From Norman Wells:

Re: Kids’ music practice may pay off in other skills (Nov. 5): I have noticed this effect with my ten year old grandson, who in a remarkably short time has learned to read music fluently and to play the clarinet. He also learned to read easily at an early age and posesses a wide vocabulary and a remarkable verbal fluency. In his case an interest in a music, developed after his early mastery of reading and pattern recognition.

I would be interested to know if learning music also has an effect on the ability to learn languages.