About

Beatriz Ilari is a Professor of Music Teaching & Learning at the USC Thornton School of Music. She teaches graduate courses in music psychology, the sociology of music, cultural diversity in music teaching and learning, and research methods. Her research focuses on musical development and growth in infants, children, and adolescents, utilizing a variety of interdisciplinary approaches. Ilari has conducted extensive research with babies, preschoolers, and school-aged children from the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Japan, and Mexico, often collaborating with USC’s Brain & Creativity Institute and Bionic Ear Lab, as well as scholars from various research centers and universities worldwide. Her work includes studies on musicking in the margins and the impact of musical participation on social and emotional development. She holds a PhD in music education from McGill University, an MA in violin performance from Montclair State University, and a BA in music education from the University of São Paulo.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Sociology
• Art
• Humanities

Selected publications

• Intersections between music education and the sociology of childhood in Brazil: Searching for children’s agency and musical protagonism

  Global Studies of Childhood · 2025-05-21 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This article discusses the concept of children’s agency in early childhood music education, integrating perspectives from the sociology of childhood and analysing music teaching and learning contexts in Brazil. Although children are increasingly recognised as catalysts for change in education and policy, there is still a persistent gap between theoretical discussions about agency and the practical opportunities available for children to actively engage in musical learning. Children’s agency as their ability to make decisions, express preferences and influence their environment. However, in early childhood music education, the traditional understanding of agency is usually limited to the transmission of content dictated by educators, promoting a vertical and teacher-centred dynamic. To address this concern, we propose that significant, meaningful and creative musical experiences depend on acknowledging children’s role as protagonists of their musical experiences. Recognising them as social agents shifts the focus from passive learning to active participation in shaping their experiences, and by discussing the concept of musical protagonism, we seek to emphasise the inherent value of children’s musical expressions. This study presents a nuanced analysis of children’s agency and protagonism through an interdisciplinary lens, leading to a conceptual framework to better understand children’s musical practices.

  PublisherDOI

• The Effects on Brain Structures, Social and Cognitive Skills in Children Exposed to the Guri Santa Marcelina Program in Greater São Paulo: A Quasi-Experimental Study v1

  2025-01-26

  preprintOpen access

  The question guiding this study is: how can participation in the Guri Santa Marcelina Program affect the development of social skills, cognitive abilities and brain structure in children aged between 6 and 7? Among the observational studies used in the health area, the quasi-experimental design verifies the causal relationship between exposure to a situation and the prognosis of an outcome. It has been widely used in research in situations where conducting a randomized control study would be unethical. This study will be used here for reasons inherent to the process of enrolling in the Program, prospectively throughout the 2020 school year, when data will be collected from the internal group (50 children) exposed to the Program and the control group (100 children, 50 of whom will be randomized to MRI), in order to measure, through this observation, the effects that the predictor (being exposed to the Program) has on the outcome variable (social and cognitive skills and changes in brain structure). Parents or guardians will sign the Informed Consent Form at the time of enrollment. The aims of this research are: 1) to evaluate the social effects of the Guri Santa Marcelina Program of the São Paulo State Department of Culture on children aged 6 and 7 in the communities served by the program using the ABEP economic classification criteria (2018), the SDQ questionnaire (Goodman & Goodman, 2011) of abilities and difficulties, the Questionnaire of Aggressive and Reactive Behaviors among Peers (Q- CARP; Borsa & Bandeira, 2014), verbal working memory (WISC-IV), concentrated, divided and sustained attention BPA (Rueda, 2013) and Raven’s Colored Matrices test (Raven, Raven, & Court, 2003); 2) to observe possible structural changes in the brains of children exposed to the intervention of the Guri Santa Marcelina Program in 6 and 7 year olds by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Results of research conducted on programs inspired by the Venezuelan project based on orchestral music teaching known as El Sistema showed a significant improvement in students’ academic performance when compared to the control group (Holochwost et al., 2017b), cognitive (Habibi et al., 2016), socio-emotional and musical (Ilari et al., 2016). Similar results in a study conducted by Alemán et al. (2016) corroborate the behavioral benefits of children exposed to social vulnerabilities. In Brazil, although there are several social music education projects (Ação Social pela Música do Brasil - ASMB in Chapéu Mangueira, Alemão, Macacos, Cidade de Deus, Piraí, João Pessoa, Rondônia, Neojibá in Bahia, Projeto Guri in the interior and coast of São Paulo, Instituto Baccarelli, formalized in 1996 in the city of São Paulo, and Guri Santa Marcelina in Greater São Paulo), there are no quantitative studies or studies that have used imaging exams to measure the prognosis that exposure to social programs focused on music education presents as an outcome.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Tune In or Take the Stage? A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing After-School Music and Theatre Training with Neuroimaging Outcomes for Youth (Preprint)

