Let music be the food of wellbeing

OAP clubs and homes organise regular sing-songs and music sessions but the researchers say the elderly are not the only group to benefit. They are urging councils and organisations throughout the UK to consider introducing programmes for pregnant women, young offenders, prisoners, young adults and workers.

The University of Brighton’s Professor Alan Tomlinson, Professor of Leisure Studies, and Professor Guy Julier, Professor of Design Culture, are part of a national network of researchers taking part in a study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

The research findings, released this last week, are the first of a series of reviews, reports and publications that will be produced by the Culture, Sport and Wellbeing research network comprising Brunel University London, the University of Brighton, the London School of Economics, and the University of Winchester.

Funded for three years to the tune of more than £1m, the network is one of four research groupings to hold awards from the ESRC. Each is contributing to a programme co-ordinated by the ESRC-funded What Works Centre for Wellbeing, launched by the Government to develop and share evidence that governments, businesses, communities and people can use to improve wellbeing across the UK.

Professor Alan Tomlinson

The Brighton contribution is based in the College of Arts and Humanities where Professor Tomlinson and Professor Julier are supported by a research officer.

Professor Tomlinson, Brighton’s lead in the project, said: “The review collates and classifies data from a range of studies from research published in numerous countries between 1996 and 2016, confirming what providers and practitioners if not policy-makers have widely recognised: that participation in music or singing, or listening to music, can have positive effects on self-esteem and subjective wellbeing.

“The task now is to harness the insights and integrated knowledge of the review into future policy-related research that could report more fully, from standardised or complementary study designs, the extent of subjective wellbeing that is generated by participatory music-making, singing or listening.”

Professor Tomlinson said more research is needed to explore how far such benefits might accrue for more categories of people who engage in forms of music and singing in their everyday lives. 

Review highlights included promising evidence that listening to relaxing music can alleviate anxiety and anger in prison populations and young offenders. Initial evidence also suggests pregnant women who take part in structured music therapy show signs of lower stress, anxiety and depression.

The evidence was also promising for music-making schemes for refugee and other marginalised groups. Participants reported that singing in groups helped them to learn, build relationships and engage in a meaningful exchange with the wider community. And such participation could also enhance or revise an individual’s sense of identity. 

Relatively high levels of happiness and ‘worthwhileness’ were found in religious or spiritual contexts such as Gospel and South Asian music concerts, as well as among adults who play an instrument.

Nancy Hey, Director of the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, said she hoped the review will help decision-makers in councils, the care sector and other organisations working in the community.

She said: “There have been countless projects aimed at improving wellbeing over the years. But until now we have had no systematic way of knowing what works with which groups in our society. This evidence review of music and singing shows, for the first time, a national evidence base that local authorities, health professionals, businesses and charities can use to see who can benefit from local and national wellbeing programmes. It can help us reach people otherwise overlooked, and avoid cutting interventions that are effective.”

Four further reviews by the Culture, Sport and Wellbeing group will explore wellbeing and how wellbeing outcomes are achieved in the contexts of: adolescents, young people, and sport and dance; visual arts as experienced by adults with mental health conditions; sport and recreation across the family life-course; and co-produced interventions in a variety of settings.