MUSGEN 3011 - Music, Health and Wellbeing

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2022

This course provides an overview of the range of benefits that music can offer to the community. Students will gain an understanding of how music programmes in hospitals, nursing homes and schools utilise the unique qualities of music to improve quality of life and general wellbeing for all age groups, from premature babies to the elderly. Recent advances in neuroscience continue to expand our understanding of how music affects the human brain and body. Students will become familiar with ongoing research projects focused on the use of music to alleviate symptoms associated with behavioural disabilities and brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Other topics covered include: music and healthy ageing; music and language development; music and memory; music and early childhood development; music and autism; music and emotional wellbeing and music in the hospital setting. In addition to its health benefits, music also has a valuable role to play in creating community cohesion. The course examines the impact of various participatory music programmes that aim to benefit children from low socio-economic areas; young offenders and prison inmates, and refugee populations.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code MUSGEN 3011
    Course Music, Health and Wellbeing
    Coordinating Unit Elder Conservatorium of Music
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Assumed Knowledge Practical experience with music; interest in music's role in the community and benefits for health.
    Course Description This course provides an overview of the range of benefits that music can offer to the community. Students will gain an understanding of how music programmes in hospitals, nursing homes and schools utilise the unique qualities of music to improve quality of life and general wellbeing for all age groups, from premature babies to the elderly.
    Recent advances in neuroscience continue to expand our understanding of how music affects the human brain and body. Students will become familiar with ongoing research projects focused on the use of music to alleviate symptoms associated with behavioural disabilities and brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
    Other topics covered include: music and healthy ageing; music and language development; music and memory; music and early childhood development; music and autism; music and emotional wellbeing and music in the hospital setting.
    In addition to its health benefits, music also has a valuable role to play in creating community cohesion. The course examines the impact of various participatory music programmes that aim to benefit children from low socio-economic areas; young offenders and prison inmates, and refugee populations.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Tsan-Huang Tsai

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    1. Students will gain an overview of the benefits of music for the community.

    2. Students will become familiar with specific ongoing research into the impact of music on the brain.

    3. Students will develop an awareness of the ethical and logistical considerations of introducing music into a health care environment.

    4. Students will actively participate in discussions regarding the place of music in society.

    5. Students will increase their analytical skills by selecting and reviewing relevant research articles.
    University Graduate Attributes

    No information currently available.

  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Parncutt, R. and McPherson, G. (eds.)'Science and Psychology of Music Performance: Creative Strategies for Learning and Teaching', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Available online at Elder Music Library.

    Deutsch, D. (ed) 'Psychology of Music', 3rd Edition, Amsterdam: Academic Press, 2013. Available online at Elder Music Library.

    Hallam, S. I. Cross and M. Thaut (eds.) 'Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

    Hallam, S. 'The Power of Music: Its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of chidlren and young people.' International Journal of Music Education, Vol. 28 (3), pp. 269-289

    McPherson, G., J. Davidson, R. Faulkner, 'Music in our Lives: Rethinking Musical Ability, Development and Identity'. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
    Recommended Resources
    In addition to the required resources for this course, extra resources and links will be posted online at the MyUni Canvas site.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    A weekly two hour lecture is supported by a one hour Small Group Discovery Experience session, in which key concepts and ideas covered in the lecture will be further discussed and explored.

    Students will also be given opportunities to practically engage in activities related to topics covered in the course: for example planning and delivering creative music workshops, planning music projects for different sectors of the community, and assessing the impact of such music projects. 
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    1 x 2 hour Lecture per week= 24 hours per Semester

    1x 1 hour Small Group Discovery Experience session per week (over 10 weeks)= 10 hours per Semester

    6 hours reading per week= 72 hours per Semester

    2 hours research per week= 24 hours per Semester

    Assignment preparation= 26 hours per Semester

    TOTAL= 156 hours per Semester 
    Learning Activities Summary
    Week 1: Lecture 24/7: Overview and Introduction

    Week 2: Lecture 31/7, SGDE 4/8: Music and childhood development

    Week 3: Lecture 7/8, SGDE 11/8: Music and psychology

    Week 4: Lecture 14/8, SGDE 18/8: Music and psychology

    Week 5: Lecture 21/8 SGDE 25/8: Music Therapy

    Week 6: Lecture 28/8, SGDE 1/9: Music Therapy

    Week 7: Lecture 4/9, SGDE 8/9: Music and the Community

    Week 8: Lecture 11/9, SGDE 15/9: Music and the Brain

    Week 9: No classes this week.

    Week 10: Lecture 9/10, SGDE 13/10: Music Education and the Community

    Week 11: Lecture 16/10, SGDE 20/10: Creative Music Making

    Week 12: Lecture 23/10, SGDE 27/10: Ethical and practical considerations of working with the disabled/ disadvantaged.

    Week 13: Lecture 30/10: Community creative project
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Annotated Bibliography: Summative and Formative, 30%, Course Learning Outcomes 2, 5

    Essay: Summative, 60% Course Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 5

    Small Group Discovery Experience Participation: Summative and Formative, 10%, Course Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    Assessment Detail
    Annotated Bibliography: Compile and assess sources relating to the benefits of music for health and wellbeing.
    Cover two different areas of practice: eg. Music programs in hospital; music projects for educational benefits, music and healthy ageing, music and brain development. 
    Weighting: 30%
    Word count: 2000 words.
    Course Learning Outcomes: 2, 5

    Essay: Discuss the role of music in the community.
    Word count: 2500 words
    Weighting: 60%
    Course Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 5



    Small Group Discovery Experience: Make a positive and well prepared contribution to class discussions and projects in Small Group Disovery Experience Sessions. This will include an oral presentation on one of the sources included in your Annotated Bibliography.
    Weighting: 10%
    Course Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    Submission
    Written assessment tasks to be submitted via the MyUni site.
    Oral presentation will be delivered during class time.

    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

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    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

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