Musical identities of older adults are not easily changed: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT

We explored the role of self-efficacy in participatory music-making, and whether a single such music-making activity could make non-musician adults more open to seeing themselves as musical. Past research has suggested that even recipients of multiple years of school music education do not consider being musical as a part of their identity, and they do not exit adolescence with an independent musicianship that would facilitate their making music as adults. In our study, we invited older adults to participate in an informal music-making experience designed to be participatory and enjoyable. A questionnaire measured musical beliefs and self-perceptions before and after the music activity. The posttest version included items through which participants indicated their self-efficacy during the activity. Data analysis revealed that across the entire sample, the average rating of how musical they considered themselves to be did not change significantly, but there was a significant jump in their reported likelihood of engaging in a collection of musical life activities. Specifically, there was a rise in the likelihood of playing musical instruments informally. The study’s most important finding was that participants with higher self-efficacy during the activity emerged from it believing themselves to be more musical than they had previously thought.

KEYWORDS:

• Self-efficacy
• participatory music making
• musical identity
• being musical
• musical talent
• lifelong musicianship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Robert H. Woody is Steinhart Foundation Distinguished Professor at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, where he teaches courses in music education and music psychology. His research has focused on the cognitive mechanisms of expressive performance and the skills of vernacular musicianship. His writings have included research reports in the Journal of Research in Music Education and practitioner articles in the Music Educators Journal. He is an author of the book Psychology for Musicians: Understanding and Acquiring the Skills, and a contributor to the Handbook of Music and Emotion. He is the author of the forthcoming book Becoming a Real Musician: Inspiration and Guidance for Teachers and Parents of Musical Kids.

Amy Fraser is an assistant professor of music at York College, where she teaches courses in music education and directs various performing groups. Her research focuses on self-perceptions of musical identity and participatory learning.

Briana Nannen is the Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at Marshall University. Her teaching responsibilities at Marshall include the University Chorus and Marshall’s contemporary a cappella ensemble, 3rd Avenue. She also teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the music education curriculum. Dr. Nannen’s research interests are focused on gender stereotypes in music, gender practices in music classrooms, and the psychological development of adolescents.

Polly Yukevich is a music educator at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago Public Schools, where she teaches students in grades 9-12 in orchestral music ensembles. A P.h.D. graduate from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, her research centers around the relation.

ORCID

Robert H. Woody http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5175-975X