Music for Life

Music for Life: Music Participation and Quality of Life of Senior Citizens presents a fresh exploration of the impact of musical experiences on daily life in older age, and charts a new direction for the facilitation of the musical lives of people of all ages. Authors Fung and Lehmberg clearly define the issues surrounding music education, music participation, and quality of life of senior citizens. They bring into the discussion the most relevant research from the fields of music education, adult learning, lifelong learning, gerontology, medicine, music therapy, and interdisciplinary studies. At the heart of the book is Evergreen Town, a retirement community in the southeastern USA, that serves as the backdrop for three original research studies. The first of these studies is in two phases, a survey and a focus group interview, that examines the histories and rationales for the music participations and non-participations of community residents. The second and third studies look in-depth at a church choir and a bluegrass group, two prominent musical groups in the community, and include the perspectives of the authors themselves as group members and participant-observers. Fung and Lehmberg conclude with a challenge for the profession of music education: to act on this research and on the current advances in the field, to enable all people to benefit from the richness of music as a substantial contributor to quality of life. - Back cover.