Abstract
Activities involving the integration of singing, with movement, dance, and story (Singing+), can serve as rich sites of creative aging, performativity, and pedagogical inclusion. This scoping review examines how singing, in combination with movement, dance, and/or story, which we refer to as Singing+, enhances the quality of life for older adults. The potential impacts of combining singing with movement, dance, and/or story are particularly significant for this age group, as the combination of arts dynamically engages participants’ cognitive, physical, and social capacities, offering opportunities for creative expression, creative development, and meaningful challenges. With its inclusion of story, Singing+ also offers opportunities for rehearsing and performing community, role-playing, self-expression, and reclaiming space. By scoping the diversity of global opportunities under the umbrella of Singing+, we illuminate a variety of globally diverse art forms that older adults of all abilities, goals, and experiences can embrace. Despite gaps in the selected studies’ methodological consistency and variations in their reporting of participant characteristics, activities, and outcomes, this review opens several avenues for further research while underscoring the need for a more systematic approach to integrating understandings about singing in combination with movement, dance, or story, its pedagogies, and the mechanisms underlying its various affordances. Perhaps most significantly, these activities offer meaningful opportunities for creative expression and exploration of selfhood. Future research studies in this area should include a more detailed description of the activities and pedagogical strategies and participant characteristics. The literature has also insufficiently theorized the benefits of combining singing with the art forms of movement, dance, and/or story for aging populations in particular, despite their clear benefits. Building a stronger research base will help educators, artists, and therapists to refine methods and ensure these activities’ continued role in fostering opportunities for lifelong learning and meaningful aging.
Lifelong learning and creative aging are increasingly understood as interconnected concepts, with participation in continuous learning shown to support cognitive vitality, social inclusion, and overall well-being in later life. Lifelong learning holds particular humanistic significance in its capacity to foreground the often-overlooked vitality of older adulthood (Findsen & Formosa, 2011; Grosso, 2018; Sloane-Seale & Kops, 2008). According to Merriam and Kee (2014), “Lifelong learning activities of older adults increase both human and social capital” (p. 135), enhancing not only personal well-being but also that of their communities.
As Hager (2020) notes, lifelong learning spans a wide range of educational opportunities across the lifespan, shaped by apprenance—“an attitude of cognitive, affective, and conative openness to learning” (Carré, 2023, p. 211). The link between learning and creativity—which has also been associated with well-being—is particularly significant (Acar et al., 2021). As Sabeti (2015) contends, “creative ageing”—that is, involvement in creative pursuits—provides older adults with educational opportunities for enrichment, social connection, and living in the moment. Although creativity is often associated with the arts, Su (2009) argues for its broader significance as an essential element of lifelong learning. Moreover, Paavola et al. (2004) suggest that learning is an active, constructive process in which individuals not only engage with existing knowledge but also contribute to its development. Building on this idea, Kangas (2010) argues that learning is not simply the repetition of “what is known but creating something new. In this sense, learning and creativity are closely intertwined and learning is seen as taking place through creative practices” (p. 3). Musical opportunities, therefore, provide fertile ground for positive aging by combining experiential learning with creative expression.
This research focuses on the ways that Singing+ has been a site for lifelong learning and positive aging for older adults. We define Singing+ as the integration of singing with dance, movement, and/or story elements. The scope of Singing+ activities is broad, and includes participation in genres such as music theatre, opera, cabaret, and revues. But it can also encompass informal or nonformal opportunities for creative engagement, where participants sing individual songs while integrating movement, dance, and/or story elements. Although genres that combine singing, movement, and storytelling—such as musical theatre and Nō theatre—differ in form and function, there has been limited research into the specific physical, psychological, cognitive, social, and creative benefits of integrating these artistic elements. We posit that participation in Singing+ offers older adults a range of learning opportunities, both musical and otherwise, given that it is frequently collective and community-based in nature, and affords a variety of levels and types of engagement. Because of its incorporation of story and embodiment, it can also serve as a particularly meaningful site of selfhood, culture, memory, and identity, which are crucial to positive aging (Elliott et al., 2020; Henderson, 2019; Keisari, 2021). Singing+ as a term thus encompasses our acknowledgement that the combination of creative activities involving singing holds promise and benefit for older adults, but that opportunities for enjoying the benefits of this combination of art forms extend beyond those found in traditional established genres and across diverse cultural practices. This definition of Singing+ aligns with our view of music learning as a fluid construct that embraces a range of sociocultural contexts, interactions, and approaches (Barton & Riddle, 2022; Moir, 2017; Storsve, 2024). Although Singing+ has typically occurred, and been analysed, within formal structures such as opera and musical theatre, the integration of singing with other artforms may encompass diverse musicking activities and learning processes beyond these traditional frameworks. For example, within Indigenous musicking, generational knowledge transfer typically occurs informally among family members or communities, with elders passing down musical practices, techniques, and values to preserve cultural heritage (Alhassan, 2012). However, the process may transcend cultural boundaries and involve reciprocal exchanges between older Indigenous musicians and younger non-Indigenous learners about ways of knowing, being, and doing (Bartleet et al., 2018; Fienberg, 2023).
