Submissions

Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Music and Medicine is an international journal that offers an integrative forum for clinical practice and research of applied music in medical settings and allied institutions. The Editors seek empirical research studies, review studies, clinical case reports, letters to the editor, and book reviews.

Music and Medicine emphasizes research practices that integrate music therapy, music psychology, music cognition, and music neuroscience into medical practice and knowledge. The journal addresses research and clinical practices related to music medicine and music-based health practices, including the health of musicians. The Editors will favor quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method research studies.

Articles from a wide variety of perspectives including academic and practice settings are featured. Medical music perspectives from the neurosciences, clinical and integrative medicine, oncology, music therapy, psychology, neurodevelopment, pain and palliative medicine, spiritual care, nursing research, health research, and social work will be prominent.

The journal is published 4 times per year and is available by subscription. One article in every edition will be published as an Open Access paper with no Article processing fees charged to the authors. The Open Access paper in each edition is determined by the Editorial Team.

Types of articles

Music and Medicine accepts the following types of contributions:

• Full-Length Research Articles: Maximum 4,000 words, including references (up to 120 references), with the following structure: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions. Please download the author template here: [LINK]
• Systematic Reviews/Meta-Analyses/Narrative Reviews/Scoping Reviews: Maximum 6,000 words; up to 200 references, with the following structure: Objectives; Methods (Data Sources); Results; Implications and Conclusions. Please download the author template here: [LINK]
• Brief Reports/Clinical Reports: Maximum 2,000 words, including references; up to 20 references. No specified article structure.
• Letters to the Editor/Comments: Maximum 1,000 words; up to 20 references. A comment addresses a work previously published in Music and Medicine. No specified article structure. Letters to the Editor and Comments are not subject to blind peer review.
• Book Reviews: Maximum 1,000 words. No specified article structure.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Title Page

Each submission should consist of a title page and a main manuscript file. These are two separate files. PLEASE USE THIS TITLE PAGE TEMPLATE.

The title page should include: (i) manuscript title and all author names, degrees, affiliations, mailing addresses, and e-mail addresses for correspondence, (ii) a short title (running head), (iii) a one sentence biographical statement for each author, listing credentials and one or multiple places of affiliation, (iv) grant or financial support information and/or a conflict of interest statement, (v) a statement regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as (vi) any acknowledgments. 

Manuscript File

See the “Types of Articles” section and adhere to the templates provided. For article types that do not have a specified structure, ensure that the manuscript file is single-spaced, uses a 12-point font, and includes tables, figures, notes, and references. On the first page, include the title, a non-structured abstract (maximum 200 words), and 4–5 keywords. Every effort should be made to ensure that the main document contains no identifying information about the authors, in accordance with double-anonymized review. If your manuscript type requires a specific structure, please follow the section headings outlined in the relevant template.

References (AMA Style)

Music and Medicine follows the American Medical Association (AMA) referencing style. Authors must ensure that all references strictly adhere to AMA guidelines. Submissions that do not comply with these requirements will be returned to the authors for correction prior to review.

• References are numbered in order of appearance in text.
• In-text citations are numbers in square brackets (e.g., Smith et al. [1]).
• Same source keeps the same number throughout.
• Use DOI instead of URL.
• Journal names abbreviated (NLM abbreviations).
• If up to 6 authors listed, use all author names for reference, if more than 6 authors listed, use the first three author names, followed by et al.
  

Reference Links

To ensure accurate linking to indexing services (e.g., Scopus, CrossRef, PubMed), authors must provide complete and accurate reference information, including author names, journal or book titles, publication year, and page numbers. Errors in reference details may prevent link creation. Authors are encouraged to include DOIs where available, as they provide permanent links to electronic articles. DOI citations should follow the same formatting style as other references.

Web References

As a minimum, the full URL should be provided**, along with the date the resource was last accessed**. Any additional information, if available (e.g., DOI, author names, publication dates, or source publication), should also be included. Web references should be included in the reference list.

Data References

Music and Medicine encourages authors to cite underlying or relevant datasets both within the text and in the reference list. Data references should include the following elements: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (if available), year, and a global persistent identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before the reference so it can be properly identified as a data reference. The dataset identifier will not appear in the published article.

References (AMA style, examples below)

Journal article: Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Title. Year;Volume(Issue):Pages. Doi:

Example: Tremblay MS, Chaput J, Adamo KB, et al. Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines for the early years (0–4 years). J. Mus Ther. 2017;17:1-32. doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4859-6

Book: Author AA. Book Title. Edition. Publisher; Year.

Example: Rachman S. Anxiety. 3rd ed. Psychology Press; 2013.

Book chapter: Author AA. Chapter title. In: Editor AA, ed. Book Title. Edition. Publisher; Year:Pages.