  2025-10-28

  articleOpen access

  <sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> While growing evidence suggests that music training supports child development, few long-term randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have rigorously tested these claims. Moreover, it remains unclear whether the benefits are confined to music-specific domains or extend to higher-order cognitive functions such as inhibitory control (IC), a core executive function associated with long-term outcomes in academic achievement, career success, socio-emotional health, and physical well-being. </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> This paper presents the protocol for the Extracurricular Activity and Child Early Learning and Development (EXCEL) trial, an RCT designed to assess the feasibility of a long-term music training program focusing on the brain and behavioral correlates of IC. </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> A total of 126 children, aged 6 to 8 years and residing in neighborhoods with limited resources in Los Angeles, were individually randomized to either a music (intervention) or theatre (active control) after-school program. Both programs were delivered over 24 months by established community arts organizations. Eligibility criteria included: average intellectual functioning, no major medical or psychiatric conditions, and MRI eligibility. Children with prior formal music training exceeding six months or severe hearing impairment were excluded. Before the intervention began, all participants completed baseline behavioral and neuroimaging assessments. The primary trial aim was to assess the effects of extended music training, relative to theatre training, on changes in measures of IC (i.e., Go/No-Go task and delayed gratification) and related neural functional activation. A secondary interim aim of the trial was to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a long-term RCT of music education in a first cohort, measured by participant retention, adherence to the program, willingness to continue at the 12-month mark, and fidelity. </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> Recruitment, screening, baseline testing, randomization, and program enrollment began in August 2022, and after-school programming began in October 2022. The randomized interventions and all data for the first cohort (N = 42) have been collected. Intervention and active control programs for a second cohort are ongoing and will end in Fall 2026. </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> This paper reports the EXCEL trial protocol and provides estimates of the feasibility of implementing a long-term randomized controlled trial of music training in real-world, community-based settings with children. While similar neuroimaging RCTs are currently underway in Europe, the EXCEL trial is among the first in the United States to integrate longitudinal neuroimaging with arts intervention. Findings will inform the viability of scaling such programs and contribute to our understanding of how sustained music engagement may influence the development of inhibitory control circuitry in childhood. </sec> <sec> <title>CLINICALTRIAL</title> The EXCEL Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05502939 </sec>

  PublisherDOI

• Towards Positive YouthDevelopment and Well-Being in Music Education: Lessons for Music TeacherEducation

  2024-01-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Relationship Between Direct Aggression and Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Attention and Intelligence Among Children at Risk for Behavioral Problems

  Child Psychiatry & Human Development · 2024-08-16

  articleOpen access

  This study aimed to investigate the influence of attention and intelligence in the prediction of prosocial behavior by direct aggression (proactive or reactive) in school-aged children at risk for behavioral problems. The sample was composed of 64 children aged 6 to 8 years screened for risk of behavioral problems, who were enrolled in a clinical trial. Multiple regression models were tested to investigate the prediction of prosocial behavior by direct aggression (proactive or reactive), attention, and intelligence. Additive multiple moderation models were tested to analyze the conditional effect of attention and intelligence in the prediction of prosocial behavior by proactive and reactive aggression. Aggression (proactive or reactive), attention, and intelligence did not linearly predict prosocial behavior. Conditional effects were found only for the proactive aggression model. Negative impacts on prosocial behavior were observed among children with low attention and high intelligence performance, while medium and high levels of attention showed to be protective factors among low to medium intellectual ability children. Clinical impacts of the results are discussed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Long-term music instruction is partially associated with the development of socioemotional skills

