Organizing Information Through Music: A Key to Better Learning for Students with Special Needs

Music is more than entertainment—it’s a powerful tool for helping students with special needs process and retain information. Research shows that our brains naturally organize musical elements into meaningful patterns called Gestalts (Lipscomb, 1996). This pattern recognition makes music an excellent way to simplify tasks, improve memory, and enhance learning. For students who struggle with traditional methods, music offers a way to engage with content in a meaningful and accessible way.

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How Music Structures Information

When students with special needs engage with music, their brains group similar sounds and rhythms into manageable patterns. This mental organization helps break down complex information, making it easier to understand. Think of it like putting puzzle pieces together—music provides structure that makes it easier for students to grasp the whole picture.

• Efficient Processing: Connecting concepts to rhythms or songs helps students grasp ideas more quickly. For example, using a song to guide math steps turns a challenging process into a familiar pattern.

• Memory Enhancement: Rhythm and repetition anchor information in long-term memory. A melody tied to a lesson serves as a mental bookmark, making it easier for students to recall what they’ve learned.

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Practical Ways to Use Music for Learning

Incorporating music into your classroom can make routines and lessons more manageable for students with special needs. Here are a few ideas to try:

1. Use Songs to Teach Routines

Teaching daily routines through songs helps students remember steps without needing constant reminders. Music makes transitions smoother and builds independence.

Example:
A “morning routine song” can guide students through tasks like hanging their backpacks and sitting at their desks. This creates consistency and prepares students for a successful day.

2. Teach Sequences with Rhythmic Patterns

Using rhythms can make it easier for students to understand and remember sequences, such as spelling words or number patterns. Rhythm reinforces learning through repetition and creates patterns that stick.

Example:
Clapping out syllables of spelling words or chanting math facts turns lessons into interactive experiences, helping students retain information.

3. Use Melody to Simplify Complex Concepts

Difficult subjects like science or math become more accessible when paired with familiar tunes. Songs break down complex concepts into smaller, more understandable steps.

Example:
A song about the water cycle—evaporation, condensation, precipitation—makes it easier for students to remember each stage.

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Why It Works: The Science of Gestalts

According to Lipscomb (1996), our brains naturally organize information into Gestalts—or meaningful patterns. This is why musical patterns are easier to remember than isolated facts. For students with special needs, engaging with music offers a way to organize new information into familiar, meaningful structures. It’s not just about listening—students are actively creating connections that support both understanding and memory.

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Conclusion

Music provides a simple and effective way to support learning for students with special needs. It helps them process information efficiently, remember it longer, and engage with lessons in a fun and accessible way. Whether you’re teaching routines, academic content, or new sequences, integrating music makes learning more manageable and enjoyable.

So, the next time you introduce a new concept or routine, try putting it to music—you might be surprised how quickly your students catch on!

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Reference
Lipscomb, S. D. (1996). Cognitive organization of musical sound patterns. Psychomusicology, 15(1-2), 105–126.

MUSIC, TERM AND PREMATURE BABIES

The beginning of life is often a very stressful experience, even for otherwise healthy babies. Prior to birth, all the infant knows is the warm, safe, and quiet surroundings of being in the womb. The beginning of life brings cold, danger, and noise. All of the noise, particularly the hospital environment, can be detrimental to the newborn receiving the sleep it needs.

Specifically referring to studies conducted in Neonatal Intensive Care Units, we know the importance of sound.

Ås reported by Rich Haridy in New Atlas, on May 29th, 2019, an important study at the University of Geneva, shows that music can help build the brains of premature babies.

At Genote, Health Music is a valuable resource for reducing stress and increasing stability in newborn children. The existing research did not make clear what types of music would be best for this purpose.

Sixteen newborns were exposed to the Genote Sleep Music Protocol for thirty minutes twice per day. Their heart rate, blood oxygenation, pain scale, and behavioral states were measured within a half hour of exposure to the music.

The majority of the newborns showed improvement in their capacity to self-soothe and transition to a more relaxed state. Their sleeping patterns also improved. The positive impact of structured music listening on healthy newborns indicates the need for further study on the impact structured music could have on sick newborns.

Hear some of the new music used at the University of Geneva

See the video from Venice NICU

CHRISTMAS MUSIC IS MENTAL

You might have wondered why, during the holiday season, we are all forced to walk through various shopping areas while accompanied by Christmas tunes. Some of us, maybe lots of us, grow quite tired of listening to the same tune over and over. Some of us like the warmth of Bing Crosby and Judy Garland tunes, others like Kenny G, or the latest renditions of Il Divo, Josh Grobam, and Mariah Carrey.  There are a lot of us who prefer the great performances of King Singers or Mormon Tabernacle Choir too. More precisely, we all tend to have a specific favorite version for each tune. Each tune, heard at the wrong time (and in the wrong way) can definitely rub us the wrong way and make us irritable, distant, and even depressed. The idea of having a favorite version of Christmas tunes that we find closer to our idea of home, family or music perfection is something worth pondering about. Certainly each song carries strong memories, sometimes even a specific tradition that we, in our families, have developed and wish to maintain.

