Express yourself; the experience of adolescents in a community-based music project

Introduction: The relationship between music and young people has been explored within research; both through listening to music, actively participating within music activity and music therapy. Music may support adolescent development regarding identity, emotion regulation and connection. There has been less research regarding community music projects and how this impacts young people, with some research with at-risk young people or within youth justice settings. There has also been methodological difficulties within some of the research and little in-depth analysis of young people’s experience of community music projects. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experiences of young people undertaking a community music project.

Method: A qualitative design was used to explore the research question. Eight participants who had completed 7 or more sessions of the community music project ‘Get Your Act Together’ (ran by the charity Cloth Cat) were interviewed using an interview topic guide regarding their experience. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse the data and interpret the essence of the participants’ experiences.

Results: Five themes were derived from the data regarding the experience of all participants: safety and social acceptance; growth; value; building/exploring self; and connection/collectivism. The themes and the relationship between the themes formed into a conceptual map which allowed further exploration of the sense-making of the participants’ experiences and how they fit together.

Discussion: The results of the data were further explored in relation to relevant literature and theories, in particular the importance of each of the themes in relation to youth development. For example: the importance of peer relationships; zone of proximal development; growth mindset; self-esteem; power of anticipation; and identity formation. The strengths and limitations of the study were then explored. This led to reflections on future research and the clinical implications of the study; highlighting the importance of positive youth development.