Context: The therapeutic benefits of music engagement have been recognized in many populations. In children with neurodevelopmental conditions, there is increasing research demonstrating the benefits of music therapy in improving health and functioning in areas including social skills, motor skills, and language development.

General objective(s):

• Explore the impacts of different models of adaptive music education on various measures of health and wellbeing for students with disabilities
• Identify strategies and adaptations in music making and music education that can contribute to enhanced learning outcomes for people with disabilities
• Understand the ways in which different models of adaptive performance can support accessibility and remove barriers to participation in music performance
• Explore various applications of adaptive instruments with different populations to better understand how adaptive and assistive technologies can facilitate music making and create resources to support their use by music therapists, music educators, developmental support workers, and health care practitioners
   

Leader: Erin Parkes

Partners: 

• National Arts Centre
• Ottawa Chamberfest
• Xenia Concerts
• Carleton University
• Lotus Centre for Special Music Education
• School of Rehabilitation Sciences of the University of Ottawa

Specific projects

• Survey among concertgoers of both in-person and virtual adaptive concerts to discover more about their perceptions and how adaptations to the environment, programming and pre- and post-concert communications have impacted their experience
• Exploring the experiences of musicians participating in adaptive concerts to better understand tools and training that could support them in delivering performances to audiences with diverse needs
• Investigating engagement with digital adaptive instruments (for example, the Adaptive Use Musical Instrument (AUMI) in various music education settings and with different populations
• Exploring improvisatory engagement with, and the impact on wellbeing of, interactive adaptive instrument installations in health care settings
• Defining the practice of adaptive music education and applications in social prescription
• Understanding the potential of singing lessons in improving auditory processing in children with central auditory processing disorder

Context: Hearing aids and cochlear implants are the most common intervention tools for children with hearing impairments. These tools are primarily designed to assist with speech perception, but we know little about what the expectations and the benefits can be when these individuals become involved in a range of musical activities.

General objective(s): to investigate music engagement and interest in children and youth with hearing loss and its effect on neural responses.

Leader(s): Ryan Rourke and Mikael Swirp

Members:

• Janet Olds, CHEO
• Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, University of Ottawa
• JoAnne Whittingham, CHEO
• Chantal Lessard, CHEO
• Flora G. Nassrallah, CHEO
• Jesse Stewart, Carleton University
• Amineh Koravand, University of Ottawa
• Erin Parkes, Lotus Centre and University of Ottawa
• Sandra Markovic, master student in music
• Marc Laplante, master student in music

Partners: Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Divisions of Pediatric Otolaryngology and Audiology; School of Rehabilitation Sciences of the University of Ottawa; Lotus Centre for Special Music Education

Specific projects

• Investigating through surveys the level of music enjoyment experienced through listening and performing in children with hearing impairments
• Completing case studies of musicians with cochlear implants
• Measuring the effects of music learning on the central auditory system in children with hearing loss and indicate whether exposure to music can positively influence their neural responses
• Investigating music learning for hearing impaired and deaf children to understand their abilities in learning and performing music
• Exploring the role(s) that vibro-tactile technologies (e.g. Subpac vests, Woojer belts, etc.) can play in enhancing Deaf children’s experience of, and engagement with, music

Context: Singing is a universal human musical behavior. It can be practiced at almost any age, without training and up to exceptional levels of expertise. Millions of people sing in choirs (39 M in North America and 43 M in Europe), a powerful way to create a social bond between members of a group. Songs are also powerful as a mode of sharing cultural knowledge and can be embedded in or interrelated with other cultural practices (child-rearing, traditional knowledge, ritual, work etc.). Moreover, in singing, our body becomes the musical instrument, so that multiple beneficial effects on health and well-being are worth being studied.  

General objective: examining the practices and effects of singing on health and wellbeing. 

Leader(s): Anna Zumbansen

Members:

• Josée Asselin, PhD student in Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Ottawa 
• Narges Bayat, PhD student in Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Ottawa 
• Estelle Behaghel, Speech-language pathologist, France 
• Lauren Casey, Undergraduate student in Health Sciences, University of Ottawa 
• Natasha Damiano, PhD student in Rehabilitation Sciences, University of British Columbia 
• Ludovic Dubé, Music educator, Choir conductor, Québec 
• Cynthia Friesen, Music Wellness Facilitator - BC Brain Wellness Program, Choir conductor - St James Music Academy, MA student in music as care, University of British Columbia 
• Geneviève Hone, Psychotherapist, Research consultant, University of Ottawa 
• Anne Longworth, Choir conductor, Dementia society of Ottawa and Renfrew County 
• Richard Marsella, Director, Community Music Schools of Toronto 
• Nicola Oddy, Instructor (Music Therapy), Carleton University and Concordia University 
• Jenna Richard, Director, Ottawa Chamberfest 
• Ardelle Ries, Professor, Fine Arts & Humanities, University of Alberta 
• Sina Shafiyan, PhD student in Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Ottawa 
• Debra Sheets, Professor, School of Nursing, University of Victoria 
• Andra Smith, Professor, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa 
• Nicole Stanson, Research coordinator, University of Ottawa 
• Mikael Swirp, Research associate, University of Ottawa 
• Andrea Unrau, Program director, Sarah McLachlan School of Music 
• Carol Wiebe, Director, Radical Connections 
• Renate Ysseldyk, Professor, Carleton University 

Specific projects:

• Inclusive choirs: resources and network. 
• Improvisational singing as a mindfulness practice. 
• Improvisational singing as a therapy practice. 
• Voice aging in adults and regular singing in various musical styles. 
• Development of an inclusive choir protocol for replicable intervention studies. 
• Effects of group singing in the rehabilitation process of people living with aphasia. 
• Exploring chorists’ experience in an online choir for people with dementia. 
• How to quantify group cohesiveness in a choir?

