Inclusion has been a contested concept affecting policy and practice in education for many decades, particularly for individuals on the autism spectrum. Due to the challenges that autistic pupils may face in forming social relationships, they are at a greater risk of isolation and exclusion. This study explored whether music and dance can promote the inclusion of autistic children aged 5–8 years, attending mainstream schools, through participation in a novel music and dance program. A total of 42 pupils (seven autistic), in seven groups, took part in the 6-week program. Engagement on task and physical proximity were used as proxy measures of inclusion. Video observation was used for the collection and analysis of the data. The findings suggest that music is a strong motivational factor for autistic participants and promotes engagement on task. Music and dance have been found to enhance physical contact and cooperation in the group, thus promoting acceptance and inclusion. Implications for practice and directions for further research are discussed.

Two exploratory studies examine how 12-tone rows are processed cognitively. Tone-rows use each pitch-class once, and were devised by the composer Arnold Schoenberg as a way of structuring music in the absence of tonality, an approach subsequently known as “serialism”. One form of “antistructure” implied in the design of tone-rows – eschewal of pitch repetition – is explored using the “probe-tone” method, where subjects rate how well a pitch stimulus fits in a given context. The results support the finding of Krumhansl, Sandell and Sergeant that listeners can detect – and come to expect – the avoidance of pitch repetition. This cognitive strategy is modelled using Ockelford’s “zygonic” theory of music-structural understanding. A further study examines the second form “antistructure” implicit in serialist thinking (though not always adhered to in practice): the avoidance of patterns of intervals that give rise to a sense of key in suitably encultured listeners. Here, the discrepancies between the outputs of the zygonic model and the probe-tone ratings suggest that, despite the structural atonality, tonal schemata may also feature in the listening experience. These are evaluated using supplementary data gathered in a task where subjects were asked to identify potential “tonal flecks” in tone-row segments.

This research assesses the effect of listening to preferred music on pain, depression and anxiety in older care home residents. One hundred and thirteen participants were randomly allocated to either an experimental or a control group. The former, in addition to their usual routine, listened to a daily 30-minute programme of preferred music over a three-week period. Weekly assessments, using validated measures with some adaptations, evaluated levels of pain, depression and anxiety, each a common disorder in this population. The two groups then crossed over, thus enabling all participants to receive the potential benefits of the music intervention. Results showed statistically significant decreases for each dependent variable with the size of the effect being greater for depression and anxiety than for pain. There were no significant improvements for those in the control group. Additional analysis identified variables that either facilitated or limited the benefits of the music. Those with severe pain were unable to benefit, but those who regarded music as important, listened frequently and whose preferences were accommodated benefited to a greater degree than others. It was concluded that listening to preferred music may benefit many members of the care home population although not all will benefit to the same degree.

Little is currently known about the provision of music in the education of children who have severe learning difficulties (SLD) or profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) in the U.K., and virtually nothing about the broader place of music in their lives. The inadequacy of this position is compounded by the fact that there is a lack of conceptual clarity as to what constitutes music education for this group as opposed to music therapy. To elicit - and hopefully to inform - future debate, this article develops a new model of music education for those with SLD and PMLD which has two strands: activities that are undertaken primarily for their intrinsic musical value, and those which are intended principally to promote wider learning and development. The validity of this framework is explored in the context of the broader experience of music in the lives of children with severe and profound learning difficulites and, in particular, it is analysed in relation to the role of music therapy. It is suggested that some of the work currently undertaken by music therapists with children with learning difficulties could reasonably be defined as "educational", while much of the activity of music teachers with these pupils has a high therapeutic content. Finally, new research is proposed to identify the music provision that currently exists in special schools, and to assist in further clarifying the distinction between education and therapy in this context.

This article examines implication and expectation in music, taking as its starting point music-theoretical and music-psychological work ranging from the seminal thinking of Meyer (1956, 1967, 1973) to its development in the theories of Narmour (1990, 1992) and subsequent empirical and theoretical investigation by, for example, Schellenberg (1996, 1997), Von Hippel and Huron (2000) and Aarden (2003). Other psychological approaches, such as those adopted by Jones (1981, 1982, 1992) and Bharucha (1987, 1999), are considered too. The most important contemporary reference point, however, is Huron’s latest extended thinking on expectation (forthcoming), which summarizes, consolidates and develops a wide range of theoretical and empirical work in the field. These diverse perspectives on musical implication and expectation are analysed using the ‘zygonic’ theory of musical understanding recently developed by Ockelford (for example, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005a, 2005b). This holds that the cognition of structure stems from a sense of derivation arising from the presence of repetition in certain contexts. Using this framework, a new, composite theory of expectation in music is developed, which acknowledges the potential implications of three sources of regularity in music: patterns within groups of notes, and between them - as encoded in short-term memory and long-term, both veridically and schematically. Finally, the phenomenological relevance of the new model to ‘typical’ listening experiences is discussed, and the need for future empirical work is set out.