Music and the Developing Brain

Musical development | Development in general & how musical development interacts with growth.

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Why this course is important?

Most adults can clap along to a beat, sing along to our favourite songs, or feel emotional listening to music in a movie. Though these behaviours feel easy and natural, the building blocks that support them have a long trajectory of development as our brains and bodies grow.

This course outlines our contemporary scientific understanding of musical development across childhood. This material may help to inform selection of developmentally appropriate musical activities, and to gain a better understanding of the role music plays in children’s day to day lives.

After this course students will be prepared to:

  • Identify how changes in children’s musical abilities are related to their changing abilities in other key areas of development
  • Understand how and why children’s musical experiences may be similar or different from adults’
  • Understand basic principals of how researchers learn about infants’ and children’s musical abilities
  • Identify how musical development fits in the context of brain development more generally

Key topic areas

  • What is music perception?
  • What is the role of music in infancy?
  • How do children perceive melodies and rhythms?
  • Music and movement
  • Music and emotion
  • Music and cognition
  • Social impacts of music
  • The role of music in atypical development

Supporting Materials

Students will be provided with a handbook that includes a:

  • References to primary academic sources
  • Links to multimedia material


Course Curriculum


  MODULE 1
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  MODULE 2
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  MODULE 3
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  MODULE 4
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  MODULE 5
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  MODULE 6
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  MODULE 7
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  MODULE 8
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  MODULE 9
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  MODULE 10
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  MODULE 11
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  MODULE 12
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Your Instructor


​Dr. Haley E. Kragness
​Dr. Haley E. Kragness

Dr. Haley E. Kragness is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. In her research, she investigates the developmental processes that underlie our lifelong enjoyment of music.

She earned her PhD in Psychology from McMaster University in 2019, where she studied how children learn musical patterns and derive emotional meaning from music.


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.

Get started now!