In short, lifelong learning through and with Singing+ comprises a wide array of formal, informal, and nonformal activities and can have a multitude of goals. Singing+ can, therefore, offer an ideal site of lifelong learning for older adults to support creative aging. Furthermore, research about these activities can contribute to our understanding of the shared components and affordances of these widely varied activities across the globe, which have hitherto not been considered in tandem. It can also offer insight into the value of combining these activities for older adults, thus providing valuable insights for researchers and practitioners interested in this topic.
This review maps the literature on how older adults engage in or with activities involving Singing+. It also identifies the benefits associated with participation in these activities. Recognizing the diverse and multifaceted nature of this research, we have adopted a scoping review method, an approach that allows us to systematically examine and categorize studies on Singing+ for this population while capturing the heterogeneous nature of these opportunities, the participants (older adults), and their motivations for engagement (outcomes). This method was deemed the most appropriate review approach given its systematic and transparent process for collecting, categorizing, and synthesizing emergent and methodologically diverse literature while identifying possible gaps and opportunities (Mays et al., 2001; Munn et al., 2018; Peters et al., 2020; Yerichuk & Krar, 2019). The absence of pre-existing reviews, the population’s heterogeneous nature, and the variety of musicking activities within Singing+ all suggested that the field would be relatively new and potentially disparate. The scoping review also permitted us to map a diversity of Singing+ practices and thereby illuminate trends that may inform accessible and appropriate activities for older adults with various learning or musicking goals. Moreover, our initial explorations of relevant studies pointed to a field likely encompassing a broad range of disciplines and methodologies.
We defined “older adult” using a general heuristic of age 50 and above. In cases where chronological age was not specified, we included studies that used descriptors such as “older adults,” “elderly,” or references to participants’ conditions or settings (e.g., dementia care, nursing homes) that otherwise indicated an older population. Singing+, meanwhile, refers to activities where singing is explicitly integrated with dance, movement, and/or story elements. Furthermore, because Singing+ combines multiple art forms and offers diverse modes of expression and points of entry, we have remained mindful of its unique teaching methods throughout.
Given these considerations, the following research questions guided this review:
How are older adults’ experiences—including educational experiences—of Singing+ framed in the literature?
How are the characteristics of older adults reported?
What are the key outcomes of Singing+ activities as experienced by older adults?
Methods
Inclusion criteria
Using Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) scoping review methodology, we included studies involving adults 50 years of age or older and extended our scope to include intergenerational or survey studies with younger participants. We excluded literature reviews, concert reviews, and audience studies. We also excluded studies that featured multiple but nonintegrated art forms (e.g., music therapy sessions where singing and dancing occurred as separate activities), as these were not examples of Singing+ as we define it. We did not set inclusion criteria related to research outcomes, this allowed us to scope literature across the humanities and social sciences, where methodologies are not always outcome driven.
Search strategies
We searched eight databases (OMNI, Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO, Music Index Online, RILM, International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance, Web of Science, and MLA International Bibliography) for articles in English-language peer-reviewed journals, conducting a combination of subject, title, keyword, and topic filters. The search terms used were as follows: (singing OR singer* OR sing OR choir OR choral OR opera OR operatic OR drama OR musical theat* OR danc* OR gleeclub*) AND (senior OR seniors OR older adult* OR older people OR older person* OR geriatric OR elderly OR aging adult* OR ageing adult* OR third age OR fourth age OR intergenerational OR multigenerational) AND (education OR performance OR communit* OR therap*). The results for the number of hits for each database are presented in Supplemental Table 1.
Selection and review process
Our initial search yielded 2,077 hits, which resulted in 1,577 articles after excluding duplicates. These were divided among two authors who reviewed the articles’ titles and abstracts to see if they met the inclusion criteria, labelling them as “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.” Next, the two authors reviewed all the “maybe” articles and discussed disagreements until reaching a consensus. Forty articles met the inclusion criteria (Figure 1).
Phases of the Selection and Review Process.
