Collaborative Music, Health, and Wellbeing Research Globally: Some Perspectives on Challenges Faced and How to Engage with Them

Abstract

This article explores the ways in which the relationships between music, health, wellbeing, medicine, and ethnomusicology are being researched internationally. It shows that while there is a widespread global interest among a variety of disciplines in studying these relationships, there is still an absence of disciplinary and international collaboration. This absence of collaboration, I argue, is caused by a variance between disciplines and countries in epistemologies, modes of dissemination, professional jargon, and national languages. This diversity of professional practice influences the sharing of information about music and wellbeing, often slowing down the creation of new knowledge, potentially to the detriment of those receiving musical care. Here I present the results of a short participatory action research study investigating the professional practices of ethnomusicologists, (neuro)psychologists, and music therapists researching the links between music and wellbeing. My findings are based on observations made in the United Kingdom, Austria, Finland, the United States, and Australia. I conclude by urging researchers to examine their practices and epistemologies reflexively, and not to assume other disciplines are homogenous. I also suggest that, for ethnomusicologists, grounded theory and community music therapy might be areas for future collaboration and that a proactive approach is needed to ensure knowledge about the links between music, health, and wellbeing are examined at a faster, more collaborative pace.