Bottom line: music training has limited effects on nonmusical abilities. It appears to improve fine-motor skills and auditory memory, but not emotion recognition, other cognitive abilities, or socioemotional functioning.

Our findings suggest that the impact of music training on cognitive and emotional abilities may not be as broad as often claimed. Most effects were absent, and observed links with emotion recognition may reflect preexisting factors.

In contrast, musical ability was linked to better emotion recognition in prosody and faces, even after accounting for music training and other factors. This suggests these associations emerge independently of formal training.

In a second, correlational study, music training was linked to better emotion recognition in speech prosody (tone of voice). But this association disappeared after controlling for socioeconomic status or other confounding factors.

Improvements were limited to fine-motor skills and auditory memory. For gross-motor skills, both music and basketball training had similar benefits, outperforming the no-training group.

Music training also did not improve nonverbal reasoning, executive functions, music perception, or broader socioemotional skills like social behavior, empathy, and emotion comprehension.

Bottom line: music training has limited effects on nonmusical abilities. It appears to improve fine-motor skills and auditory memory, but not emotion recognition, other cognitive abilities, or socioemotional functioning.

Our findings suggest that the impact of music training on cognitive and emotional abilities may not be as broad as often claimed. Most effects were absent, and observed links with emotion recognition may reflect preexisting factors.

In contrast, musical ability was linked to better emotion recognition in prosody and faces, even after accounting for music training and other factors. This suggests these associations emerge independently of formal training.

In a second, correlational study, music training was linked to better emotion recognition in speech prosody (tone of voice). But this association disappeared after controlling for socioeconomic status or other confounding factors.

Improvements were limited to fine-motor skills and auditory memory. For gross-motor skills, both music and basketball training had similar benefits, outperforming the no-training group.

Music training also did not improve nonverbal reasoning, executive functions, music perception, or broader socioemotional skills like social behavior, empathy, and emotion comprehension.