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Can Making Music Make You Healthier?
"We feel very strongly that abundant health benefits can be achieved by older people
learning to play music in a supportive, socially-enjoyable setting."
Mind, Body & Music
In 1995, Fletcher Music Centers was asked to participate in a landmark research study
to scientifically support what our customers have been saying all along: Learning to
play the organ positively affects their health and well-being.
This three-year "Music Making and Wellness" research was conducted by a multi-disciplinary team of
scientists, aging experts, doctors, brain researchers and biochemists from some
of the world's finest research institutions. They include: University of Miami
Medical School; University of South Florida; Michigan State University; Appalachian
State University; University of Kansas; and Karolinska Medical Institute in
Stockholm, Sweden.
This study explored how music participation effected some 130 retiree students
in Fletcher Music Centers' "Learning Together Organ Course." It also looked at
how playing music may improve health. The results were remarkable, indicating
that older people involved in organ classes experienced:
Decreased levels of anxiety
Decreased depression
Decreased feelings of loneliness
Results of the study also suggest that making music may significantly improve an
older person's quality of life and feelings of well-being. Moreover, making music
helps them relax, feel better and deal positively with stress. It also may help the
immune system in its fight against disease.
Our students have been telling us for decades how much better they feel since taking
organ lessons at Fletcher Music Centers. They talk of having more energy and of
enjoying life more. The exciting results of this important study, however, mark the
first time that scientific data actually supports what we ... and our customers ...
have known all along.
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