But there is a deeper meaning attached to our preferences: we have developed music likes and dislikes not only for the way the tunes make us feel, but the way that such favorites are built. Many of us tend to dislike if not even feel offended by modern versions of our favorite holiday tunes if such versions do not follow the original musical structure. Many of us tend to like songs in their most simple version, with the original voice, and the original orchestration. We are certainly bothered if anyone attempts to tamper with the rhythm, the tempo, the key signature and the qualities of the Voice. That is simply because our wonderful ability to understand, listen and even discern music elements is linked to specific correlations between music structural elements and brain functions. We would suggest to pick very carefully your best holiday music by thinking about how the music can make you.  Ponder about the memories that it triggers and watch any change in your mood.  If you spend some time on this, not only you might end up with a more joyful experience, but you will probably make your days even more blissful with happy and thankful people around you. Listen to the great songs in the LINK and find your own favorites. 

The birth of Genote corresponds to a concert performed by choirs, orchestra and soloist in Venice, on January 6th 2013.

After the School supplies, now what?

You bought your school supplies, your bags are stuffed with new pens, colorful pencils, notebooks; you have your phones, your computer, your quick meals and so much more.

Yet, for at least few weeks, if not months, you will deal with one issue alone: sleep deprivation.

Surely it can be challenging to deal with classmates, teachers, routines, and demands, yet, the biggest challenge will be how to rest, quickly recover from the sudden change in habits, and set for a successful beginning of the school year. 

The Struggle is Real

It can take kids over a month to realign their sleep schedule so that they perform their best in school. Some kids take even longer than that. The fall is a stressful period of the year, as parents struggle with re-aligning their children’s sleep schedules, cutting summer junk food, and helping kids focus on studying again. You can manage the transition with supportive tools to set your family up for success.

As children wind down from the excitement of summer vacations, barbeques, late nights and unstructured schedules, many return to school with increased anxiety. Parents often have to deal with nervous children who can be restless, grouchy, and even depressed for the first weeks of the new school year.

There have been many tricks and tips proposed for preparing kids for back-to-school anxiety, but here’s a new idea that may be one of the easiest to apply: music. Yes, music – long known to have positive affects on emotions – is finding more credence in the medical community for therapeutic care in kids of all ages. New studies suggest that “Health Music” can help children’s overall wellbeing by addressing stress, focus and sleep.

The findings come from a new company, Genote, dedicated to studying the benefits of music on better health. What kind of results are they seeing with children going back to school? “They just won’t go to sleep because they’re so excited about everything,” says Angela Duncan, a mother of five children from South Jordan, UT. “The new clothes, the new friends, the concerns about if they’ll like their teacher – it’s all very stimulating for them. But their ability to focus and learn really suffers.” Duncan is using Genote’s Health Music Albums with her children in 3rd grade, 2nd grade and Kindergarten and has seen positive results with the Health Music. “Going to sleep on time has been the biggest change,” she says. “We play the music while they’re getting ready for bed and falling asleep and it really calms them. If they can get to sleep on time, they’re able to get up early, concentrate on the day ahead of them, and they’ve done much better at school because of it.”

Designed by decoding the “DNA of music” and applying it to clinical/medical situations, Genote’s Music Intelligence Technology™ was developed in collaboration with experts in neuroscience, psychology, neonatology, geriatrics, sports medicine, and, of course, music. Genote has developed an algorithm that combines elements of various music compositions to produce therapeutic value for the listener.

"When it comes to music therapy, other solutions simply mask background noise. Many non-scientific solutions do nothing to prepare the brain and the body for improvement," said Edoardo Guerra, Chief Scientific Officer at Genote. "We designed Genote as a new system that can analyze music literature and apply the correct choice of music stimuli for those that want to improve the quality of their health.” Guerra and Genote founder Massimiliano Frani have worked with conditions of sleep deprivation, dementia, autism and even athletic recovery. They’re especially excited to see the positive changes in children.

Genote is the leading health music program that scientifically triggers positive functions in the brain and the body of all ages. The Genote Music Intelligence Technology™ is developed from the latest findings in many fields of medicine, music and wellness. Music albums are available at Genotelab.com. Genote is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information, please visit www.GenoteLab.com.

Adolescents struggling for life

Recently, during a Genote initiative, I worked with struggling adolescents who are trying to develop skills to cope with gravely serious challenges. I wanted to create a team that could work together and share meaningful insights about themselves and their surroundings. I wanted them to share beauty and be persuaded to be real actors in their personal path to happiness.

