The Importance Of Community Music

The focus of this literature review is on healthy older expert performance musicians (PMs) who earned professional music degrees or received private tutoring, or were self-taught in the United States (U.S.). These older musicians pursue community music directors of choirs, symphonies, orchestras, and bands who offer (1) repertoire that showcase their music competencies (i.e., advanced, expert, virtuoso) of composing, singing, and playing instruments, (2) opportunities to perform as soloists, in small or large ensembles, (3) traveling to perform on the local, national, and international level, (4) performing face-to-face, and (5) developing relationships that are rooted in community music participation. These musicians are mentally and physically healthy, otherwise they could not have been capable of participating in community music for more than 60 years, which is a testament to music education advocacy over the past 91 years. However, the role of music in the lives of PMs has not been a topic of interest to date by either the music community or the medical community.
Approximately 450 gerontology titles were reviewed on music, relationships, health, wellness, and happiness in the participatory arts for this paper; however, only about 100 studies were analyzed. These studies were the closest to identifying independent living older adults and …show more content…
Researchers discovered that music (1) builds enduring relationships (Carr, 2009), (2) increases active socialization (Croom, 2015), (3) increases longevity (Zharinov & Anisimov, 2014), and (4) offers life satisfaction through community music participation (Solé, Mercadal-Brotons, Gallego, & Riera, 2010). Primarily, applied gerontologists identified relationships, socialization, longevity, and life satisfaction in participatory music as foremost reasons for lifelong learning and making of