Singing for Wellbeing: Formulating a Model for Community Group Singing Interventions

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Music Therapy

Background:

• Limited research exists on community singing's impact on wellbeing and Quality of Life.
• No established theoretical framework guides community singing interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the benefits of community-based group singing.
• To identify key factors influencing perceived benefits.
• To develop a theoretical intervention model for community singing groups.

Main Methods:

• Semi-structured interviews with six UK community choir members.
• Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to analyze qualitative data.

Main Results:

• Identified key themes: Social Factors (social bonds, group identity), Psychological Factors (self-efficacy, self-identity, positive emotions), and Psychological Motivations (autonomy, life change, new challenge).
• Singing group's style, teaching, music, and leader influenced perceived benefits.

Conclusions:

• Community singing offers significant social and psychological benefits, improving wellbeing.
• Developed an intervention model integrating psychological theory and study findings to optimize outcomes in community singing groups.