Rosie Perkins

Effects of Group Drumming Interventions on Anxiety, Depression, Social Resilience and Inflammatory Immune Response among Mental Health Service Users

Growing numbers of mental health organizations are developing community music-making interventions for service users; however, to date there has been little research into their efficacy or mechanisms of effect. This study was an exploratory examination of whether 10 weeks of group drumming could improve depression, anxiety and social resilience among service users compared with a non-music control group (with participants allocated to group by geographical location.) Significant improvements were found in the drumming group but not the control group: by week 6 there were decreases in depression (-2.14 SE 0.50 CI -3.16 to -1.11) and increases in social resilience (7.69 SE 2.00 CI 3.60 to 11.78), and by week 10 these had further improved (depression: -3.41 SE 0.62 CI -4.68 to -2.15; social resilience: 10.59 SE 1.78 CI 6.94 to 14.24) alongside significant improvements in anxiety (-2.21 SE 0.50 CI -3.24 to -1.19) and mental wellbeing (6.14 SE 0.92 CI 4.25 to 8.04). All significant changes were maintained at 3 months follow-up. Furthermore, it is now recognised that many mental health conditions are characterised by underlying inflammatory immune responses. Consequently, participants in the drumming group also provided saliva samples to test for cortisol and the cytokines interleukin (IL) 4, IL6, IL17, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP) 1. Across the 10 weeks there was a shift away from a pro-inflammatory towards an anti-inflammatory immune profile. Consequently, this study demonstrates the psychological benefits of group drumming and also suggests underlying biological effects, supporting its therapeutic potential for mental health. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01906892

Learning to make music in older adulthood : a mixed-methods exploration of impacts on wellbeing

Building on burgeoning research in the field of arts and health, this article explores the role that learning musical instruments can play in enhancing wellbeing in older adulthood. Despite an increasing focus on the role of learning in supporting mental wellbeing, there is strikingly little research that examines this in relation to music, or that explores wellbeing as a subjective phenomenon captured through mixed-methods enquiry. This research addresses this gap through two inter-related studies. Study 1 adopts questionnaire measures of wellbeing with 98 music-learning and comparison participants, concluding that learning in older adulthood offers significant wellbeing benefits, with music particularly enhancing some health-promoting behaviours. To explore in more detail what learning music means to older adults, Study 2 adopts qualitative methods with a sub-group of 21 music-learning participants, concluding that learning music can enhance subjective wellbeing through six mechanisms: (1) subjective experiences of pleasure; (2) enhanced social interactions; (3) musically-nuanced engagement in day-to-day life; (4) fulfilment of musical ambition; (5) ability to make music; and (6) self-satisfaction through musical progress. Drawing the two studies together, the article concludes by arguing for further research to contribute to the growing body of evidence placing music learning at the centre of healthy ageing agendas.

Learning cultures and the conservatoire: an ethnographically-informed case study

As educational institutions, conservatoires remain largely unresearched and, crucially, relatively unchallenged. In particular, research has paid little attention to in-depth studies of culture, so that not enough is known of the cultural practices that characterise and shape a conservatoire education. This article addresses this gap through seeking to understand the constructed nature of the ‘learning cultures’ – the cultural practices through which students learn – of a UK conservatoire. Working within an ethnographically-informed case study, multiple qualitative methods were employed to collect in-depth data. Key findings from a four-phased analysis procedure reveal that the conservatoires learning cultures are constructed across four intertwined features: (1) learning cultures of performing specialism, (2) learning cultures of social networking, (3) learning cultures of musical hierarchies and (4) learning cultures of vocational position taking. Implications of the study are discussed, and recommendations made for the introduction of creative and reflective spaces for learning in the conservatoires of the future.

Understanding the wellbeing of professional musicians through the lens of Positive Psychology

Recognizing the need to include musicians in mainstream wellbeing profiling and to move beyond a focus on debilitating factors of the music profession, this study aimed to understand how professional musicians experience wellbeing in the light of Positive Psychology. Guided by the PERMA model, the goal was to track enhancers and challenges for wellbeing in relation to the model’s five components: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. Participants included six professional musicians from six activities: solo, orchestral, choral, chamber, conducting and composing. Two interviews were conducted with each participant, separated by two weeks of diary record-keeping. Results point to high wellbeing. A clear sense of self appears as an overarching sustainer of wellbeing and the transition to professional life as the most challenging time regarding musicians’ flourishing. Positive emotions emerged as highly related to musical moments, while varying repertoire and experiencing different ensembles appeared as central sources of engagement. Meaning emerged as linked to the shared nature of music-making, and a sense of accomplishment was built on internal goals and oneness in performance with others. The key processes for positive functioning appeared to involve responses to, and regulation by, relationships. Implications are discussed in relation to the role of holistic training in educational settings.

Hierarchies and learning in the conservatoire: Exploring what students learn through the lens of Bourdieu:

This article explores the intersection between institutional hierarchies and learning at a UK conservatoire. Conceptualizing learning as a social practice situated in a hierarchical social space, the article draws on the theorization of Bourdieu to understand how students are positioned in the conservatoire field and what this means in terms of their learning. Working within a social constructionist framework, the study adopted qualitative research with two case students, making use of a trilogy of methods: semi-structured interviews, participant self-documentation and participant-verification interviews. Findings reveal that as students participate in the conservatoire field they appear to learn their position in the conservatoire’s hierarchies, and that their position relates to what and how they learn. The conservatoire’s hierarchical organization can thus be considered an important factor in shaping student learning, illuminating the need for further research to explore how learning experiences and opportunities can be maximized for all conservatoire students.

