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It All Makes Us Feel Together Young Peoples Experiences of Virtual Group Music-Making During the COVID-19 Pandemic.pdf (1.09 MB)

“It all makes us feel together”: young people's experiences of virtual group music-making during the COVID-19 pandemic

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posted on 2023-06-10, 00:53 authored by Marusa Levstek, Rubie Mai Barnby, Katherine L Pocock, Robin BanerjeeRobin Banerjee
We know little about the psychological experiences of children and young people who have participated in virtual group music-making during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Adopting a mixed-methods design, we worked across three music education hubs in the UK, with a total 13 virtual music groups. These included a range of mainstream ensembles, inclusive ensembles targeting young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and inclusive music production spaces, targeting young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Reported progress in intra- and inter-personal psychological outcomes was investigated using quantitative and qualitative staff session reports, which were collected since before the pandemic (n1 for in-person sessions = 87, n2 for virtual sessions = 68), and surveys distributed to tutors, young people, and their parents during the first and second United Kingdom (UK) national lockdowns (n3 for qualitative responses = 240, n4 for quantitative responses = 96). Satisfaction of three basic psychological needs of self-determination theory and their relation to joint music-making in virtual spaces was also observed in real time by the researchers performing quantitative checklist observations on 16 separate occasions. Findings indicated that virtual music groups represented a meaningful psychological resource for the participating children and young people, especially considering the lack of opportunities offered by their schools and other extra-curricular activities. Through their participation with virtual group music-making activities, young people used music as a tool for self-expression and emotion management, restored lost musical identities and confidence, and preserved treasured social connections. Virtual alternatives to group music-making appear to indirectly nurture the sense of belongingness, mediated by supportive staff behaviors, but their direct connection, which has been widely reported for in-person group music-making experiences, has not been observed in virtual music groups.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Frontiers in Psychology

ISSN

1664-1078

Publisher

Frontiers Media

Volume

12

Page range

1-18

Article number

a703892

Event location

Switzerland

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2021-09-09

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2021-09-09

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2021-09-08

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