bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Anthea Rowan

Throughout history, music has been used for healing. Recent research has shown that music may assist in a wide range of therapeutic settings, from helping to deal with anxiety and depression, to coping with cancer.
Music may also help young people learn and behave better, according to a study by the University of Southern California Brain and Creativity Institute, which found that children who learn a musical instrument have enhanced cognitive function.
Beatriz Ilari, associate professor of music teaching and learning at the University of Southern California, was involved in the study, which followed children aged six and seven who had just started to learn music.
Their musical, social, cognitive and brain development were tracked using MRI and EEG scans, and behavioural and musical tests.


Over several years, the study showed that children involved in music exhibited higher scores in executive function – the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember, and juggle multiple tasks. They were also less hyperactive and aggressive.
Yau Wang, founder of Hong Kong’s Do Re Mi Music Therapy Centre, isn’t surprised. Listening to, or playing, music, she says, can be a positive experience. Music can be moving for those dealing with emotional trauma; it can ease and help manage frustrations, Wang says.
The power of music therapy: from cancer patients to shy kids
Wang started Do Re Mi in 2003 during the Sars outbreak in Hong Kong. At the time, she remembers, just as during the later Covid pandemic, there was uncertainty and fear of the virus.
“The stress of everyday living, not knowing what would happen from one day to the next was felt in families, not only by parents, but also children who were subjected to tension at home,” she says.
During the recent pandemic, families with special needs children, who were already dealing with stressful home lives, really suffered. It is Wang’s aim to help the most vulnerable, irrespective of age, through music therapy.
We were able to identify that he had an impeccable memory, and music had a very calming influence on him
Yau Wang, founder of Hong Kong’s Do Re Mi Music Therapy Centre, of a boy with autism
She says recent studies by US occupational therapist Kelly Mahler indicate that some individuals with autism, trauma, and depression may have poorly functioning interoceptive skills.
Interoception describes the sensation of feeling and understanding what’s going on inside your body and knowing how to react. For instance, if we feel thirsty, our brains prompt us to drink.
People with normal interoceptive awareness will be able to recognise and respond to how they feel. But children with autism often can’t do this, Wang says.

This extends to their awareness of emotions; people with good interoceptive skills understand how to respond to their own emotions as well as those of others.
Whether by listening to it or playing an instrument, music helps to prompt a range of emotions and develop emotional awareness in those who lack good interoceptive skills, Wang says.
Once a child is able to differentiate between emotions – happiness, anger and frustration – she says, they can begin to learn how to act on those emotions, how to prevent them from escalating, which in turn helps to maintain better emotional control.
She describes how children are encouraged to respond to the mood of a piece of music, such as by beating drums to lively music, or lying down to enjoy reflective music.
As children get older, we introduce them to the piano, she says, “as a mode of self-expression and to build a sense of achievement and confidence”.

She describes the case of Yeung Hong Yue, who was six years old when he enrolled in the therapy centre. He had autism; he wasn’t able to speak coherently and could only repeat words spoken to him, she says. He had not coped well in mainstream school.
After just a few sessions at Do Re Mi, “we were able to identify that he had an impeccable memory, and music had a very calming influence on him”.
Honing fine motor skills is a challenge for children with autism, says Wang. Learning a musical instrument helps them to develop these, as in the case of Yeung, who developed his motor skills by learning the piano.
He had difficulty understanding musical notation, but developed his own method of working notes out and, “using his astonishing memory”, he learned pieces quickly.

His emotional skills improved as he learned about feelings through music. He eventually went on to do diploma-level exams with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music London.
The most rewarding moment for Wang came in 2022 when, following 15 years of study, Yeung won first prize in his category at the 5th Hong Kong Pacific Piano Open Competition organised by East West Arts Association, the first competition to offer a section for children with special needs.
His mother thanked Wang, saying this was her son’s first taste of success in his life.
It wasn’t just the development of a better understanding of emotion, or even the enjoyment or success that came with music, it was the fact that the experience helped him develop a sense of self-worth.

“Every child deserves that, and to enjoy success and achievement,” says Wang.
Ilari agrees that music affects everyone’s mood, starting from a young age.
“Parents and carers use music to help regulate mood in babies and young children,” she says. As children enter their teens, many learn to manage their moods with music.
Later in life, we often resort to the music of our youth, “as a way to feel good, to connect with memories and people”.

She refers to British sociologist Tia De Nora, who speaks about music as a technology of the self. “I really like that definition,” Ilari says.
So when should one introduce a child to music?
There is a lot of discussion about the optimal age to start conventional music education, says Ilari. But the fact is, long before children take any formal music lessons, they’re already musically involved on some level – from listening to music at home or at school.
As a result, children come to music classes with musical baggage, and it’s the teacher’s role to “unpack it” and expand it.
Children with autism can also be introduced to music from a very young age, says Wang, who describes how that might start.
“In initial consultations we would use percussion instruments where children can immediately become involved,” she says.
Early signs of autism could be picked up in child’s first month: study
Children on the autism spectrum often fall behind in academic studies, despite many of them exhibiting incredible understanding of patterns and maths, Wang says. Music offers the chance for a real sense of achievement, whether in learning a musical piece or sitting music exams.
Listening to music or learning to play an instrument presents many opportunities for children, formal and informal. They have the chance to de-stress and to focus, to forge an identity, to collaborate with peers, to find something of themselves. All of that conspires to build confidence.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised it supports healthy cognition too.
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How music helps children learn, and how, for children with autism, learning to play a musical instrument improves motor skills and self-expression

Learning a musical instrument or listening to music can boost a child’s memory and focus, reduce their stress and anxiety levels, and their improve behaviour. It has particular benefits for autistic children. Photo: Shutterstock

Children with autism, trauma, and depression have poorer interoceptive skills, says US occupational therapist Kelly Mahler. Photo: Facebook.com/kellymahler

Yau Wang, founder of Hong Kong’s Do Re Mi Music Therapy Centre in Hong Kong. Photo: Do Re Mi Music Therapy Centre

Yeung Hong Yue aged six performing at Hong Kong City Hall, in Central. Photo: Yeung Hong Yue

Yeung Hong Yue won first prize in the special needs category at the 5th Hong Kong Pacific Piano Open Competition in 2022. 

Music can be moving for those dealing with emotional trauma, says therapist Yau Wang, adding that it can calm and help manage frustrations. Photo: courtesy of Yau Wang 

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Learning a musical instrument or listening to music can boost a child’s memory and focus, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve behaviour
Playing a musical instrument also helps children with autism improve their awareness of emotions and their bodily needs and functions


Learning a musical instrument improves children’s memory and focus, and reduces their stress and anxiety. It helps children with autism develop their motor skills, and awareness of their emotional and bodily needs.


How music helps children learn, and how, for children with autism, learning to play a musical instrument improves motor skills and self-expression

Learning a musical instrument or listening to music can boost a child’s memory and focus, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve behaviour Playing a musical instrument also helps children with autism improve their awareness of emotions and their bodily needs and functions

Learning a musical instrument or listening to music can boost a child’s memory and focus, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve behaviour

Playing a musical instrument also helps children with autism improve their awareness of emotions and their bodily needs and functions