Associations between singing to babies and symptoms of postnatal depression, wellbeing, self-esteem and mother-infant bond

Introduction: There is growing research documenting the psychological benefits of singing. However, it remains unknown whether singing to new babies is associated with enhanced maternal mental health. This study had two aims: (i) to explore whether these associations exist, and (ii) to compare the effects of singing to babies with listening to music in order to explore whether the sound of music alone or the physical act of singing might be responsible for effects. Methods: Multiple linear and logistic regression models were used to analyse cross-sectional data from 391 new mothers, exploring associations between both singing to babies and listening to music, and symptoms of postnatal depression, wellbeing, self-esteem and self-rated mother-infant bond. Results: Singing to babies on a daily basis was associated with lower symptoms of postnatal depression and enhanced wellbeing, self-esteem and self-reported mother-infant bond. Listening to music was associated with lower depression and enhanced wellbeing but effects were attenuated by confounding variables involving other arts engagement. Discussion: These data suggest that the specific act of singing could support the mental health of new mothers. The correlations found in this study raise questions as to whether maternal singing to babies can causally improve maternal mental health and wellbeing and as such whether singing could be recommended to new mothers as a positive parenting practice, or whether supportive community singing interventions could be developed.

Making music for mental health: how group drumming mediates recovery

BackgroundWhile music-making interventions are increasingly recognised as enhancing mental health, little is known of why music may engender such benefit. The objective of this article is to elucidate the features of a programme of group drumming known to enable mental health recovery.MethodsQualitative research was conducted with 39 mental health patients and carers who had demonstrated recovery following engagement with a programme of group djembe drumming in the UK. Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews and focus group interviews designed to understand the connection between drumming and recovery and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).ResultsResults revealed three overarching features of the drumming intervention: (1) the specific features of drumming, including drumming as a form of non-verbal communication, as a connection with life through rhythm, and as a grounding experience that both generates and liberates energy; (2) the specific features of the group, including the group as a space of connection in and through the rhythmic features of the drumming, as well as facilitating feelings of belonging, acceptance, safety and care, and new social interactions; (3) the specific features of the learning, including learning as an inclusive activity in which the concept of mistakes is dissolved and in which there is musical freedom, supported by an embodied learning process expedited by the musical facilitator.ConclusionThe findings provide support for the conceptual notion of ‘creative practice as mutual recovery’, demonstrating that group drumming provides a creative and mutual learning space in which mental health recovery can take place.

Learning through teaching: Exploring what conservatoire students learn from teaching beginner older adults

Music is increasingly recognised as important in facilitating healthy ageing, yet little is known of what musicians themselves learn when they teach older adults. This article reports the practices of the Rhythm for Life project at the Royal College of Music in the UK, in which conservatoire students taught 10-week programmes of group instrumental music lessons to adult beginners aged between 46 and 90 years. In order to interrogate what four student-teachers learned from their engagement with the project, qualitative data were collected through open-ended questionnaires, diaries and video-stimulated recall interviews. Findings demonstrated that the student-teachers reformulated the ways in which they thought about and taught older adult learners, and developed skills and knowledge relevant to a wide range of educational contexts. The article concludes that models similar to Rhythm for Life, where conservatoires facilitate opportunities for students to teach older adults, may be an effective means of establishing meaningful learning experiences for music students and older adults alike.

Maternal engagement with music up to nine months post-birth:Findings from a cross-sectional study in England

There is significant evidence of the benefits of music for babies and emerging evidence that music may also benefit mothers’ wellbeing. However, there is a lack of current data documenting maternal engagement with music in England. This cross-sectional survey study used descriptive and inferential statistics to examine how 473 mothers living in England engaged with music between 1–9 months post-birth, and regression models to examine demographic and musical predictors of this engagement. Findings indicate that the most frequently reported musical activities were daily listening to music (71%) and daily singing to babies (59%). Patterns of musical engagement differ by infant age, with mothers of 4–9 month-old babies reporting more frequent singing and music class attendance compared with mothers of 1–3 month-old babies. Mothers with previous or recent experience of music were more likely to engage in other musical activities, but musical engagement did not appear to be explained by socio-economic factors including years in education, marital status or household income. Findings could support practitioners in designing music activities for mothers, in particular highlighting the need for supporting mothers with very young infants, with little or no previous musical experience or with more than one child.

The effects of mother–infant singing on emotional closeness, affect, anxiety, and stress hormones:

Among mammals who invest in the production of a relatively small number of offspring, bonding is a critical strategy for survival. Mother–infant bonding among humans is not only linked with the infant’s survival but also with a range of protective psychological, biological, and behavioral responses in both mothers and infants in the post-birth period and across the life span. Anthropological theories suggest that one behavior that may have evolved with the aim of enhancing mother–infant bonding is infant-directed singing. However, to date, despite mother–infant singing being practiced across cultures, there remains little quantitative demonstration of any effects on mothers or their perceived closeness to their infants. This within-subjects study, comparing the effects of mother–infant singing with other mother–infant interactions among 43 mothers and their infants, shows that singing is associated with greater increases in maternal perceptions of emotional closeness in comparison to social interactions. Mother–infant singing is also associated with greater increases in positive affect and greater decreases in negative affect as well as greater decreases in both psychological and biological markers of anxiety. This supports previous findings about the effects of singing on closeness and social bonding in other populations. Furthermore, associations between changes in closeness and both affect and anxiety support previous research suggesting associations between closeness, bonding, and wider mental health.