Music in Human and Social Development Research Group

Description

Created in 2005, the Music in Human and Social Development Research Group (previously the Institute for Music in Human and Social Development) brings together researchers, theorists and practitioners from across multiple disciplines including music, psychology, sociology, medicine, informatics, physics, education, linguistics and neuroscience to explore the complex and powerful role of music in human experience.

Currently based in the Reid School of Music, the Group’s aim is to further the scientific understanding and practical application of music as a therapeutic, educational, artistic and social tool. Its work investigates the complexities of human musicality, musical intelligence and musical communication, with the goal of offering new insights into the nature of the human condition and society. Staff are actively engaged in the implementation of therapeutic, educational and social development programmes involving music and are keen to support the development of innovative interventions in these areas. This work is based on strong links within the community including with schools, orchestras, hospitals, prisons, local authorities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The Group regularly hosts interdisciplinary research seminars, workshops and conferences around original themes of shared interest, such as ‘Interactive Minds’ (2005), ‘Rhythm, Time and Temporal Processing’ (2006), ‘Music, Language and Movement’ (2007), ‘Dance, Timing and Musical Gesture’ (2008), and ‘Music, Pattern and Mathematics’ (2010). In 2011 it hosted the triennial, international music neuroscience conference, ‘Music and the Neurosciences IV: Learning and Memory’, in collaboration with the Mariani Foundation. Since 2012 the Group has become part of Edinburgh College of Art and has continued to host and collaborate with related initiatives, including Rhythms in Scotland (2012), Europe, Brain and Music (2010-13), The Child’s Curriculum (2010-2013), the Scottish Music and Health Network (2014-2016) The Musical Brain (2010-2017), Musical Learning Across the Lifespan (2014-2017) and The Diverse Musical Brain (2019).

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

Founding year

2005

Contact details

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University affiliation(s)

University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh