Live Music and Mental Health – Innovation Labs
Children in Scotland, Scottish Ensemble and the University of Stirling delivered an exciting project aiming to create opportunities for more children and young people to access the mental health and wellbeing benefits of live music.
Between May and October 2023, the project partners worked with over 80 children and young people, musicians, youth workers and mental health professionals to deliver free Innovation Labs around the country. Participants came together to enjoy interactive live music performances from pioneering orchestra Scottish Ensemble, and explore the impact of live music on young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
The Innovation Labs also included a range of fun and engaging co-design activities supporting children and adults to work together to create new ideas about how to make live music more accessible to children and young people.
Our final report identifies the barriers that exist for children and young people and suggests some innovative ways to tackle these issues. It also provides some valuable learning about the co-design process.
The project builds upon research conducted in 2021, exploring the impact of live music experiences on children and young people’s mental health.
The project was funded by the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative through Creative Scotland and The Rayne Foundation.
The Live Music and Mental Health Project – Final Project Report (March 2023)
In this final project report, more than 90 participants who attended workshops in Inverness, Stirling and East Glasgow identified a range of different factors that would support children and young people’s access to live music.