Mental issues, emotional challenges and interpersonal relationships seem to be ever-increasing for the adult community and young generations. Approximately 1 out of 5 adolescents aged 13–18 (21.4%) experience a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%. (1) More drastically, in 2015, statistics on adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 indicate a suicide rate of 12.5%. (2)

When the activities began, the group was rather small with new participants every week and with an inconsistent number of students. Some of them were excited to be there, and others were really tired and stressed out. One day, after some light conversation, we began the activity by trying to dig a bit deeper and getting to know them better. We asked them to share something about themselves, possibly something they had never shared before.

Some of them shared a few personal details, some spoke rather mindlessly, but, generally, we all felt that no one had decided to bring the conversation to a deeper level. While working with adolescents we try to maintain a consistent focus, help them recognize the superfluous in conversations and help them become more open to healthier relationships.

One day, we asked them to lay down and listen to the music we had prepared. Three compositions, with three different and carefully chosen emotional connotations and complexities. After 20 minutes of listening, we resumed the conversation by asking them to describe their experience, feelings and thoughts. This is when something special happened!

“I pretty much fell in love with Genote on the first Sundown session that I attended.
I’ve always greatly valued music and appreciation of art, and then being in a place of constant noise and stress (I would say) a time of quiet and isolation of music and art was very much needed.
Some sessions I really was entranced by the music and was able to devote my undivided attention to it, on other days especially days that I feel spaced out, acting as if I’m on autopilot I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the music at all. It was just another hour that passed by my eyes. On the days that I was capable of absorbing myself into the music, I felt refreshed and was able to convert my newfound energy to the next few hours of the day.
My last Sundown session was an experience separate to the rest of the sessions.
I felt the singing and the music resonate through my body as I exhaled a deep sigh of dread for the upcoming separation. I felt in sync with my emotions, they were truly mixed and molded in to who I was in that moment. The separation between me and my friends/peers of elevations, my separation of all the unique experiences that I have been having whether it’s Genote or volleyball or groups. It was a hard separation, one filled with sadness, longing, and also excitement and hope.
That pretty much sums up my experience with Genote, hopefully this helps in one way or the other.
”

— Olivia

The general behavior changed, and the level of each student’s willingness to share their personal feelings and story increased considerably. The level of comfort created during the session, allowed them to listen to each other, find helpful insights and build meaningful memories. The quality of personal interchange increased; over the following months, the Genote Sundown sessions helped them discern trustworthy relationships and determine important building blocks for their character and for the future.

We studied music for a long time; over the last 30 years, music's applications in clinical settings have increased significantly, and we are amazed by music’s capacity not only to influence our emotions and biological parameters, but to push us to be better people and help us build great memories as a way to nurture great qualities within ourselves. We are continuously recording each new session and continue to update  Genote Health Music. We see great potential. We see hope and growth, and that is what we work for.

1. Any Disorder Among Children. (n.d.) Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/any-disorder-among-children.shtml

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Data & Statistics Fatal Injury Report for 2015.

3. NAMI - National Alliace on Mental Illness http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers#sthash.FgWBgscB.dpuf

Genote at the Vicenza Hospital

After months of preparation, we finally get to start our music protocol at the Vicenza Hospital! After getting cleared by the Internal Review Board, we have the opportunity to test our entire procedure for pain management with babies for the first time.

The randomized study was designed to evaluate the effects of a Structured Music Listening Protocol on pain reduction for newborn babies that are going through a metabolic screening test 36 hours after birth. The test requires the nurse to prick a baby’s heel and squeeze some blood on a special paper to be sent to the lab for the analysis. Since newborn babies don’t have a high volume of blood, the pressure required to get enough blood out for the test can go on for several minutes.

Ouch.

Our hypothesis was that the babies receiving the music intervention, in addition to the standardized technique, might show a beneficial effects on pain reduction and pain management.

The morning the study was to begin, we had a brief meeting to introduce the research implementation staff to the procedure. The staff was represented by a pediatrician, a nurse, and two obstetric students. After the doctor described the procedure and Edoardo Guerra, our CSO and resident psychologist, presented some important aspects of the music methodology, we entered a small room selected for its low sound level.

Each of us were very focused and anxious for the first trial. The team of nurses selected two babies at random. The first received the procedure as per the standard hospital procedures (without music) and the second received the an additional Structured Listening Protocol. We paid close attention to everything that could affect the baby in the study: the type of light, sound level, distance of the speaker for the music, etc. Our preparation was scrupulously evaluated, up to the moment we were ready for our first baby. 

