The development of music competencies in preschool children: Effects of a training program and the role of environmental factors

Abstract

The present study investigated the development and training of music competencies in children in transition from kindergarten to school. In an intervention study with three experimental groups (music training, language training, no training) we investigated music performances of N = 202 5-year-old children before and after a period of 6 months. Results indicate substantial improvement in several low- and high-level musical competencies independent of children’s participation in one of the training groups. In addition, the music training group improved significantly more in their tonal discrimination, rhythm repetition, and synchronization skills compared to the no-training group. Results show that children in the language training group also improved in their music skills, which indicates noticeable overlap between these two domains. By contrast, interindividual differences in potentially relevant environmental factors, such as home musical environment and their socioeconomic status, did not affect children’s musical skills. By disentangling music training effects from musical experience based on informal exposure, the present findings contribute to the understanding of the development of various music competencies and to the effects of musical trainings in preschool.