  PLoS ONE · 2024-07-18 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  This study aims to investigate the development of pitch-matching, rhythmic entrainment, and socioemotional skills in children who received formal music instruction and other non-music based after school programs. Eighty-three children, averaging 6.81 years old at baseline, were enrolled in either a music, sports, or no after-school program and followed over four years. The music program involved formal and systematic instruction in music theory, instrumental technique, and performance. Most control participants had no music education; however, in some instances, participants received minimal music education at school or at church. Musical development was measured using a pitch-matching and drumming-based rhythmic entrainment task. Sharing behavior was measured using a variation of the dictator game, and empathy was assessed using three different assessments: the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescence (trait empathy), the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (theory of mind), and a Fiction Emotion-Matching task (state empathy). Results revealed no time-related associations in pitch-matching ability; however, formal music instruction improved pitch-matching relative to controls. On the contrary, improvements in rhythmic entrainment were best explained by age-related changes rather than music instruction. This study also found limited support for a positive association between formal music instruction and socioemotional skills. That is, individuals with formal music instruction exhibited improved emotion-matching relative to those with sports training. In terms of general socioemotional development, children's trait-level affective empathy did not improve over time, while sharing, theory of mind, and state empathy did. Additionally, pitch-matching and rhythmic entrainment did not reliably predict any socioemotional measures, with associations being trivial to small. While formal music instruction benefitted pitch-matching ability and emotion-matching to an audiovisual stimulus, it was not a significant predictor of rhythmic entrainment or broader socioemotional development. These findings suggest that the transfer of music training may be most evident in near or similar domains.

  PublisherDOI

• Commentary on Verna Vazquez-Diaz de Leon “The Interactive Role of Music as a Facilitator for Mother–Infant Bonding in Early Motherhood”

  Empirical Musicology Review · 2024-10-07

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The following is a commentary on Vazquez’ two-part study of mothers’ everyday uses of music and their relationships to the quality of mother-child interaction and bonding. The commentary considers how Vazquez’ findings are linked to the experiences and meanings of motherhood in modern times, including the stressors and pressures that many women experience as they begin their journeys as new mothers. The commentary presents three main points: the necessity to listen to maternal voices, the need to diversify study samples, and the recognition that mothers are a diverse group.

  PublisherDOI

• How AI is shaping the music listening habits of Gen Z

  2024-03-13

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Music education reduces emotional symptoms in children: A quasi-experimental study in the Guri Program in Brazil

  medRxiv · 2024-11-12

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract The transferability of music education to cognitive and social skills has been explored recently, but its causal effects remain debatable. This quasi-experimental study aimed to examine the impact of a music education program (Guri) on aspects attention, working memory and socioemotional skills in children from underserved communities of São Paulo, Brazil. The music group (n = 38, 5-9 years) was recruited from 10 centers (polos) distributed across the metropolitan area of São Paulo and the control group (n = 67) consisted of aged-matched children who attended public schools surrounding the polos. The ABEP SES questionnaire and the Raven test were used as control variables, the SDQ questionnaire, the Digit-span subtest from WISC-IV, the PARB-Q questionnaire, and the BPA test were used as subject variables. A significant effect of the intervention in emotional symptoms in the music group as opposed to controls was found (F(1,89) = 4.562, p = 0.035, η 2 = 0.049), indicating benefits for the music group. Children whose mothers had low levels of education benefited with gains between 0.70 and 0.95 standard deviations in both groups for divided attention, indicating a significant interaction with maternal education.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Melodic Skills of Portuguese Children from Disadvantaged Backgrounds

  Springer series in design and innovation · 2024-11-17

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Assal Habibi

  University of Southern California

  17 shared

• Eun Cho

  Yale University

  7 shared

• Susan Young

  6 shared

• Hanna Damásio

  University of Southern California

  5 shared

• Frank Russo

  5 shared

• Graziela Bortz

  5 shared

• Annabel J. Cohen

  5 shared

• Hugo Cogo‐Moreira

  Østfold University College

  4 shared

Education

• PhD in Music, Music Education

  McGill University

  2002