I am a final-year applied psychology student with a keen interest in positive psychology. I have chosen to pursue the practice path and have complemented this choice with my work with St. John of God since June 2022. I work with adults with intellectual disabilities and implement much of what I have learned about psychology to support these adults. I have also worked with various volunteer agencies, such as Barretstown, further complementing my choice. I would like to further pursue a psychology career by researching well-being and creativity and working directly with individuals to help them flourish.
Music is widely known to have many benefits for psychological health, yet there has been evidence of prevalent levels of mental ill-health in professional musicians over recent years. Research into musicians’ well-being has been gaining traction; however, there has been a focus on specific genres such as classical music. Professional classical musicians report high levels of well-being, despite the reported mental ill-health in professional musicians. Due to the disparity in these findings, this research project aimed to ascertain whether there was a difference in well-being for professional and amateur musicians and whether the genre of music they played had any effect.
The objective of this research project was to add to the research in the area of musicians’ well-being. The focus was on any difference in well-being between professional and amateur musicians and between folk, rock, jazz, and pop musicians based in Ireland.
Research Question 1: Do professional and amateur musicians have different levels of well-being?
Research Question 2: Do musicians have different levels of well-being based on the genre of music they play?
This research project did not discern any significant difference between professional and amateur musicians or between folk, rock, jazz, and pop musicians. This may be due to the culture or policies in place in Ireland. Replications of this study are recommended, as are studies that focus on the lived experiences of musicians in different countries.
An Investigation Into the Well-being of Musicians Based on Musicianship Status and Genre