Group Music Practice Enhances Development

NCT04200794 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: James62Ra&D
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 70
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This randomized controlled trial shows for the first time that focused musical instrumental practice as compared to traditional sensitization to music provokes multiple transfer effects in the cognitive and sensorimotor domain. Over the last two years of primary school (10-12-year-old children), sixty-nine children received biweekly musical instruction in a group setting by professional musicians within the regular school curriculum. The intervention group learned to play string instruments, whereas the control group, peers in parallel classes, was sensitized to music via listening, theory, and some practice. Broad benefits manifested in the intervention group as compared to the control group for working memory, attention, processing speed, cognitive flexibility, matrix reasoning, sensorimotor hand function and bimanual coordination Apparently, learning to play a complex instrument in a dynamic group setting impacts development much stronger than classical sensitization to music. Our results therefore highlight the added value of intensive musical instrumental training in a group setting, encouraging general implementation in public primary schools, better preparing children for secondary school and for daily living activities.

Conditions

Cognitive Change; Motor Activity

Keywords

music-practice; group-setting; randomized-controlled-trial; multiple-transfer-effects; cognitive; sensorimotor; matrix-reasoning; string-instruments

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Working memory change

  Changed scores at a backward digit span task (WISC-R; Wechsler, 2005).

  24 months

• Executive function change

  Changed scores at attention tasks, cognitive flexibility tasks and speed of information processing tasks (D2 Test of Attention; Brickenkamp and Zillmer, 1998);Children's Color Trails Test (CCTT; Llorente, 2003) Higher scores at attention tasks, cognitive flexibility tasks and speed of information tasks processing (D2 Test of Attention; Brickenkamp and Zillmer, 1998); Children's Color Trails Test (CCTT; Llorente, 2003) .

  24 months

• Change in abstract thinking (Matrices subtest of the WISC-IV (Wechsler, 2003))

  Changed scores at a matrix reasoning task

  24 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Changed sensorimotor functioning

  24 months

Study Arms (2)

musical instrumental training

EXPERIMENTAL

Bi-weekly musical string instrument training in a group setting, over 24 months, provided by professional string instrument teachers

Behavioral: musical instrumental training

sensitization to music

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Bi-weekly sensitization to music in a group setting, over 24 months, involving listening, playing small percussive instruments and choir singing, provided by professional school music teachers

Behavioral: sensitization to music

Interventions

musical instrumental training BEHAVIORAL

Learning to play a string instrument in a group setting (school class)

Also known as: Orchestre en Classe

musical instrumental training

sensitization to music BEHAVIORAL

sensitization to music via listening, theory, moderate practice on small percussive instruments and choir singing in a group setting (school class)

Also known as: Classical school music lessons according to the Swiss school system

sensitization to music

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 9 Years - 13 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• The experimental group will include students from 2 classes 7P HarmoS (1st year of research) and 8P HarmoS (2nd year of research) who participate in the "Orchestre en classe" program in a public primary school in the vicinity of Geneva.
• The Control group will include students from 2 classes 7P (1st year of research) and 8P (2nd year of research) who do NOT participate in the "Orchestre en classe" program, in the same and a nearby public primary school in the vicinity of Geneva.
• HarmoS: primary school education system in French-speaking Switzerland

You may not qualify if:

• hearing deficits;
• development disorders
• epilepsy
• other severe health or neurological problems
• non-consent of the parents or the child
• children who have taken music lessons outside the school curriculum before or during the study will be excluded from the study

Sponsors & Collaborators

• School of Health Sciences Geneva: lead
• Swiss National Science Foundation: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

School of Health Sciences Geneva; HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland

Geneva, 1206, Switzerland

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Clara James, PhD

  School of Health Sciences Geneva

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Longitudinal cluster RCT (randomized controlled trial) with an intervention group and an active control group

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 5, 2019
• First Posted: December 16, 2019
• Study Start: June 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: September 15, 2018
• Study Completion: February 1, 2019
• Last Updated: December 16, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Time Frame: As soon as the data are published, I would estimate the embargo at 6 months
• Access Criteria: Individual Access will be accredited to known researchers in the field.

Locations

CH (1)