Our Benefits

Music for Seniors Annual Survey

2022 Live Music Outreach Programming Statistics and Evaluations

We conduct an annual phone survey with our Community Partners who work first-hand with the senior groups we serve. In our latest formal survey for 2022, we attempted to survey the 79 senior groups and resident communities served regularly by Music for Seniors at the time of the survey.

We had a 71% response rate, representing 76 groups and communities in 6 Middle Tennessee counties.

Evidence-Based Research

In September 2016 Music for Seniors was invited to present at the Center for Creative Aging’s International Conference and Leadership Exchange in Washington, DC.  Dr. Nina Kraus of Northwestern University also presented at that conference. Her research points to the immense value of regular, active participation in live music making – for neurological benefit to older adults. It directly inspired the creation of Music for Seniors’ Live Performance Learning Labs, which launched in spring, 2017, and our Music Making Outreach Sessions, in 2018 (immersive singing-with-percussion programs with instruments provided for all). Some of Dr. Kraus’s articles, and others, are referenced below.

Art and Music

from the Alzheimer’s Association

“Even in the late-stages of Alzheimer’s, a person may be able to tap a beat or sing lyrics to a song from childhood. Music provides a way to connect, even after verbal […]

Older Adults Benefit from Music Training Early in Life:

Biological Evidence for Long-Term Training-Driven Plasticity

by Travis White-Schwoch, Kali Woodruff Carr, Samira Anderson, Dana L. Strait, and Nina Kraus

Studies addressed in this article examine the effects of nominal, moderate and lifelong amounts of music training. […]

Music Training: An Antidote for Aging?

by Nina Kraus, PhD, & Samira Anderson, AuD, PhD

Why do musicians have better hearing skills? Music often elicits strong emotions that may help the brain by activating its reward centers. Speech and music overlap in […]

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