In a new study, it has been found that preschoolers who have better vocabulary and attention skills are more likely to be better at school This is not a shocking finding. Early childhood educators have been aware of this connection and indeed school readiness programs focus on building both of these skills. The dots that aren’t […]

Music learning has so many amazing benefits for students, but did you know that music learning is often used as a therapy tool for children with autism. Here is one of the best TEDx Talks we have found in the while that talks about the incredible impact of music learning of the autistic brain. Enjoy […]

Drummers, very unfairly, can be the target of some pretty mean jokes and stereotypes. For example, What do you call a drummer with half a brain? Gifted! However, neuromusical research might just be putting an end to all of these unfair jokes. Drummers, specifically drumkit players have fascinating brains. They are an excellent group to […]

One of the challenges with neuromusical research is that it can be so technical that it is hard to connect what the studies find with what it could mean in the “real world”. This study is a perfect example with the title “Gamma-Band Frequency Analysis and Motor Development in Music-Trained Children: A Cross-Sectional Study” What […]

A significant proportion of neuromusical research is conducted in Western countries such as the US, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Australia. This is for several reasons; the technology that is used to conduct this research is extremely advanced and requires high levels of research funding; the expertise of the researchers need to conduct the research takes […]

For almost a decade now we have understood that music listening activates the reward network in the brain. The reward network sends impulses around our brain that make us feel “rewarded” which are those same feelings when we are recognised for something good that we have done. Think back, can you remember a time when […]

Can you think of tasks you do regularly that demand a low level of sustained attention? It could be something that is repetitive and doesn’t really require deep thought. At the BBB office, we immediately said house cleaning! It is not hard to do, but it is repetitive, requires lots of movement patterns, and has […]

As students worldwide are having educational experiences that are a little or a lot different to their “normal”, teachers are looking for ways to maintain students’ engagement in a similar way to when they are attending “normal” school. Remote or a combination of online and face to face learning is not standard, so maybe we […]

We all love a good news story where something, whether it be a spoken word competition, visual art display, or a music program has transformed a school. It makes us believe in the power of music and arts to transform a community. If you are a music or arts educator reading this, it may also […]

“Musical training can improve attention and working memory, which are executive functions that are important for daily life and are correlated with general better outcomes during lifespan. [In our study, we found there were] two different mechanisms [that] seem to underlie the better performance of musically trained children in our task. One that supports more […]

Here is a bright light in 2020. This study is one of the first randomised studies that compares an instrumental music program during class (in this case, a string-based program) with a music appreciation type of classroom program. The study followed the students for two years and measured how the different types of music learning […]

Ever wondered what that tingling sensation in your brain or on your scalp is called when you listen to music? We hadn’t wondered, but we feel better now that we know. It is called the Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR). We probably won’t remember that long name or the acronym but “head orgasm” is a […]