Welcome to FirstMusic!
Hello and a very warm welcome to FirstMusic!
FirstMusic has a simple mission: to support parental mental well-being and the parent-baby relationship through music.
We cover pregnancy to babies aged 2 (1001 days) and have particular expertise in baby crying. We turn high-quality research into free and lovely resources for families; produce beautiful free music for wellbeing; and offer low-cost accredited training for practitioners working with families to fund our work. There are no parenting or baby gurus, guilt-tripping myths, or passing fads here - we hope this is our super-power!! Just cutting-edge research straight into practice for real families.
Please have a look around the site and feel free to get in touch if you would like to know more or have any questions.
Thanks so much for visiting!
Debi
Debi Graham | BA(Hons) MA(Dist) PG.Dip FRSPH
Founder
PS. If you'd like to subscribe to our lovely newsletter, please click HERE!
PPS. When we say "parental" or "parents", we actually mean all the super-humans caring for babies and toddlers, including adopters, foster carers, and biological, same-sex, and single parents to name a few. Such rich and diverse 21st century families!!
About FirstMusic!
FirstMusic launched in January 2023 with a research study based at the Royal College of Music in London. In September 2023, the FirstMusic website was born!
This whole website is designed to be smartphone-friendly so that it's easy-to-use, even in the wee hours of the morning! Many of those involved in FirstMusic have lived experience of baby crying and other common wellbeing challenges, and how music helped. The research agrees with them and says that music is a proven support in pregnancy, childbirth, recovery from caesarian, and in the early weeks and months after birth. It's not a pill and is available for free around the clock even without paid apps.
FirstMusic is here to get all the amazing research onto the ground to help real families in real places with real struggles with mental wellbeing and baby crying. Much of the parent-baby music provision is in the private sector in the UK. This is a barrier for so many families with different backgrounds, languages, and wonderful musical traditions of their own. FirstMusic aims to break down barriers and harness the power of music for all families!
Please feel free to subscribe to our lovely newsletter HERE!
About our founder
Hello! Cześć! مرحبًا السلام علیکم Përshëndetje! Buna ziua!
I'm Debi and I head-up FirstMusic and lead the research studies - that's me in the photo! And my trusty feline assistant, Savi, too! I've lived in and around Nottingham for over 35 years and spent the last three decades working with families and practitioners in the UK and around the globe. I've met such amazing folk who have taught me so much!
I'm passionate about working gently and kindly with families to help them with all the mental wellbeing challenges of having a baby. My own little one didn't sleep for more than 2 hours until 9+ months old. That's 30 years ago now and certainly showed me just how important parental mental wellbeing is!! At some point, most parents and carers will experience low-mood, sleep deprivation, feeling alone and confused, and concerns about doing the right thing.
The reality of having and caring for a baby is very different from the image of parenthood we are sold!! At least 1 in 5 parents and carers will have a diagnosable mental health challenge and this rises to 1 in 3 in the developing world. A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report showed the value of music - in all its forms - in supporting parental mental wellbeing across all cultural traditions. I'm dedicated to getting this amazing research onto the ground!
Debi is Network Coordinator for the international Music and Parental Wellbeing research network funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and hosted by the Royal College of Music and City University London. FirstMusic is also a member of the Culture, Health, and Wellbeing Alliance, and all of our work meets the standards of the Creative Health Quality Framework. We are members of Conception to Age Two - First 1001 Days All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) whose secretariat is provided by the Parent-Infant Foundation. FirstMusic is very proud to be partnership with Healthy Little Minds in Nottingham city.
What people say about FirstMusic!
Emily
"I have loved seeing the positive impact that FirstMusic has on everyone involved, it has such an inclusive and calm environment that can guide you through difficult times. Adding more music into my life has motivated me through the day and improved my mental wellbeing, so I can't thank FirstMusic enough for this support."
Anon
"I was so shocked when I had my first baby. It was nothing like what I thought it would be! And the crying was just unbearable sometimes. I love FirstMusic resources, they are so kind and helpful...and honest. Thank you :)"
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.