Recruiting

Piano Therapy

Sponsor:

McGill University

Code:

NCT06621771

Conditions

Stroke

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Music intervention

Occupational Therapy

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to study the feasibility of a 6-week piano playing training intervention in a subacute stroke population. More specifically, the investigators aim to (1) implement and test the feasibility of the intervention in the subacute stroke rehabilitation program; and (2) explore the acceptability of the supervised training sessions and home practice sessions. Researchers will also (3) estimate and contrast the effects of the piano training intervention as compared to conventional therapy on manual dexterity, coordination, functional use of the upper extremity, attention and mood.

Therapy specifically provided as part of this project will be delivered above and beyond usual therapy time in both intervention groups. Participants of the piano group will:

  • Engage in a step-by-step musical training consisting of two supervised, individual 45-min sessions per week for 6 consecutive weeks, for a total of 12 sessions.
  • The supervised session will also be complemented with a biweekly home program (15 minutes) consisting of piano exercises.

Participants in the conventional group will:

  • Engage in two individual 45-min sessions per week for 6 consecutive weeks consisting in conventional occupational therapy treatment.
  • They will also receive a biweekly home program consisting in occupational therapy exercises (15 minutes).

Conditions

Stroke

Study ID

NCT06621771

Start date

Oct 15, 2024

Status verified date

Sep, 2026

Completion date

Dec 30, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

May 1, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Have normal/corrected visual and auditory acuity
  • Present a first-ever supratentorial unilateral stroke (1-24 weeks post-stroke)
  • Present some capacity of dissociation of arm and finger movements, as reflected by scores of 3 to 6 on the arm and hand components of the Chedoke McMaster Stroke Assessment
  • Have the capacity to follow simple instructions
  • Have no professional piano experience (only for the piano group)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of visual field defect, hemineglect as well as dementia or moderate-to-severe cognitive deficits (score less than 18 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment).

Study Design

Enrollment

30 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Piano group

Participants will engage in a step-by-step musical training consisting of two supervised, individual 45-min sessions per week for 6 consecutive weeks, for a total of 12 sessions. They will also be asked to practice 2x/week for 15 minutes and they will report on their practice duration and content in a logbook after each practice session.

active comparator: Conventional group

Participants will engage in two supervised and individual 45-min session per week for 6 consecutive week, consisting in usual occupational therapy treatment. They will be asked to practice 2x/week for 15 minutes and they will report on their practice duration and content in a logbook after each practice session.

Interventions

Music intervention

Participants will engage in a step-by-step piano training consisting in playing piano pieces designed to involve all 5 digits of the paretic hand and increasing in complexity. They will be using a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) piano program called Synthesia to display musical pieces on a computer screen that is adapted for people with no music reading abilities and will be playing on a touch sensitive piano keyboard. The supervised session will also be complemented with a unsupervised home program consisting of piano sequence exercises comprising short excerpts of the same musical pieces practiced during the supervised sessions and they will receive a roll-up flexible piano

Occupational Therapy

Participants will receive conventional occupational therapy treatment (e.g., mobility, ADL, IALD, information session), excluding treatments focusing specifically on arm and hand motor recovery.The supervised session will also be complemented with an unsupervised home program consisting of assignments related to occupational therapy exercises and/or IALD/ADLs.

Primary outcome measure

  • Feasibility: Characteristics of stroke participants [ Time Frame: Pre-intervention (week0) ]
  • Feasibility: Number of eligible vs. referred participants [ Time Frame: Post-intervention (week6) ]
  • Feasibility: adherence to intervention - number of completed sessions [ Time Frame: Post-intervention (week6) ]
  • Feasibility: adherence to intervention - number of piano pieces completed (piano group) vs occupational therapy exercises completed (conventional group) [ Time Frame: Post-intervention (week6) ]
  • Feasibility: adherence to intervention - number of home practice sessions [ Time Frame: Post-intervention (week6) ]
  • Feasibility: adherence to intervention - time of home practice sessions [ Time Frame: Post-intervention (week6) ]
  • Feasibility: presence of adverse or undesirable effects during the intervention [ Time Frame: Post-Intervention (week6) ]
  • Acceptability of the intervention [ Time Frame: Post-intervention (week6) ]
  • Acceptability: Overall experience [ Time Frame: Post-intervention (week6) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Anouk Lamontagne, PhD

450-688-9550anouk.lamontagne@mcgill.ca

Myriam Villeneuve, Mec

514-216-1295myriam.villeneuve@mail.mcgill.ca

Locations

Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital

Recruiting

Laval, Quebec, Canada, H7V1R2

Contacts

Anouk Lamontagne, PhD

450-688-9550anouk.lamontagne@mcgill.ca

Vira Rose

450-688-9550vrose_hjr@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

More Information

Sponsor

McGill University

Last update posted

Oct 7, 2026

Last verified

Sep, 2026

Keywords

  • Music therapy
  • Rehabilitation
  • Intervention
  • Upper extremity
  • dexterity

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-25. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by McGill University on 2026-10-07. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.