Dr Jessica Pitt

Jessica Pitt is an academic programmes professor at The Royal College of Music. Her research investigates musical play, learner-centred approaches to music education, and music as a material for interaction and communication.

Jessica’s research is supported by The Froebel Trust and through her Directorship of Magic Acorns (an Early Years arts company), Arts Council England, and Youth Music. She is a commissioner for ISME’s (International Society for Music Education) Early Childhood Music Education commission and is on the board of directors for Sound Sense, the UK professional association for Community Music. She sits on the editorial boards of Music Education Research and Music and Science journals.

Jessica is a LAHP (London, Arts and Humanities Partnership) doctoral supervisor, currently supervising Maria Magdalena Sánchez. She also supervises a number of other doctoral students.

Selected publications

Pitt J (2025, 17 January), Communicative musical play in early years, Music Teacher Magazine [LINK].

Pitt J (2024), Introduction to the special issue: posthuman perspectives for music education research, Music Education Research, 26 (3), 205-208 [DOI].

Pitt J (2024), Theorising with the mycelium in the commingled world of young children’s musical play, Music Education Research, 26 (3), 334-347 [DOI].

Pitt J & Fox S (2024), Music for parent and child interaction, in R Perkins (ed.), Music and Parental Mental Wellbeing (pp. 213-36), Oxford University Press [DOI].

Pitt J (2023), Communicative musical play with young children, in S Robson (ed.), Froebel Trust Research Highlight Series [LINK].

Pitt J & Welch GF (2023), Music in early education and care settings for communication and language support, in MS Barrett & GF Welch (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Early Childhood Learning and Development in Music, Oxford University Press [DOI].

Pitt J (2020), Communicating through musical play: combining speech and language therapy practices with those of early childhood music education – the SALTMusic approach, Music Education Research, 22 (1), 68-86 [DOI].

Huhtinen-Hildén L & Pitt J (2018), Taking a Learner-Centred Approach to Music Education: Pedagogical Pathways, Routledge [DOI].

Faculties / departments: Research, Academic staff