In this paper, I outline the results of a teacher survey (2023), where educators of young children outline their perceptions of the link between early reading acquisition and learning music.

Rhythm links to sensory perception, cognitive processing, and motor behaviour. During early childhood, emphasis is placed on rhythm as it links to the fluency pillar of early reading acquisition. In this article, pulse, meter, tempo, and rhythmic patterns form part of a fundamental taxonomy for the psychological understanding and acquisition of rhythm.

Engagement with music is closely linked to whether pre-service teachers are willing to engage with music in their future classrooms. In this paper, Carroll & Harris (2023) discuss how teacher experience, skills and confidence impacts whether they teach music in primary classrooms and how schools may use technology when teacher efficacy is low. It calls for more music teaching in primary education courses to build teacher efficacy and in turn, ensure quality music programs for all students.

Learning to use punctuation correctly is integral to becoming literate, as it adds meaning to texts when reading and writing. This paper outlines ideas for teaching punctuation and strategies for engaging students in reading and writing through music, drama and poetry.

This report, ‘The Reading Guarantee’ from the Grattan Institute (February, 2024) shares evidence-based research in relation to teaching reading. I articulate how my work on the early reading and music partnership links with the main findings of this research.

How can we use the knowledge about how the brain processes music, to help young children learn to read?