The Bonnes Notes project aims to provide educational support from an early age through a programme of instrumental teaching over two school years, from CP to CE1. The aim of this educational programme is to teach the violin and piano in all primary schools located in priority education zones (REP+) and in Urban Policy Neighborhoods in the Seine Saint-Denis area. The aim is to reduce, from the start of primary school, the educational inequalities observed in these neighborhoods, which increase throughout the school years.

Numerous international studies have shown the beneficial effects of musical practice on children's cognition and motor skills. They show that by taking musical instrument lessons, they significantly increase their ability to memorize, concentrate, verbal intelligence and the acquisition of mathematical concepts.

The beneficiaries of the programme are children aged 6 to 7 in CP and CE1 at several schools. They benefit from free weekly music lessons lasting 1 hour 45 minutes during extra-curricular activities. The lessons take place in two parts: the first part is dedicated to learning the violin or piano, followed by a music theory session. Then there is weekly individual coaching in the presence of the parent, because a parent's involvement in learning a musical instrument is crucial.

Each school year includes three student concerts.

In order to assess the impact of early teaching of a musical instrument on fundamental learning outcomes in CP and CE1, this study is being conducted over three years, from September 2024 to June 2026. A scientific team chaired by the Chairman of the Conseil Scientifique de l'Éducation Nationale and including professors from the CNRS and Science Po, will compare this impact with the teaching of a sport during the same extra-curricular time, in this case karate.

With this project, the Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund is seeking to make a long-term commitment to young people in order to reduce inequalities and give them access to ever greater opportunities.