Here at Music Together®, research is an integral part of who we are. Our curricula and teaching methodology are rooted in research in music education and child development, and we’re committed to furthering the understanding of the role of music in early learning.
Our in-house research team, led by program coauthor Dr. Lili Levinowitz, stays on top of trends and discoveries in early learning and shares insights with the Music Together curriculum development and teacher training groups. In addition, Music Together itself is often the subject of independent research by others through partnerships with leading universities, early childhood labs, and community-based research organizations.
2025 Research Study: The Potential Impact of a Music Class on Parental Sensitivity and Socio-Emotional Functioning
Most recently, Music Together was part of a study at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, regarding the potential impact of an early childhood music program on parental sensitivity and socio-emotional functioning in children two to five years old.
Parental sensitivity during interactions with young children has become a highly studied subject, as what’s called sensitive-responsive parenting (i.e., responding appropriately, promptly, and consistently to the emotional and physical cues of an infant or toddler) has been shown to positively impact the development of children’s emotional regulation and brain development, and executive function skills, which are all essential to children’s success in school and life.
In this study, researchers sought to learn whether participating in an early childhood music class would affect parental sensitivity—and they chose Music Together as the model program. Parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to either the experimental group, who took part in ten weekly Music Together classes, or the control group, who did not.
Music Together® Has an Impact on Parental Sensitivity
The findings, published in Psychology of Music in December 2025, showed that parents who participated in Music Together® classes demonstrated statistically significant changes in parental sensitivity compared to the control group. In other words, participating in Music Together may strengthen parent-child interactions that support sensitive-responsive parenting, a parenting approach that supports children’s social and emotional skills and overall development.
Why Researchers Choose Music Together®
Results like these help explain why independent research teams often select Music Together as the early childhood music program for their studies. The curriculum is research-informed, delivered consistently by trained teachers, and designed to be used beyond the classroom—making it a strong fit for researchers examining how shared music-making supports young children and families.
In this study, the researchers explained that they selected Music Together for three reasons: “(1) the program has been internationally recognized for more than 30 years and is implemented in many countries, (2) the program is led by trained and supported facilitators, and (3) parents who enroll in this program receive quality materials (i.e., songbook, CD, access to an app) and can reproduce the musical activities in other contexts (e.g., in the car, at home).”
“We’re honored when research teams choose Music Together for their studies, and we’re proud to support that important work,” says Music Together CEO Susan Darrow. “Findings like these are deeply meaningful, because they mirror what our teachers see every day in our classrooms: shared music-making helps parents tune in, connect, and respond to their children’s behaviors and needs with confidence and ease.”
References
Cabbell, S. (2025, July 10). The Importance of Responsive Parenting: Building Strong Emotional Bonds From Birth. ZERO to THREE. https://www.zerotothree.org/resource/the-importance-of-responsive-parenting-building-strong-emotional-bonds-from-birth/
Gaudette-Leblanc, A., Bolduc, J., Boucher, S., Raymond, J., Creech, A., & Tarabulsy, G. M. (2026). The implications of participating in a Music Early Learning Program for parental sensitivity and socioemotional functioning in children aged 2–5 years: A randomized control trial. Psychology of Music, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356251403081