You Don’t Need to Be Musical to Use Music in SEND Settings

“I’m not musical.”

It’s one of the most common phrases I hear in SEND settings.

Usually said with a smile. Often followed by, “You wouldn’t want to hear me sing.”

But using music meaningfully with pupils isn’t about singing beautifully or playing an instrument well.

In SEND environments, music isn’t performance. It's connection.

If a pupil taps softly and you tap softly back. If they pause and you wait. If they vocalise and you echo it. That’s music.

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What makes the difference isn’t technical skill - it’s responsiveness. It’s being willing to notice, to match, to allow anticipation and playfulness to build shared attention.

A repeated rhythm. A held pause. A simple call-and-response.

These small moments can support communication, regulation and engagement, without anyone needing to feel “musical”.

So if you’ve ever said, “I’m not musical,” it might be worth gently reframing that. If you can pause, tap a rhythm, copy a sound, or share a moment, you already have what you need.

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This thinking sits at the heart of our new course, Using Music in SEND Settings, now available on our Learning Space. The course shares simple, practical approaches to using music intentionally to support communication, attention, regulation and wellbeing in SEND environments - especially for those who don’t see themselves as “musical”.

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Written by Emma Phillipson, Music Therapist and course lead at Chiltern Music Therapy