Cognitive ChangeOCNCT04200794
Group Music Practice Enhances Development
A study testing musical instrumental training and sensitization to music in people with Cognitive Change and Motor Activity, run by School of Health Sciences Geneva at 1 site in Switzerland.
Trial 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. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 9 to 13 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Cognitive Change, Motor Activity
- What is being tested?
- musical instrumental training and sensitization to music
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 70 participants
- Where
- 1 siteSwitzerland
- Study dates
- 1 Jun 2016to 1 Feb 2019
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 9 to 13 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Who may be able to join
- 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
Who cannot join
- 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
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Switzerland1 site
School of Health Sciences Geneva; HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland
Geneva, 1206
About this study
Official title: Formal String Instrument Training in a Class Setting Enhances Cognitive and Sensorimotor Development of Primary School Children
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.
Read the detailed description
This 2-year longitudinal study compared cognitive and sensorimotor development of two groups of children. Both groups received two music courses of 45 minutes per week in a class setting (maximum 20 children per class), given by professional musicians.
The intervention groups (n=34) learned to play string instruments "Orchestra in Class", the control groups (n=35) followed the standard Swiss school curriculum, with "sensitization to music" lessons, lacking focused instrumental practice.
Children who received protocolled extracurricular music lessons before or during the study, were excluded from the analyses.
The groups were compared at baseline (T0) after one year (T1) and after two years (T2) using standardized psychometric tests, evaluating cognitive and sensorimotor functions as well as tests on musicality.
Music practice, covering a wide and diverse field of skills and abilities, from sensorimotor to cognitive activities at the highest level, is a real driving force for development. Widely distributed regions in the brain, which support all these functions, are trained and better coordinated as a result of this practice. This provokes changes in the morphology and function of the brain. Consequently, practicing music regularly brings benefits that go far beyond musicality. The results of various studies indicate that children who practice music show increased verbal memory, verbal intelligence, reading, visual-spatial processing, executive functions, attention, logical reasoning, and according to some authors even better mathematics or even IQ and social skills.
Available evidence of beneficial musical practice effects on cognitive child development predominantly concerns children of parents with a high socioeconomic and educational background [10] and typically results from private lessons. Additionally, most of the time, the child is interested to learn a musical instrument, inducing a motivational bias. Evaluation of beneficial transfer effects restrains in general to a limited number of capacities or skills and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with active control groups are scarce.
Here, the investigators compared children who intensively practiced different string instruments in a class setting within a specific Orchestra in Class (OC) program, to peers in parallel classes that received the same amount of musical instruction, also within an entire class, but lacking focused training on a complex musical instrument. Entire existing classes were assigned randomly to the OC and the Control programs (cluster randomization). The study took place in public primary schools in popular neighborhoods in the Geneva area, avoiding confounding music effects with effects of socioeconomic background.
The investigators anticipated that cognitive functions strongly involved in musical practice like working memory, attention, information processing, cognitive flexibility and abstract reasoning, as well as fine sensorimotor function would provoke enhanced positive transfer effects in the OC group as compared to the control group.
- Conditions
- Cognitive Change, Motor Activity
- Being tested
- musical instrumental training, sensitization to music
- Keywords
- music-practice, group-setting, randomized-controlled-trial, multiple-transfer-effects, cognitive, sensorimotor, matrix-reasoning, string-instruments
- Medical subject headings
- Motor Activity
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
musical instrumental trainingBehavioural
Also called Orchestre en Classe
Learning to play a string instrument in a group setting (school class)
sensitization to musicBehavioural
Also called Classical school music lessons according to the Swiss school system
sensitization to music via listening, theory, moderate practice on small percussive instruments and choir singing in a group setting (school class)
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| musical instrumental training | Experimental | Bi-weekly musical string instrument training in a group setting, over 24 months, provided by professional string instrument teachers Receives: 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 Receives: Behavioral: sensitization to music |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Working memory change
Changed scores at a backward digit span task (WISC-R; Wechsler, 2005).
Measured: 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) .
Measured: 24 months
Change in abstract thinking (Matrices subtest of the WISC-IV (Wechsler, 2003))
Changed scores at a matrix reasoning task
Measured: 24 months
Secondary outcomes (1)
Changed sensorimotor functioning
Changed scores atall 4 subtests of the Purdue Pegboard task (Lafayette, 1999), involving manual dexterity and bimanual coordination
Measured: 24 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted16 Dec 2019
- Study start1 Jun 2016
- Primary completion15 Sep 2018
- Study completion1 Feb 2019
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Cognitive ChangeStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Longitudinal cluster RCT (randomized controlled trial) with an intervention group and an active control group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 70 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- School of Health Sciences Geneva
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Swiss National Science Foundation
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Clara James, PhD, Principal investigator, School of Health Sciences Geneva
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04200794
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- James62Ra&D
- Acronym
- OC
- Status last verified
- Dec 2019
- First submitted
- 5 Dec 2019
- Last updated
- 16 Dec 2019
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: The data of this study are deposited on a YARETA, a FAIR digital solution for long-term preservation of research data for all Geneva Universities (https://yareta.unige.ch). DOI: 10.26037/yareta:dhglarpzdfcgzefx4pky7sua3m
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 16 Dec 2019. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Formal String Instrument Training in a Class Setting Enhances Cognitive and Sensorimotor Development of Primary School Children
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04200794
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- OC / James62Ra&D
- Conditions
- Cognitive Change, Motor Activity
- Keywords
- music-practice, group-setting, randomized-controlled-trial, multiple-transfer-effects, cognitive, sensorimotor, matrix-reasoning, string-instruments
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 70 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- School of Health Sciences GenevaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Swiss National Science Foundation
- Study start
- 1 Jun 2016 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 15 Sep 2018 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Feb 2019 (actual)
- First posted
- 16 Dec 2019 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
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.
