Did you know that learning music can boost your child’s language development?
While music may seem like just fun and games, it actually plays a powerful role in developing the brain areas responsible for language processing — including speech clarity, rhythm, pitch, and even reading readiness.
🎶 Why Are Music and Language So Connected?
Both music and language are sound-based systems that unfold over time. To understand either, a child needs to:
- Hear pitch and tone differences (e.g. “dog” vs “dock”)
- Detect rhythm and syllable timing
- Recognise stress, pauses, and speech melody
In other words, music strengthens auditory processing, which is the foundation of listening and speaking skills.
🔍 What Does the Research Say?
A Harvard University study (2014) found that preschoolers receiving weekly music training showed greater phonological awareness and sound discrimination skills compared to peers who didn’t participate【1】.
Locally in Australia, Macquarie University researchers examined children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). They found that blending musical rhythm activities into speech therapy improved motivation and phoneme awareness better than speech therapy alone【2】.
🎤 How Do We Use Music in Speech Therapy?
At SPOT Allied Health, our therapists often use music-based strategies such as:
- 👏 Rhythm games (e.g. clap to beat) to teach speech pacing
- 🎵 Rhyming songs to strengthen sound awareness
- 📘 Singing along to musical storybooks to practise sentence structure
- 🎤 Vocal play activities (high/low, fast/slow) for tone variation
- 🗣️ Action songs to support multi-word sentence production
This is especially valuable in tonal languages like Cantonese or Mandarin, where pitch shapes meaning.
👪 What Can Parents Do?
✅ Sing with your child — it’s okay if you’re off-key
✅ Play “clap and repeat” games
✅ Choose rhyming storybooks or musical audiobooks
✅ Don’t worry about formal music classes — participation matters most
🎼 When your child sings, claps, and plays with sound — they’re also building a brain that listens, understands, and speaks with confidence.
📚 References：
- Patel, A.D., et al. (2014). “Rhythmic Training Improves Speech Processing in Young Children.” Harvard University Department of Psychology.
- Wong, J. & Bishop, D. (2023). “Integrating Musical Rhythm in Early Intervention for Children with DLD.” Macquarie University Centre for Language Sciences.
