A longitudinal study in Japan has revealed that participation in extracurricular activities in both music and visual arts is associated with improvements in general academic performance from the seventh and ninth grades, and these associations are related to changes in music and visual arts scores. All children in Japan take music and visual art classes in junior high school as secondary subjects and can also increase involvement in them as extracurricular activities. Data was collected from 488 seventh-grade children (259 boys and 229 girls) and the study measured art-related scores and gener ..read more

Humans have been making and learning to recognise music from the moment our species learned to walk on two legs, creating a predictable beat. In this 8-minute video, Michael Spitzer, a professor of music at the University of Liverpool, explains how music affects the brain in profound ways. It eases stress by lowering cortisol. It floods the brain with pleasurable neurotransmitters like dopamine. And it serves as a conduit through which we can process emotions that otherwise might not be describable in words. With thanks to Mindy Peterson, music educator and postcast host, for finding and shar ..read more

The National Open Youth Orchestra (NOYO) and Sound Connections have just launched an in-depth report about the first four years of the orchestra, and what has been learnt through NOYO’s pioneering approach to working with young disabled people. From 2018 to 2022, Sound Connections acted as independent evaluators, evidencing progress against three desired outcomes for NOYO: The exclusion of young disabled people from orchestras is reduced Young disabled people have developed their skills The music sector has increased its support for young disabled people The report shares insights based on f ..read more

In this new podcast, Anita Holford, co-editor of Music Education Works, is talking with Ami Gaston, who works internationally to promote healing and wellbeing through music and activism. She’s worked with refugees and at-risk children, youth and families through organisations such as the US government and the United Nations. She also has a great story to tell about when she performed for the Dalai Lama. We talk about: the near-death experience that changed her path from student doctor to cultural ambassador performing for the Dalai Lama and experiencing his sense of humour work ..read more

[LATEST UPDATE: 24/11/2022] This post features links to the latest news about music education from around the world. Music education news & reports (latest update 17/9/2022) – Alba / Scotland Music education news & reports (latest update 17/5/2022) – Cymru / Wales Music education news & reports (latest update 24/11/2022) – England Music education news & reports (latest update 21/5/2021) – Northern Ireland Music education news & reports (latest update 14/9/2022) – International Music education news & reports (latest update 19/9/2022) – UK-wide ..read more

In both the UK and the US, school music is facing continuing pressures. Yet at the same time, there continues to be growing evidence for the cognitive benefits of music learning. This article in the UK’s TES magazine outlines some of the research and reasons for prioritising music in schools. Source: TES Magazine: https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/why-music-lessons-make-you-better-learner ..read more

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash A small-scale study conducted in 2015 suggested that music can help with the symptoms of inattention in ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). In 2015, Luiz Rogério Jorgensen Carrer from the Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), in São Paulo, Brazil developed simple sound and musical tasks to evaluate and correlate the performance of children with ADHD, compared to a control group with typical development. The study involved 36 participants in São Paulo, aged between 6–14 years-old. The clinical sample consisted of 24 children with ADHD, subd ..read more

Photo by John Barkiple on Unsplash Engaging in musical activities such as singing and playing instruments in one-on-one therapy can improve autistic children’s social communication skills and increase brain connectivity in key networks, according to researchers at Université de Montréal and McGill University. Fifty-one children aged 6–12 years with autism received 8–12 weeks of either music (26 children) or non-music intervention (25 children). In the music group, the kids sang and played different musical instruments, working with a therapist to engage in a reciprocal interaction. The control ..read more

Photo by Nubelson Fernandes on Unsplash According to a team of researchers at Florida International University’s Center for Children and Families, listening to music while studying may help some children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Their study set out to examine how distractions – such as music and television – affect children with ADHD. The research studied 153 male students in total: those with ADHD, both medicated and non-medicated, as well as a control group of male students who were not diagnosed with ADHD. Traditionally, parents and teachers believe distractors ..read more

Photo by Rob Hobson on Unsplash A specially-designed training method – Cognitivo-Musical Training (CMT) – for children with dyslexia, was tested by researchers in Marseille, France, and adds to the evidence that music can improve speech and language difficulties. The method is based upon three principles: (1) music-language analogies: training dyslexics with music could contribute to improve brain circuits which are common to music and language processes; (2) the temporal and rhythmic features of music, which could exert a positive effect on the multiple dimensions of the “temporal deficit ..read more