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For most current cochlear implant (CI) recipients, be they adults or children, the primary goal of open-set speech perception in quiet is usually achieved. However, as CI technology has advanced and implantation criteria expanded, expectations for device benefit have substantially increased. For many recipients, music is a highly desired auditory stimuli and is considered by some the “holy grail.” Current research, however, suggests that both perceptual accuracy and enjoyment of music is poor for many recipients.

There is a substantial body of research investigating the perceptual acuity levels of implant recipients on a host of music and psychophysical tasks, both as a function of technological features as well as recipient characteristics. Unfortunately, as of yet, there is no clear solution or strategy that provides consistently accurate music perception for all recipients. Therefore, a few researchers and clinicians have been looking at other options to assist current recipients with current technology. Music training has started to emerge as a potentially beneficial intervention.

Music is multifaceted and has a diverse role in everyday life. From a clinical outcomes perspective, one could reasonably argue that appreciation is more important than perception. For example, which would be a more desirable outcome, (1) a patient who can recognize many musical instruments and discriminate semitone intervals, but dislikes the sound of music and avoids social situations that involve music listening, or (2) a patient who experiences much-improved enjoyment of music that enables him or her to attend social functions and participate in music-based opportunities that he or she could not partake in previously?

Hence, music training and music appreciation are two interrelated, yet highly important issues emerging in the field of CI and music research. However, the editors of this edition realize that tightly controlled experiments may not be the most suitable research approach to investigate these issues. Training and appreciation encompass not only auditory (e.g., type of stimuli), hearing, and device-related considerations, but also personal and psychosocial factors that affect persistence, motivation, expectations, needs, feasibility, and relevance.

This edition has incorporated a range of articles, both on music appreciation and music training, which we hope the reader will find interesting and useful. It begins with a literature review of the eminent papers on these two topics, to provide the reader with an overview of the current state of play, and ends with two clinically oriented (nonresearch) papers, written by two clinicians based on many years of practice and observation. These two articles provide practical suggestions that could be incorporated into clinical work with recipients. In addition, several articles are systematic studies of different training methodologies, and one describes a concert involving music specifically composed for recipients. Overall the editors have included articles that emphasize appreciation, training, and psychosocial aspects of music enjoyment, which, to date, have received less emphasis in prior publications. Our aims are to provide readers with a new perspective as well as to showcase some emerging trends in the field.

In closing, technological improvements that will restore “normal” or “near-normal” music perception are seemingly some way off. Further, emerging evidence suggests that music training may generalize not only to other musical tasks, but potentially to speech tasks. Consequently, music training may become an increasingly important (re)habilitation tool, particularly given that musical stimuli may be more motivating and enjoyable training stimuli for some. Equally important, though, music training may help restore music enjoyment, which can promote greater social integration and enhanced quality of life.