Music learning and skill development: a replication study of Hille and Schupp (2015)

Abstract

Previous work by Hille and Schupp (2015) examined the associations between learning a musical instrument (ML) in childhood and cognitive functioning, academic achievement, personality measures and perceived control using a longitudinal data set, the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP). In this article we replicate major parts of this study by applying similar methods but now to an extended panel data set (N = 8,383), which allows for a more rigorous control of potential confounders. Our findings confirm an association between ML and cognitive skills, but not with academic achievement. Moreover, ML also correlates with personality traits (openness, conscientiousness) and perceived control. Finally, we find differential associations of parental financial and educational background. Our results confirm overall the positive associations between learning to play a musical instrument in childhood and non-musical skills. We conclude that children who engage in ML show favorable developmental patterns in adolescence.