The researcher chose three theories of aging to aid the phenomenological approach to understand better the motivations and behaviors of musicians during the life course. First, is psychology’s subfield of humanism that Maslow (1943a, 1943b, 1954) combined with the motivation theory to develop a human needs model (i.e., bio-psycho-social). This model explained the motivations of healthy older musicians to participate in community music ensembles. Second, sociology’s psychosocial continuity theory that Atchley (1971, 1989) proposed that explained continued health of aging musicians (i.e., bio-psycho-social), and third, Rowe & Kahn’s (1997) activity theory that explained adaptive behaviors of aging musicians (i.e., proper nutrition, vigorous exercise, cognitive stimulation, and social connectedness).
