Opportunities for meaningful community participation may influence the development and well-being of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families as well as impact how community members perceive and understand ASD. In the current study, we aimed to understand how a parent-child integrated music class program could be used to promote community participation and family well-being.

Musical play is a natural and common form of parent-child play, which is an important avenue for supporting social development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As a familiar, reinforcing, and predictable activity, musical play may support children’s attention to play activities and provide parents with a familiar and accessible context to promote parental responsiveness. However, musical play may also impede play interactions due to its sensory and repetitive components.

Musical experiences are ubiquitous in early childhood. Beyond potential benefits of musical activities for young children with typical development, there has long been interest in harnessing music for therapeutic purposes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there is debate as to the effectiveness of these approaches and thus a need to identify mechanisms of change (or active ingredients) by which musical experiences may impact social development in young children with ASD.

Commentary on “Interprofessional Education of the Next Generation of Musician-Scientists through Music Cognition Research Training: An Innovative Platform for Health Professions and Biomedical Research”: Connections to the VUMC National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab Miriam Lense, PhD, Co-Director, Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab VUMC NEA Research Lab, Project Director  

Dr. Polina Dimova, scholar of Russian and European literature, music, and visual art, was the guest speaker at the April 2019 Music Research Forum. Dr. Dimova presented on modernist artists’ experience and fascination with synesthesia -- the phenomenon of mixing the senses (e.g. perceiving sounds as colors). Dr. Dimova presented examples from the work of artists such as Annie Besant, Wassily Kandinsky, and Frank Kupka, who are all thought to have been synesthetes.

Commonly hailed as the “King of Opera”, Wagner is best known for his contributions to the operatic tradition. He really sought to push opera to the next level. He coined the term “Gesamtkunstwerk” or “total art work” to describe his vision for what opera is meant to be. To Wagner, the opera is supposed to be a comprehensive form of art that seamlessly blends together visual art, drama, and music. He tried to tie the music in his operas directly to the story and the events on stage.