Establishing guiding principles for a music-making intervention for healthy brain ageing

BACKGROUND: Promoting healthy brain ageing is essential for older adults and music-making has potential as an appealing, accessible intervention for older adults experiencing memory concerns. Obtaining their input is critical to planning successful music-making interventions. The aim of this study was to explore opinions around music-making for brain health with older adults to determine guiding principles for designing future interventions. METHODS: Eleven older adults aged between 67 and 82 years who had self-identified concerns around cognition and/or mood sufficient to seek formal assessment discussed, in focus groups, their life experiences with music, musical tastes, and reactions to potential forms of music-making. RESULTS: Focus groups revealed that music plays a significant and positive role in their lives, that they appreciate musical variety, social connectivity, and perceive music-making to be a useful activity for healthy ageing. This feedback informed guiding principles for a future intervention: 1) Music-making can be used as an inherently motivating medium for healthy brain ageing activities; 2) Formats should be encouraging and inclusive to overcome participation barriers; 3) Group music-making allows for socialisation and promotes a feeling of safety in numbers; 4) Older adults' tastes are non-homogenous and a mix of familiar and unfamiliar repertoire and styles is welcome. CONCLUSIONS: These guiding principles will inform the design and implementation of music-making interventions for older adults with cognitive concerns by incorporating their musical tastes, instrument preferences and group learning formats for healthy brain ageing. These principles can also be used to promote the uptake of music-making in later life.