Home music engagement among families of culturally closed communities

ABSTRACT

No study thus far has investigated music engagement in the home among sectors of society, that because of cultural and/or ethno-religious characteristics, have a drastically different lifestyle and home environment than typically ordinary conventional local residents, who represent the more hegemonic popular Western liberal-minded secular culture. The current study recruited 96 families belonging to one of two subgroups: Modern-Orthodox (n = 49) or Ultra-Orthodox (n = 47) Jews in Israel. They completed the Children's Music Behavior Inventory (CMBI). The findings show no differences between the overall Orthodox sample to a matched sample of the general population. However, when comparing between the two subgroups significant differences surfaced concerning parent-initiated music activities in the home environment. The study demonstrates that even among families who do not fit into the mainstream of society, music is a crucial part of family life embedded in the home, and that music engagement is an essential component within parent–child relationships.

KEYWORDS:

• Music engagement in home
• CMBI
• parental music activity
• religious families
• Orthodox Jews

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Within the current context, the term ‘general population’ indicates a sample of participants exclusively recruited among the general Jewish population of Israel. The Jewish population of Israel in year 2020 represents 74% of the population (see below). Other groups, such as Israeli Arabs, Bedouins, Christians, Druse, Palestinians, as well as foreign residents living in Israel at the time of data collection, were not recruited to participate in the study.

2 ‘972’ is the international calling (dial) code for Israel.

3 It should be noted that some more liberal-minded residents do partake in religious ceremonies based on ritual practices reflecting a more contemporary level of custom referred to as Reform-Progressive Judaism and the Conservative-‘Masorti’ Movement.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Idit Sulkin

Idit Sulkin is Lecturer in the Department of Education at Givat-Washington College, Yavne, Israel, and Talpiot College, Holon, Israel. She completed a PhD degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Department of the Arts at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel, 2009). She is a Research Associate of the Music Science Lab at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel. Her research focuses on music and child development, music as a contributor to the screen deficit effect, and parental musical practices regarding media use. She is a composer of children's songs and writer/producer of programming for toddler viewers.

Warren Brodsky

Warren Brodsky is Associate Professor of Music Psychology in the Department of the Arts at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel. He was Registered, Certified, and Board Certified as a clinical music therapist (1984-2000, in the USA, the UK, Israel). Warren completed a PhD degree in Psychology at Keele University (UK, 1995). He was the recipient of two Post-Doctoral Fellowships at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (1996-2001). He is Director of the Music Science Lab at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. His research interests include musical skill and development, the effects of music on driving behaviour, and positive aging among professional symphony orchestra musicians.