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This chapter presents literature relative to the impact of music participation on the quality of life of senior citizens. The authors discuss quality of life from a measurement standpoint, as well as contemporary perspectives on senior citizens and learning, and the relationship of these perspectives to the types of musical experiences in which senior citizens participate. The authors review the physical, psychological, and social impacts of music participation, discussed across the fields of music education, music therapy, lifelong learning, gerontology, social psychology, religious studies, and medicine. They also discuss the connections between senior citizens’ current involvement in music and musical experiences in earlier years. A brief summary is presented at the end of the chapter, including the authors’ perspective on music and specific aspects of aging.

This chapter reports on the focus group interview phase of the study, which involved 54 music participants interviewed within 14 focus groups and eight nonparticipants interviewed within two focus groups. All were senior citizens. Surprisingly, all participants had been involved in music at some point in their lives, and their participation was strongly influenced by family, church, and culture. Most had been involved in choral ensembles at some point, with music participants maintaining involvement in music throughout life, frequently in multiple groups at the same time. For music participants, involvement in musical groups provided an avenue for creativity, self-expression, and socialization. Music participants and nonparticipants alike were united in their belief that music is for all, and were worried about the future of school music education.

Creating a successfully inclusive music learning environment is not about “tweaking” what we already do, but requires a fundamental revision of the goals of instruction and the methods employed in reaching them, particularly in light of national surveys and assessments that show low percentages for adult music participation, students’ participation in ensembles, and students’ music achievement. Many indicators showing the status of music education are even lower for schools with high poverty concentrations. Given these facts and limited instructional time, teachers must make hard decisions about what skills and knowledge are meaningful for students’ musical lives in and beyond school, and teach students to apply learned skills and knowledge in a variety of music environments. Principles of transfer support the idea of designing music programs based on a principle of transition. Steps guide teachers through the process, and examples are given of adult goals and related activities.

This chapter presents the first of two case studies examining prominent, but dissimilar, senior citizen musical groups in Evergreen Town. The aim was to learn about the specific aspects of music participation that were relevant to group members’ quality of life. The Graceful Singers, a traditional church choir, was studied using an ethnographic approach, with the researcher in the role of participant-observer and interviewer. An examination of the church home and choir history; participants’ musical histories, music learning processes, and beliefs; and the choir’s function in the church and community showed that the choir’s role in participants’ quality of life was complex. It was a juxtaposition of fulfilled expectations derived from past musical histories and participation and fulfilled psychological and spiritual needs, through a culture that was extremely welcoming, interactive, and supportive. Overall, participants’ membership in the Graceful Singers choir was or had been a vitally important contributor to their quality of life.

This chapter is based on a synthesis of the findings presented in this book. It presents a proposition for a new mindset in music education that emphasizes making connections, providing multiple entry points, offering musical varieties, allowing ownership of the musical learning, and framing meaningful music participation. The new mindset embraces music for a high quality of physical life, psychological life, and social life. Everyone should be able to live in music and find their own music in their lives. Music should be an integral part of life.

This chapter is a report of the survey portion of the study, based on 308 respondents in a large retirement community located in the southeastern United States. A key feature of this study is that both music participants and nonparticipants took the survey, which included the Quality of Life Scale and questions on demographics, history of music participation, and reasons for music participation or music nonparticipation. Analyses suggested that there was a significant but modest relationship between senior citizens’ music participation and their perceived quality of life. Furthermore, the duration of their music participation yielded a significant relationship with quality of life, but not the number of musical groups involved in the past. Those who did not participate in music were aware of the benefits of music participation and attributed their nonparticipation to circumstances beyond their control or their belief that they were not musically talented.

The opening chapter provides a framework built from the field of music education as new challenges and opportunities arise as a result of dramatic increases in (a) the awareness of music education activities outside of schools in the community, (b) the availability of a variety of musical genres, (c) the availability of time to participate in music as life expectancies continue to extend, and (d) technological advancement that reshapes the definition of music and helps to increase access to music. The chapter provides rationales for considering the music experiences of senior citizens. It also offers an overview of senior citizens’ music participation in the United States. Definitions of music education, music participation, quality of life, and senior citizens are offered broadly. These definitions are specific to this book.

This chapter draws together important strands of work in my own research output and that of John Sloboda: ideas about musical skill, expertise, cultural belief, and social opportunity. It contends that many of us are fearful of musical participation in Western cultures because of a lack of exposure to these strong musical experiences. The experiences themselves fulfil psychological needs for competency, social relatedness, and personal autonomy, which can offer the sufficient and necessary conditions for positive experiences of wellbeing and health. The work relates to singing groups created for social opportunity and therapeutic benefit for maginalized members of society.

This chapter is an application of grading fundamentals to the ensemble music setting. Music grades have evolved to include many conventions that do not conform to the advice of many grading experts. Grades determined by student achievement with respect to foundational understandings and abilities, rather than concert music performance, are often the fairest and most educational. Areas of particular concern for music grades include home practice time, concert and rehearsal attendance, class participation, and extra credit. These and other issues are elucidated. Recommendations for educative music grades are included throughout.

This chapter is a synthesis of the two contrasting case studies presented in the previous two chapters. Although the two musical groups were very different, they shared many common qualities, such as a welcoming environment, dependency on excellent listening skills, profusion of socialization, and committed members. Participants of these groups were constantly balancing between music and nonmusic activities, receiving benefits and giving back to the community, fulfilling their physical needs and their mental needs, group activities and being alone, and various activities and rest. They sought and maintained an optimal balance for themselves. Domains of the Quality of Life model were revealed in both case studies. In addition, availability of free choices and supportive context should be added to the model to reflect the contributors of quality of life found in these case studies. This synthesis led to a conclusion that music participation is an essential contributor to quality of life.

Research on the development of musical talent has documented quite substantially the role of the teacher, family, and practice. The two key studies conducted by Sloboda and Howe (Howe & Sloboda, 1991a, 1991b, 1991c; Sloboda & Howe, 1991, 1992) and Davidson, Howe, Moore, and Sloboda (Davidson, Howe, Moore, & Sloboda, 1996; Davidson, Moore, Sloboda, & Howe, 1998; Howe, Davidson, Moore, & Sloboda, 1995; Sloboda, Davidson, Howe, & Moore, 1996) have made significant contributions to the field by looking closely at these three factors. Earlier and later research has also placed similar emphasis on the role of the teacher, family and practice (see, for instance, Moore, Burland, & Davidson, 2003; Sosniak, 1985). While this research has included the talented musician’s involvement in activities outside the instrumental lesson, and key influential events, it has not been conducted and reported in the same level of detail. Nor has it identified and explored young, talented musicians’ own views as to what they have considered to be important in their own musical development, alongside their own musical beliefs and values associated with each route. The pilot study reported in this chapter aims to build on the seminal work by Sloboda et al. by focusing on the musical activities and key influences beyond that of the music lesson, practice, teacher, and family, with the aim of documenting the additional routes undertaken by adolescents, and by exploring further the role that these play in the development of adolescent musical excellence.