The benefits of self-selected music on health and well-being

Abstract

The study design sought to elicit, through the prism of music, participants’ life stories and stories of being well and being ill. A qualitative research stance was used, consisting of a pragmatic synthesis of elements of action research, ethnography and grounded theory. Twenty-two ( n = 22) participants from Oslo and Akershus in Norway, aged between 34 and 65 and with long-term illnesses and diseases, were recruited as a strategic sample. Data collection involved eight in-depth interviews with each participant stretching over a year from 2004 to 2005. A novel ‘ Participatory CD Design’ was developed and four double CD compilations from different genres were used as devices to increase knowledge as to whether participants through exposure to and exchange of new musical materials and practices, might learn to use music as a ‘technology’ of self towards health, healing and recovery. The participants met at the end of a yearlong process through a social musical event.