Research Updates
Here at Bigger Better Brains we believe that through educating yourself, you can then educate and affect positive change in your community.
With all of the research in the field of neuromusical science, our BBB Research section serves as a content hub for you. We regularly share findings and break down the latest research to educate and inspire discussion. We hope you enjoy this page on our website and share BBB news with your colleagues, parents and students.
Why Productive Struggle Works
Mistakes in music learning can be more than errors, they can become information. Discover how productive struggle helps students notice, adapt and build learning that lasts.
Learning Music Helps Maths, Here’s Why
Music doesn’t just support maths, it shapes how students approach learning. By building positive attitudes, focus, and working memory, early music learning helps create the conditions for success.
Can Harmony Help Students Connect?
Can harmony do more than shape sound, can it shape connection? New research suggests predictable harmony may help align not just music, but people.
Is recorded music just as good as live music?
Research suggests it’s not that simple. Live music creates stronger emotional and brain responses, especially when there’s real-time interaction between performer and listener. If that’s the case, it raises an important question, how often are students actively involved in shaping music in the moment in your classroom?
Can playing the flute help you sleep better?
Playing a wind instrument doesn’t just build tone and technique, it may also help regulate stress and improve sleep. New research links steady breath-sound patterns in wind playing to nervous system regulation, offering a powerful way to connect music learning with wellbeing.
Advocating for Music at the School Board? Don’t Forget This Key Message
This article empowers parents to advocate for music learning in schools by highlighting both its joyful impact and its proven cognitive benefits. It offers key research-backed talking points to help make the case for music as essential to every child’s education and every school’s success.
Can Music Training Make You a Better Skier?
A ski instructor once said, “Musicians always learn to ski easily.” That idea intrigued me. Research shows music training sharpens spatial awareness, rhythm, problem-solving, and sensory integration, the very skills that might make skiing (and maybe other sports) come more naturally.
Finding a Voice, Finding a Home
Singing in schools supports language learning, strengthens social bonds, and helps newcomers adapt, and with our science-based music education resources, music teaching materials, and neuromusical learning tools, teachers can unlock the cognitive benefits of music learning.
Music Teacher Appreciation: BBB stories worth sharing
This blog shines a spotlight on the inspiring stories featured in our latest Fireworks magazine, celebrating the powerful impact of music teachers around the world.
When Stress Peaks, Don’t Silence the Music
As a music teacher, how often have we heard the phrase, “I have to skip rehearsal, I have a test”? In my school, as in many schools, we have our only rehearsal time in the morning prior to school starting, and I hear this comment regularly through the school year.
FINAL Course for 2026 - Oct 26 to Nov 13
Learn how to share the importance of your music program in a way that finally lands.
Build powerful advocacy from the inside out. The Music Advocacy Method Course helps school and music program communities craft research-informed messaging that resonates with students, parents, colleagues, school leaders, funders and policy makers. Whether you’re looking to grow enrolments, boost recognition, or build a stronger support base, this course gives you the structure, guidance and tools you need to speak with clarity and confidence.
What’s Included
3 x 30‑minute Webinars and 3 x 30‑minute Live Chats with Dr Anita Collins
Learn directly from world-renowned music education advocate Dr Anita Collins as she guides you through each stage of building an impactful advocacy campaign tailored to your own school or program.
Weekly Exercises Based on the BBB+ Advocacy Method
Hands-on tasks designed to help you identify misconceptions, map your key audiences and craft messages that work.
Downloadable Workbook and Planning Templates
Structured resources to guide your thinking, shape your language and develop your strategy.
Access to Webinar Recordings for 3 Months
Revisit each session in your own time to reinforce your learning and refresh your message development.
3 Months of Premium BBB+ Membership
Gain full access to the entire BBB+ library of over 500 evidence-informed advocacy tools and resources to support your work during and after the course.
Certificate of Completion
Document your professional learning and add to your teaching portfolio.
Return Access at a Discounted Rate
Completed the course but want to run a new campaign next year? Come back for just $50, saving you time and money.
What You Will Learn
Use the course content and templates to identify misconceptions about music learning in your context, understand what drives them, and reshape the conversation. Build your messaging for a range of uses, from concerts and parent nights to emails, newsletters, staff briefings and school marketing materials. Whether you’re presenting in person or posting online, your messages will be grounded in evidence and tailored to connect.
Why the Method Works
People may support music learning in theory, but rarely understand its full impact. This course helps you move beyond assumptions by providing the latest research and practical tools to communicate clearly and persuasively. When communities understand the true value of music learning, they become your greatest advocates.
Who Would Benefit from the Course
Classroom and ensemble music teachers
Instrumental teachers
School music coordinators and department heads
Studio and small business music program owners
Leaders of school or community music programs
Anyone seeking to strengthen support for music learning in their community
The Music Advocacy Method Course empowers you to lead with research, speak with clarity and inspire meaningful change for your program and your students. This course is delivered in English only.