Caring for Music: Musical Life, Late Life - Gary Ansdell

Caring for Music presents a groundbreaking ethnographic study of musical engagement in residential care, revealing how music becomes a medium of connection, pleasure, and relationship rather than merely an intervention for symptom management. Through detailed case studies from an eight-year immersion in ‘Hill House’, this longitudinal research documents the rich musical practices that emerge when people care for music together.
Readers gain access to innovative micro-methods for documenting music-in-action, revealing often-unnoticed capabilities and contributions from residents, staff, and visitors alike. The book delivers a compendium of practical examples showing how distributed creativity operates in care settings, offering practitioners and family caregivers models for collaborative musical activity that enhance connection and quality of life. Rather than presenting music as a ‘magical’ solution to ‘tragic’ conditions, it demonstrates how caring for music creates meaningful, beautiful, and festive moments even in challenging circumstances.
This resource is essential for music therapists, community musicians, healthcare professionals, and family caregivers seeking person-centred approaches to late-life care. It will also appeal to researchers in music sociology, medical humanities, and gerontology.
The book is supported by the Care for Music project website, featuring additional resources and ongoing updates from the authors.