Recent publication 

Behaghel, E., & Zumbansen, A. (2022). Singing for the Rehabilitation of Acquired Neurogenic Communication Disorders: Continuing the Evidence Dialogue with a Survey of Current Practices in Speech-Language Pathology. Healthcare, 10(6),1010. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10061010  

Context: Factors such as the growing aging population and the move towards more holistic approaches to health have led researchers and health care practitioners to investigate alternative approaches to sustain or improve health of older adults of all conditions. One such non-invasive therapy, in high demand, is music-making.  A number of studies are showing the benefits of music participation for many older adults in preventing the onset of age-related functional limitations: slowing of physical decline (helping with gait and postural coordination; improving strength, flexibility and motor ability); preserving or increasing cognitive function (improving processing speed and working memory; lowering risk or later onset of dementia) and reducing the risk of developing mental illness or reducing severity of conditions (from depression to schizophrenia).The purpose of this project is to understand how participatory music-making affects health and well-being of older adults, either with or without disability conditions. This person-centered research program will provide the basic knowledge necessary to implement evidence-based music activities, through sustainable interventions programs, in health institutions and long term care facilities.

General objective(s): to explore how music-based activities favorably affect health and wellbeing in seniors

Leader(s): Gilles Comeau

Members:

• Florence Dzierszinski, The Institute of Mental Health Research at The Royal
• Tammy Beaudoin, The Institute of Mental Health Research at The Royal
• Stuart Fogel, The Institute of Mental Health Research at The Royal and University of Ottawa
• Debbie Pilon, Royal Place
• Heidi Sveistrup, Bruyère Research Institute
• Jesse Stewart, Carleton University
• Carol Wiebe, Radical Connections
• Roxane Prevost, University of Ottawa
• Rebecca MacDonald, master student in music and cognition
• Cheng Hu, doctoral student in Rehabilitation

Partners: Bruyère Research Institute, University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research at The Royal, Royal Ottawa Place, Radical Connections

Specific projects

• Testing the effects of Music and Movement (Dalcroze Eurythmic-based program) on brain function in cognitive-motor dual-task conditions, cognitive functions, flexibility, strength, gait performance and balance.
• Testing the effects of Music Ensemble Playing (Orff percussion ensemble-based program) on brain function in cognitive-motor dual-task conditions and cognitive functions.
• Examining the effects of improvisatory music making on brain function in cognitive-motor dual-task conditions and cognitive functions.
• Examining how pleasure and enjoyment – the main motivation factors that are invoked by participants in music programs – affect brain activities, mood enhancement, decrease in depression, stress and tension relief, as well as group identification, self-esteem, sense of achievement, and an overall sense of wellbeing.

Context: Music can be the cause of severe health disabilities. Physical and mental health issues due to the practice of their craft affect many musicians, causing distress, setbacks, and even forcing some musicians to stop playing entirely. The widespread presence of physical pain and performance anxiety among musicians is on the rise and musicians’ wellness issues can present unique problems. However, there is a lack of evidence-based interventions to address these conditions. Therefore, it is important to study how various treatments and interventions can increase musicians’ mental and physical comfort and improve their general well-being.

General objective(s): to study how various treatments and interventions can increase musicians’ mental and physical health and improve their general well-being.

Leader(s): Gilles Comeau and Donald Russell

Members:

• Christine Guptill, University of Ottawa
• Jillian Beacon, doctoral student in Human Kinetics
• Grace Wong, doctoral student in Human Kinetics
• Nicole Stanson, Musicians’ Wellness Centre
• Anna Zumbansen, University of Ottawa
• Andra Smith, University of Ottawa
• Thaïs Drujon d'Astros, master student in speech therapy, Université de Franche Comté
• Camille Lucasson, master student in speech therapy, Université de Lyon I
• Sam Sloan, master student in music, University of Ottawa
• Kayla Boileau, doctoral student, University of Ottawa

Partners: The Canadian Network for Musicians’ Health and Wellness; The Musicians’ Wellness Centre; Carleton University

Specific projects:

• Investigate whether the Alexander Technique and the Feldenkrais Method are viable ways of changing postural habits and movements in the context of piano playing.
• Study how mindfulness meditation can alleviate music performance anxiety.
• Developing a vocal hygiene quantitative scale for singers.
• Developing best practice recommendations for the evaluation voice disorders in singers