Detailed description
This 2-year longitudinal study compared cognitive and sensorimotor development of two groups of children. Both groups received two music courses of 45 minutes per week in a class setting (maximum 20 children per class), given by professional musicians.
The intervention groups (n=34) learned to play string instruments "Orchestra in Class", the control groups (n=35) followed the standard Swiss school curriculum, with "sensitization to music" lessons, lacking focused instrumental practice.
Children who received protocolled extracurricular music lessons before or during the study, were excluded from the analyses.
The groups were compared at baseline (T0) after one year (T1) and after two years (T2) using standardized psychometric tests, evaluating cognitive and sensorimotor functions as well as tests on musicality.
Music practice, covering a wide and diverse field of skills and abilities, from sensorimotor to cognitive activities at the highest level, is a real driving force for development. Widely distributed regions in the brain, which support all these functions, are trained and better coordinated as a result of this practice. This provokes changes in the morphology and function of the brain. Consequently, practicing music regularly brings benefits that go far beyond musicality. The results of various studies indicate that children who practice music show increased verbal memory, verbal intelligence, reading, visual-spatial processing, executive functions, attention, logical reasoning, and according to some authors even better mathematics or even IQ and social skills.
Available evidence of beneficial musical practice effects on cognitive child development predominantly concerns children of parents with a high socioeconomic and educational background [10] and typically results from private lessons. Additionally, most of the time, the child is interested to learn a musical instrument, inducing a motivational bias. Evaluation of beneficial transfer effects restrains in general to a limited number of capacities or skills and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with active control groups are scarce.
Here, the investigators compared children who intensively practiced different string instruments in a class setting within a specific Orchestra in Class (OC) program, to peers in parallel classes that received the same amount of musical instruction, also within an entire class, but lacking focused training on a complex musical instrument. Entire existing classes were assigned randomly to the OC and the Control programs (cluster randomization). The study took place in public primary schools in popular neighborhoods in the Geneva area, avoiding confounding music effects with effects of socioeconomic background.
The investigators anticipated that cognitive functions strongly involved in musical practice like working memory, attention, information processing, cognitive flexibility and abstract reasoning, as well as fine sensorimotor function would provoke enhanced positive transfer effects in the OC group as compared to the control group.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- Longitudinal cluster RCT (randomized controlled trial) with an intervention group and an active control group
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| musical instrumental training | Experimental | Behavioral: musical instrumental trainingBi-weekly musical string instrument training in a group setting, over 24 months, provided by professional string instrument teachers |
| sensitization to music | Active comparator | Behavioral: sensitization to musicBi-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 |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 9 to 13 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- 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
Key exclusion criteria (6 listed)
- hearing deficits;
- development disorders
- epilepsy
- other severe health or neurological problems
- non-consent of the parents or the child
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| musical instrumental trainingAlso: Orchestre en ClasseLearning to play a string instrument in a group setting (school class) | Behavioural | musical instrumental training |
| sensitization to musicAlso: Classical school music lessons according to the Swiss school systemsensitization to music via listening, theory, moderate practice on small percussive instruments and choir singing in a group setting (school class) | Behavioural | sensitization to music |
Primary outcome
Working memory change
Time frame: 24 months
Changed scores at a backward digit span task (WISC-R; Wechsler, 2005).
Executive function change
Time frame: 24 months
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) .
Change in abstract thinking (Matrices subtest of the WISC-IV (Wechsler, 2003))
Time frame: 24 months
Changed scores at a matrix reasoning task
1 secondary outcome
Changed sensorimotor functioning
Time frame: 24 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 16 Dec 2019.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. The data of this study are deposited on a YARETA, a FAIR digital solution for long-term preservation of research data for all Geneva Universities (https://yareta.unige.ch). DOI: 10.26037/yareta:dhglarpzdfcgzefx4pky7sua3m
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Clara James, PhD principal investigator
School of Health Sciences Geneva
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing musical instrumental training and sensitization to music in people with Cognitive Change and Motor Activity, run by School of Health Sciences Geneva at 1 site in Switzerland.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 6 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 Dec 2019. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Switzerland. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Working memory change (time frame: 24 months). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 Dec 2019; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 28 Oct 2026.