Music as a transfer of faith

Abstract

This study considers music listening and its role as a lay or folk healing practice in the lives of men and women with long-term illnesses and disease. A total of twenty-two participants from Norway, aged 34 to 65 with long-term illnesses and diseases were recruited as a strategic sample involving eight in-depth interviews from 2004 to 2005. This participatory and action-oriented research focused on whether participants could, through exposure to and exchange of new musical materials and practices, learn to use music as a ‘technology’ of health promotion and self-care. A novel ‘participatory CD design’ was developed, involving participants’ reflections on and contribution to the making of four compact-disc (CD) compilations. Participants described their involvement with the project and their subsequent raised musical consciousness as beneficial, resulting in increased self-awareness and a new repertoire of musical skills relating to self-care in the face of illness.