Music, Rhythm and Clapping Games: Do They Help Listening or Reading?

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-30

Two questions parents ask

Parents ask two things. Do rhythm games help a child listen? Does music help a child read? On this page, a listening skill means following and understanding what people say. It does not mean listening to music.

What we hold on rhythm games and listening

We hold no study of clapping or rhythm games at home as a way to build listening. That is a gap in what we hold, not a finding that they do not help.

Some parents search for music therapy for auditory processing. We hold no study of music therapy for auditory processing. That is a gap in what we hold, not a finding that it does not help.

Listening programs and auditory processing disorder

A British audiology body describes auditory processing disorder as listening trouble with normal hearing (British Society of Audiology, 2018). We cannot tell you whether your child has auditory processing disorder.

One review looked at listening and language programs (Fey and colleagues, 2011). Its studies were of children with auditory processing disorder. The review found some support that the programs can improve listening test scores. It found little sign that the gains came from the listening parts of the programs. It called the evidence too small and weak to give clear guidance. We could read only its summary.

A US audiology body says audiologists should diagnose auditory processing disorder (American Academy of Audiology, 2010). In our view, a hearing check is worth doing early. Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.

Our page on auditory processing has more.

What the research we hold says, and where it stops

Whether music training helps reading is disputed. Nothing in the studies on this page tested a Learning Success program.

The large reviews. One large review pooled 54 studies of children with no music training before (Sala and Gobet, 2020). None of the children had a diagnosed condition. Once study quality was counted, it found no overall effect. That result pooled thinking skills and school skills. Another team reanalyzed the same studies and found an effect (Bigand and Tillmann, 2022). We could read only the second team's summary. The two teams disagree.

Reading teaching held the same. A review pooled 13 studies that kept reading teaching the same in both groups (Gordon and colleagues, 2015). Music training went with gains in hearing the sounds in words. Gordon's review found no carry-over to reading speed and smoothness. We could read only its summary. Its summary does not say which children were studied.

Hearing the sounds in words is called phonological awareness. In our view, it is a different thing from auditory processing disorder. Our page on phonemic awareness activities covers sound games.

A school trial. A trial in Brazil added music classes in five of ten schools (Cogo-Moreira and colleagues, 2013). The five schools were chosen at random. The 235 children were poor readers. The main results showed no clear effect on reading. We could read only its summary.

A trial in children with dyslexia. One trial gave 46 Italian children with dyslexia music classes or painting classes (Flaugnacco and colleagues, 2015). None of the children had ADHD. The music classes focused on rhythm, with drums and movement. Both groups also did a daily reading program at home. Parents supervised it.

In Flaugnacco's trial, the music group gained more in accuracy on text and made-up words. It did not do better at reading word lists. The music group also gained more on some rhythm tasks and word-sound tasks. Reading speed did not differ between the groups. The testers knew which group each child was in.

Where this stops. In our view, no study here says if music will help your child read. Music sits alongside reading teaching, not in place of it.

Rhythm games at home

In our view, music and rhythm games are worth doing for their own sake. Music sits alongside reading teaching, not in place of it.

Here is how we would play them.

1. Copy the clap. Clap a short pattern. Your child claps it back.
2. Clap the names. Clap once for each part of a name: Ma-ri-a.
3. March or drum. March or tap a drum along to a song.
4. Keep it short. Stop while it is still fun.

These steps are our own practice, not a tested method.

A US federal guide on early reading also uses rhyming and clapping word parts. It is not a guide to dyslexia. Clapping word parts is a sound-awareness step, not a listening test. Our page on phonemic awareness activities has more.

If your child has lost a skill

Some children could do something and now cannot. That is different from a child who has not built the skill yet. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Schoolwork well below what school expects.
• A teacher who raises a concern about learning.
• Extreme upset about schoolwork.
• Complete avoidance of school or learning.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.