

55
 Chapter 7

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