Musical impact: A study of the effects of music making on musicians' health and wellbeing

Few pursuits are as dynamic and enjoyable as making music. Each day, thousands of people in the UK engage in some sort of musical activity. Central to these endeavours is good health. Physical and mental wellbeing can shape how musicians, from beginners to professionals, pursue their art and the pleasure they take from it. The results of recent research, however, suggest that injury and ill health are widespread among musicians and that healthy approaches to training and working in music are far from uniform. This project investigates the health and wellbeing of musicians. In doing so, it generates new knowledge of the physical and mental demands of music making and sheds light on the ways in which musicians at all levels meet those demands, both constructively and destructively. While musicians typically have a long history of self-sufficiency in managing the challenges of performing, this project aims to complement musicians' own ingenuity by providing comprehensive, evidence-led resources to help maximise educational and professional opportunities. Musical Impact is a project of Conservatoires UK (CUK), in association with Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Association of British Orchestras (ABO), British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM), the Musicians' Union, and the International Health Humanities Network (IHHN).

Musical Impact operates through three interrelated work packages (WPs). WP1 comprises a four-year study of musicians' physical and mental fitness for performance. While previous research has largely looked at cross-sections of musicians, WP1 takes the form of a large-scale longitudinal study with conservatoire students, staff and alumni, seeking to understand the incidence, extent and development of injuries and ill-health among British musicians. WP1 employs standardized measures of health promotion, anxiety, perfectionism, cardiovascular fitness and physical strength and flexibility, complemented by qualitative exploration of the cultures of musicians' health.

WP2 places practice and performance under investigation, documenting their physical and mental demands and the characteristics of musicians who successfully meet those demands. Physiological and biomechanical assessments will be made during the practice and performance of musicians, including the recording and analysis of muscle activity using electromyography and the monitoring of energy expenditure with portable gas analysers.

WP3 builds upon WPs 1 and 2, exploring health promotion in music education and the profession and exploring practical applications to enhance training and support services. WP3 includes the development of two programmes of health promotion: one for junior conservatoire students and one for senior conservatoire students. These programmes will be piloted and evaluated through case studies, a questionnaire survey and interviews, before being delivered in full at junior- and senior-programmes across all CUK conservatoires.

Musical Impact is the largest research initiative of its kind worldwide. It moves beyond existing research to contribute needed insight into chronic and acute health problems and their impact over time (WP1), the physical and mental demands of music making (WP2), and effective strategies for health promotion (WP3). The project's outcomes will be delivered through a combination of scholarly outputs (including an edited book), six workshops held for music teachers and students, and two freely-available resource packs.

Who will benefit from this research?

Beneficiaries of Musical Impact are musicians young and old, amateur and professional, students, teachers and performers. The work will build on existing links with three major organisations representing users: Association of British Orchestras (ABO), British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM), and the Musicians' Union. All three will provide access to professional musicians as participants in health promotion initiatives as well as research. Musical Impact is also likely to be of interest to the general public, since music is central to the lives of so many people, and it is envisaged that public relations staff at each CUK institution will contribute to the dissemination of the project's methods and findings through the media - print news, radio, TV, online - over the course of the project.

How will they benefit from this research?

Music making is widespread in the UK - among young and old, by amateurs and professionals, in community settings and concert halls. While we often think of music making as enjoyable and health-promoting, research shows that injuries among musicians are rife. Surprisingly, little has been done to address this problem, either in terms of music-relevant research or the application of research to educational and professional contexts. With recent regulations on noise in the workplace and several grass-roots calls to promote health more effectively among musicians (from teachers, schools, conservatoires and professional bodies), Musical Impact will fill a much needed gap, generating new knowledge, engaging students, teachers and employers, and building bridges between research and its application in the real world. Indeed, the findings of our work have the potential to extend performing careers, open up new types of job opportunities within the music and creative industries, improve the chances of performing artists' positive health extending into older age, and impact on future training methods for musicians of all ages. Our team is well placed to realise a lasting impact, given our placement within the sector and proven track records of engaging key stakeholders and specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Specifically, impact will be made through three pathways: (1) three conference strands aimed at the research community, including musicians involved in practice-based and artistic research, (2) six project workshops, reaching 400-600 practitioners - students, teachers and performers - and (3) freely available resource packs designed for music teachers and secondary/higher education institutions, made available via the project website. To facilitate this, collaborative agreements are in place with ABO, BAPAM and the Musicians' Union (see Letters of Support). The findings of Musical Impact will reach those in conservatoires with responsibility for planning and delivering curricula and therefore future training methods for musicians of all ages via scholarly outputs and workshops. They will reach those who manage employment within the creative industries (such as orchestras and professional choruses) and performers and teachers via workshops and resource packs. They will reduce the financial burden on individuals and charities such as the Musicians Benevolent Fund, which has contributed £80,000 over the past five years to the cost of treatment for student musicians. They will improve the chances of performing artists' positive health extending into older age and thus extend their careers. They will also open up new types of job opportunities in health promotion within the music and creative industries.