The nurses brought the first baby inside the room with his cradle. He was sleeping and in a very quiet state. They placed him on the changing table and started the restraint procedure (wrapping technique and a pacifier with sucrose). The nurse pricked the baby’s heel and started squeezing the blood out for the analysis. The baby’s heart rate changed significantly and he went from a state of sleep to being agitated and fussy. The nurses were more tense, too. By the end of the several minute procedure, the baby was agitated and tired.

Then it was the second baby’s turn. He was sleeping too, but after he entered the room he started to wake up grumpily. The nurses did the same procedure, taking the same amount of time as they did with the other baby, but this time they turned on the Structured Listening Music Protocol. After they turned the music on the room’s environment changed completely, going from a harsh/cold medical room to a familiar and more qualitative care environment. The music was imposing they baby’s rhythm, emotion, and beauty on us. But more importantly, it was affecting the baby too. After just a few seconds of music, he listened to it, he turned toward it, and gradually returned to a quiet state. The nurse continued the procedure, and the baby never changed his quiet state throughout the entire procedure. The nurses were more relaxed and the baby was put in his cradle again and returned to his mom.

We won’t know the official results from the study at the Vicenza Hospital for quite some time, but these experiences give us a firm hope and a renewed resolution to advance music’s collaboration with medicine.

To keep up with more Genote™ studies and find opportunities to apply our music albums to your own medical experience, follow this blog and check out our website at www.genotelab.com.

Music After Cardiac Surgery: The Abbott Northwestern Experiment

Today we wanted to highlight an institution’s endeavors to validate a particular value that we hold as a company: that music should be used a tool to enhance traditional methods of care in hospitals.

At the Abbott Northwestern Hospital, doctors conducted a study to determine music’s effect on stress, anxiety and pain levels for heart patients immediately after undergoing cardiac surgery. This jumping off point highlighted a substantial problem in hospitals: surgery patients really do suffer from acute or chronic stress, anxiety and pain. These problems can manifest themselves in myriad ways that likely don’t help the surgical procedure. Sleeping habits, blood chemistry, and post operational healing, for example, can all be negatively affected by stress and anxiety.

The study found a significant confirmation of the hypothesis; music really does reduce anxiety, stress and pain even in a high-stress situation like a post cardiac operation.

Music was found to reduce pain.

The results of the study are encouraging for all those who look to expand the use of music in medicine. However, for this study’s practical impact to take root, practitioners face looming obstacles such as music selection standards, audio equipment, music licensing fees, responding to patient musical feedback, training personnel, etc…

These questions are important and the medical world is taking steps forward daily toward resolving them. Music therapy organizations and companies like Genote™ commit enormous amounts of research and study to bridge the gap between doctors’ practice and music’s application in medicine. One day, music will work side by side with medical institutions for the benefit of the patients and the employees.

After all, if music has been scientifically proven to reduce pain and discomfort after surgery, why shouldn’t it be in every hospital?

We are happy that the Abbott Northwestern Hospital continues to develop their research on music and pain in the clinical experience.

Learn more about how music can benefit hospitals and patients at www.genotelab.com

The Smiling Assassin

At a massive invite-only track and field even called the Weltklasse Zürich in 1995, Haile Gebrselassie’s amazing performance broke the 5,000m race world record. Gebrselassie blazed across the finish line in 12 minutes and 44 seconds, maintaining a slightly over four-minute mile pace for more than three consecutive miles. When asked how he did it, the Ethiopian athlete gave all the credit to the catchy hit song “The Scatman.”

“It’s nice music, it’s fast written, that’s why I could break a world record, by that music.”

— Gebrselassie

World records are the result of unique performance, but more, they are the result of carefully dedicated life training. Over 20 years ago music helped “The Smiling Assassin,” Haile Gebrselassie, rewrite the record books. He attributed this accomplishment to the tempo of the music. The Genote™ Company finds inspiration from incredible stories like this one, and our organization is committed to studying music’s complex power in accelerating the healing process and amplifying athletic performance and recovery. Gebrselassie demonstrated music’s ability to improve athletic performance, but he may not have realized the extensive role music took in his training and recovery. Indeed the fundamental assumption increase athletic performance is strictly linked to the balance given between work and recovery. The find of new non-invasive methodologies to improve the balance between these two areas of training is the goal of Genote™ research.

The fast tempo was the single musical element Gebrselassie recognized when crediting music with his victory. He later admitted that for longer distance races he replaces “The Scatman” so he can focus on other aspects of his running. Recent studies indicate that there could be essential musical components that affect different elements of athletic performance.

Genote™ collaborates with high level, international athletes in the areas of running, swimming, and cycling; research has found music to aid in recovery, sleep and health. By marrying music to other therapies or training programs, overall well being will be enhanced both in medical institutions, the home and even the competitive world.

Learn more about how music can improve your life at http://www.genotelab.com/.