Example: Smith J. Neural entrainment and rhythm perception. In: Brown T, ed. Music Neuroscience. 2nd ed. Academic Press; 2020:201-215.

Website:  Author/Organization. Title of page. Website Name. Published date. Updated date. Accessed date. URL

Example: World Health Organization. Mental health and substance use. WHO. Published 2023. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://www.who.int

Resubmission Files

In case revisions are required after the first round of peer review, authors are required to provide the following as part of the resubmission process:

• A detailed response to reviewers’ comments.
• A revised manuscript with changes clearly indicated.
• Text changes should be highlighted or marked in color.
• Text removal should be indicated with the strikethrough text option.
• A clean version of the manuscript.

As the journal follows a double-anonymized peer-review process, documents containing tracked changes cannot be sent to reviewers.

Book Review Guidelines

• Include author/s, editor(s) first and last name(s), title of book & ISBN, year and place of publication, publisher & number of pages and the price (web-based, paperback or hard cover). The book/media/music/web review should be no longer than 1000 words, providing readers with an account overview of the work in an informative way. 
• The opinion of the reviewer is important and should be an informed voice inclusive of a critical discussion related to the work itself as well as issues or former writings relevant to the work's intention. 
• The review should follow the AMA Style Guidelines. 
• The review should address Music and Medicine’s readership to include the purpose and intended audience of the work as well as the background (training & history) of the author, what the work confirms and/or to what is already known on the topic, the intentions and goals/objectives of the work, and if they are achieved with clarity.
• It might be useful to compare the work with other works of a similar genre and to speculate on the reasons why this work was developed. How might the next book written on the topic include missed points of the current work? What themes were most highlighted, and how did the discussions build on ideas known in the literature already? Finally, why or why not would you recommend this work, and what is the takeaway message? 
• End the review with: First and last name & institutional affiliation of reviewer and a brief biographical note, inclusive of the reviewer's credentials, place of work, and interests, is required.

Music Reporting Guidelines

The 'music' of the article should be described in full detail. Please refer to Reporting Guidelines for Music-based Interventions Checklist available.   

• This includes but is not limited to defining aspects of the music in terms of whether it was: live or recorded, pre-composed or improvised, played or sung, and the researchers' decision-making processes related to the music selected.
• Include music titles, the composer and edition/version/sound track and year it was recorded. If live music is used, describe the name and model of the musical instruments used and how the music was played (modality, style, dynamic, timbre etc) solo or ensemble. 
• Readers should understand how the music intervention was set up: patient preferred recording brought into therapy or research, or spontaneous favorite song (known) or co-created in the moment. 
• Music medicine intervention descriptions should provide details about how and why the music was selected and how it was incorporated into treatment interventions.
• Appendices and links in the text to audio recordings of music are encouraged; consent/permission is required.

Research Reporting Guidelines

Please refer to the linked webpages and adhere to these guidelines when submitting:

• Randomized controlled trials, please refer to Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT). Checklist available. 
• Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and integrative reviews, please refer to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Checklist available. 
• Scoping reviews, please refer to the PRISMA Sc-R guidelines.  Checklist available.
• Case study, please refer to the Case Report Guidelines (CARE). Checklist available. 
• Qualitative Designs, please refer to The Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research: A Synthesis of Recommendations (SRQR) and/or Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ)

Artwork and Tables

Artwork includes charts and graphs, maps, photographs, figures, and line art. Images should be clear and neat, and they should be submitted in the original format in which they were created (JPG, TIFF, or EPS; Microsoft Application Files are acceptable for line art). Any scanned images should be set at 1200 dpi for line art and 300 dpi for color or grayscale. There is no fee for color images. Illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end and are numbered in the order they appear in text. Each table and figure submitted must be cited within the article. Tables should present supporting data in a clear and unambiguous manner.

Permissions and Releases

Material taken directly from a copyrighted source should be clearly identified, and the copyright holder’s written permission to reproduce it must be submitted in a separate file. Note: Obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material is the author's responsibility, as is payment of any fees the copyright holder may request. Identifiable audio and visual recordings and images of people should be accompanied by a signed release granting permission for their likeness to be reproduced in an article. (In children's cases, the release form must be signed by a parent or guardian.)

Conflict of Interest

It is the author’s responsibility to disclose any potential conflict of interest regarding the manuscript. Additionally, any identifying information regarding a patient should be removed from the manuscript, or informed consent from the patient will be required.

Online Submission

Manuscripts are submitted through the journal website submission system (mmd.iammonline.com). Authors need to indicate the type of submission and complete the submission checklist.

Audio and Video Material

If your article considered for publication in Music and Medicine includes audio or video material, please contact the production editor. We are able to handle all common file formats and will make sure that your material is available for our readers.

Abstract Compilation

This section is used for conferences in which we want to highlight the work that will or was presented at a specific event. Make a new submission to the Abstract compilation section.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.