THE MUSIC ADVANTAGE

A guide to the benefits of learning and playing music for a child's developing brain.

Can learning music help our children learn to read and write? Can playing in an orchestra develop social skills? What is the effect of music on the developing brain? In this major new book Dr Anita Collins, a neuromusical educator and consultant on the hit ABC TV series Don't Stop the Music, explains how learning music can bring about huge benefits for children. She explains the ground-breaking research which shows how playing an instrument can improve language abilities, social skills, concentration, impulse control, emotional development, working memory and planning and strategy skills. Throughout the book she provides real-life case studies together with practical strategies to show the difference music learning can make to the life of every child. Dr. Anita Collins is an award-winning educator, researcher and writer in the field of brain development and music learning. She is internationally recognised for her unique work in translating the scientific research of neuroscientists and psychologists to parents, teachers and students. In 2014 she wrote one of the most watched TED Education films ever made, 'How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brain' (currently this has been viewed over 35 million times worldwide), which led to an invitation to speak at TEDXCanberra later that year. Anita regularly presents her research on television, radio and through her scholarly and popular writings. She is Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Canberra and Associate Fellow of Music, Mind and Wellbeing at the University of Melbourne.