Sony Music UK is offering musicians the chance to train as music therapists with independent music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins.

The charity runs the Master of Music Therapy programme, which lasts for two years and gives graduates the eligibility to apply to the Health and Care Professions Council for registration as a music therapist.

Sony will give four applicants bursaries to study in Newcastle or Manchester in 2021, which will cover the £10,000 tuition fees for the programme. The new initiative aims to remove the barriers to the programme for those who would not otherwise have the opportunity or resources to access it.

Applications for the 2021 Nordoff Robbins Master of Music Therapy programme for Manchester and Newcastle close on Monday 18 January. More information and application details can be found on our website. https://t.co/Tt87CRWgXu pic.twitter.com/d42tSZgPmc

— Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy (@NordoffRobbins1) January 6, 2021

In a press release, Frances Thomson, a student on the Master of Music Therapy programme, said: “As a bassoon player and a singer, music has always been an important part of my life. I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have found a vocation where I get to use music in such a meaningful way and meet so many inspirational people.

“Working on a neuro rehab unit of a hospital last year, I didn’t expect to be blown away by the incredible scat-singing of a man whose brain injury meant that he was usually very disorientated and unmotivated.”

She continued: “At my current placement in a care home, I didn’t expect to feel so invigorated after making music with elderly people with dementia, with whom it might be difficult or impossible to maintain a spoken conversation. It’s been amazing to see people thrive in music, and a privilege to make contact with the healthy, beautiful part of people that responds to it.”

Applications to start on the programme in September 2021 must be submitted online by January 18. An online open evening will be held on Zoom between 6-8pm on January 14. More information can be found on the Nordoff Robbins website.

In 2015, a study showed that music therapy could prevent epileptic seizures. A paper presented at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention showed that the brains of those with epilepsy react differently to music.