Sound Soils is a practice-oriented research initiative aimed at exploring opportunities for musicians to contribute to rural life in the Northern Netherlands, with a specific emphasis on participatory music practices. Grounded in Participatory Action Research methodology and ethnographic forms of data …

Music can touch people deeply, and lead to wellbeing as an all-encompassing word for everything that makes life worth living, or at least can make it liveable. Musicians can play an important role in these processes, not as pseudo-therapists, but from their own artistic identity, with an approach in …

‘Legacy: Participatory Music Practices with Elderly People as a Resource for the Well-being of Healthcare Professionals’ was a qualitative research project into the learning and well-being of hospital nurses and nursing home caregivers working with vulnerable elderly people and participating in live …

In order to meet the challenges of rapidly changing cultural life in the twenty-first century, professional musicians need to be lifelong learners, drawing on a wide range of knowledge and skills. To be succesful in a variety of roles, they require a reflective and responsive attitude to change. This …

Community Music presents a contested field. Cultural policy has had a hard time dealing with community music because aesthetic intentions, social objectives and economic motivations may all play a role for actors and sometimes clash. This chapter provides a scheme of the basic tensions inherent to community …

Classical musicians dream of an international performance career, a ‘Musotopia’ , in which they are able to make a living only by playing concerts. Reality tells us that 77% of performers earn over half of their income from teaching, and that 90% have a secondary occupation. Is there still work for performers? …

This essay addresses the relationship of improvisation and identity. Biographical research that was conducted by the author into professional musicians’ lifelong learning showed the huge importance of improvisation for personal expression. Musically, the concept of sound appeared to serve as a strong …

Building a sense of community and social connection through spontaneous music making.Interactive 'jamming' in corners, courtyards, corridors, bedrooms and social spaces between staff, musicians and older adults with dementia has become a regular part of Monday afternoons at St Vincent’s Residential Aged …

Today community engagement through music is becoming more and more widespread in many countries and this creates important new professional opportunities and challenges for musicians. Often this type of work is part of a portfolio career, combined with for instance a part time job in an orchestra or …