There is a need to clearly define and differentiate between music therapy and music medicine interventions in procedural support research. Further research is necessary to determine which patients would benefit most from music interventions during medical procedures, and which interventions are most beneficial. To improve research quality and reduce risk of bias, when designing studies investigators need to carefully consider factors related to design, including randomization, treatment allocation concealment, blinding outcome assessors, and intention-to-treat analysis. In addition, more detailed intervention reporting is needed when publishing results.

Three separate studies were conducted in school, residential and after-school care settings to test the effectiveness of a music therapy-based social skills intervention program on improving social competence in children and adolescents. A total of 45 children (n = 12; n = 13; n = 20) aged 6-17 years with social skills deficits participated in a group-based five session intervention program. The same curriculum, adapted to be age appropriate, was used at all 3 sites. Specific deficits within the social skills areas of peer relations and self-management skills were targeted. Active interventions like music performance, movement to music and improvisation were used. Cognitive-behavioral techniques like modeling, feedback, transfer training and problem solving were also incorporated. Data on social functioning were collected before, during, and after the music therapy intervention from participants, appropriate adult personnel and via behavioral observations. Results indicated that significant improvements in social functioning were found in (a) school participant pre and post self-ratings, (b) researcher pre and post ratings of school participants, (c) case manager's pre and post treatment ratings for the residential participants, (d) after-school care participants' pre and post self-ratings, and (e) behavioral observations at all three settings. Additional changes, although not significant, were noted in teacher ratings, residential participant self- and peer ratings, and after-school case manager ratings. Results from these studies suggest that the music therapy intervention was effective in improving social competence in children and adolescents with social deficits. More research is warranted to provide additional guidance about the use of music therapy interventions to improve social functioning.

No abstract

This study investigated effects of early- to mid-life musical training on cognition in older adults. A Musical Training Survey examined self-reported musical experience and objective knowledge in 237 cognitively intact participants. Responses were classified into Low, Medium, and High knowledge groups. Linear mixed models compared the groups’ longitudinal performance on the Animal Naming Test (ANT; semantic verbal fluency) and Logical Memory Story A Immediate Recall (LMI; episodic memory) controlling for baseline age, time since baseline, education, sex, and full-scale IQ. Results indicate that High knowledge participants had significantly higher LMI scores at baseline and over time compared to Low knowledge participants. ANT scores did not differ among the groups. Ability to read music was associated with higher mean scores for both ANT and LMI over time. Early-to mid-life musical training may be associated with improved late-life episodic and semantic memory as well as a useful marker of cognitive reserve.

The role of popular music in the classroom has been one of the most contentious areas of practice in music education since the middle of the 20th century. Educators have periodically called for the need for popular music in the music classroom, but it has yet to gain widespread acceptance. One of the strongest calls for popular music in classroom settings occurred at the 1967 Tanglewood Symposium. As stated in the Tanglewood Declaration, students should have experiences in the music classroom with "music of all periods, styles, forms and cultures . . ., including current popular teenage music and avant-garde music, American folk music, and the music of other cultures" (Choate, 1968, p. 139).Since Tanglewood, much has been written about the role of popular music in music classrooms in practitioner publications. These writings have discussed the value of popular music in music classes (e.g., MacCluskey, 1979;O'Brien, 1982;Woody, 2007) and how popular music can be effectively taught in music classes (e.g., Cutietta & Brennan, 1991;MacCluskey, 1969;Vulliamy & Lee, 1982). Research articles have also been published on the use of popular music in the curriculum since that time, and these have been summarized in two reviews (Isbell, 2007;Pembrook, 1990).Variously referred to as youth music (Mark, 1994), rock music (Fowler, 1970;MacCluskey, 1969), and pop music (MacCluskey, 1979;O'Brien, 1982), popular music is a complex descriptor that holds different meanings for different people. As a result, defining the term popular music is problematic, and authors have expressed disagreement on how this term can be adequately limited to a singular definition (Bowman, 2004). Rodriguez ( 2004) defines popular music based on three common features, including its (a) consumption (measured by ranking systems such as Top 40 radio stations or Billboard charts), (b) presentation in certain media that are indicators of its popularity (e.g., movie soundtracks, sheet music, etc.), and (c) alignment with a socially desirable group. Others (Frith, 1996;Toynbee, 2000) describe popular music based on how it differs from folk or art music. Humphreys ( 2004) describes popular music as any music that is intended for mass audience appeal, but he claims that this method is troublesome because it presumes that listeners can interpret the intention of the composers, performers, and producers. Davis and Blair (2011) offer a broader, more inclusive definition of popular music from a sociocultural perspective. They describe popular music as "a social construct influenced historically and culturally while also developing and transforming over time" (Davis & Blair, 2011, p. 127).