‘Possible Selves in Music’ is the outcome of a research partnership between Music Generation and St Patrick’s College Drumcondra (DCU), which took place from 2013 to 2015.

When ‘Possible Selves in Music’ was published in 2016 it was seen as a landmark document. It challenges traditional thinking about music education and reveals a brand new model that can achieve powerful and positive outcomes for children and young people.

The title of the research comes from the idea that when children and young people connect with music, they begin to imagine their possible future self and this leads to real transformation in their self-development.

Principal Investigator: Dr Patricia Flynn
Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Dr Thomas Johnston

Research Board
Dr Patricia Flynn, St Patrick’s College Drumcondra
Rosaleen Molloy, National Director Music Generation
Prof Stephanie Pitts, University of Sheffield
Prof Emer Smyth, ESRI

Navigating the document online
The full research document is navigable by clicking through the Contents to your desired chapter or section within the text. To navigate back to the Contents pages, click the small red ‘menu’ icon located to the right hand side of each page in the document.

This research was made possible through the commitment and engagement of Music Generation's many partners, including the Local Music Education Partnerships.