These were subsequently divided among the entire scoping review team, who extracted relevant information and placed it in an AirtableTM database. This information included study characteristics such as the country, type of Singing+ activity, and research methodology. We tagged the setting, health status, expertise level, and the nature of participation—including learning opportunities—of the older adults and flagged limitations and recommendations for future research.
Results
In this section, we begin by describing the characteristics of the reviewed studies and the settings in which the research took place. We then organize the description of our findings around our three research questions.
Study characteristics and settings
Geography
The studies’ geographical locations reflected the global reach of Singing+ (Figure 2). Seventy percent (n = 28) of the articles pertained to one of four countries: the United States (n = 8), China (n = 7), the United Kingdom (n = 7), and Australia (n = 7). Research studies from Canada, Sweden, Brazil, Japan, Spain, Israel, and the Netherlands were also featured.
Scoping Review Geographical Areas.
Journal sources
The reviewed studies were published in 37 peer-reviewed journals representing the scholarly fields of education, therapy, health, psychology, cultural studies, research methodology, and aging, among others. Most of the research in this area has emerged since 2012, 28 of the 40 studies were published between 2012 and 2021 and the other 12 between 1979 and 2007.
Research methodologies
A variety of social science and humanities research methodologies were employed in the articles (Table 1). Qualitative methodologies were found in 19 studies. Six studies employed quantitative designs, including experimental and large-scale surveys. One study used a mixed methods design. Within the humanities methodologies, three were ethnomusicological, and two were anthropological case studies. One study was grounded in musicology, and another was in theatre studies. Six studies were practitioner- or personal-based accounts published in peer-reviewed journals. These practitioner reports described Singing+ practices but did not describe a particular research methodology or aim. Notably, these constituted some of the oldest studies in our review, all released before 2014, with three published before 1987.
Characteristics of Included Studies.
Settings
The studies were often situated in nursing or care homes (n = 10) and theatre spaces (n = 5). However, some occurred in other locations, such as Indigenous communities (n = 3), community settings (n = 3), day centres (n = 2), universities (n = 2), outdoor spaces (n = 2), a clinic (n = 2), a dance studio (n = 1), and a school (n = 1). Eight articles, meanwhile, reported on research conducted across multiple locations (e.g., school and nursing homes, rehearsal and performance spaces, workplaces and teachers’ homes). Only one study (Schwaba et al., 2018) did not specify its setting, as it focused on attendance at diverse cultural activities across seven years.
RQ1: How are Older Adults’ Experiences of Singing+ Framed in the Literature?
Types of Singing+ activities
The selected studies illuminated various ways singing was integrated with other theatrical elements (See Supplemental Figure 1). Many studies focused on established music theatre practices, including musical theatre, Chinese opera, Western opera, cabaret, burlesque, and Japanese Nō theatre. Occasionally, studies integrated singing with other elements, but they did so organically and did not define a specific genre, which we categorized as “nongenre.”
Activities in the nongenre category combined singing with story (Dassa & Harel, 2020; Hepplewhite, 2019; Heydon et al., 2018; Ray & Pendzik, 2021; Reinstein, 2004) or movement or dance (Bumanis & Yoder, 1988; Davidson, 1982; Götell et al., 2000; Jenkins et al., 2021). We also included an instance involving gospel singing (Joseph & Southcott, 2017) in this category as the article mentioned the explicit integration of singing with movement and choreography.
We encountered a challenge in that although some studies centred around established music theatre genres such as cabaret or burlesque, their descriptions did not include all facets of each particular genre. For example, musical theatre or Chinese opera repertoire were sung without staging, choreography, and/or costumes (e.g., Chen et al., 2020; Man et al., 2021; VanWeelden & Cevasco, 2007).
In the three largest categories—musical theatre, nongenre, and Chinese opera—descriptions of repertoire were typically cursory and not a focus of interest. For example, J. Johnson’s (2016) case study of Oklahoma revue performers made reference to mashups of songs from both musicals and popular music. However, there was minimal description of their performance (such as staging or movement). They also noted that they had updated the songs with personal details, but did not provide the revised lyrics or specify the kinds of personal details included.
Within the nongenre category, some older adults sang songs from musicals familiar to the participants (Davidson, 1982). They improvised or sang songs designed to welcome them within a clinical or therapeutic setting (e.g., Bumanis & Yoder, 1988; Reinstein, 2004). A small number of nongenre studies (Hepplewhite, 2019; Jenkins et al., 2021; Ray & Pendzik, 2021) made no mention of repertoire, whereas Chinese opera studies generally stated but did not elaborate upon the repertoire performed by older adults. Where provided, descriptions either outlined the genre’s historical background and instrumentation (e.g., Ng, 2021) or listed the voice types for which operatic songs were written (Lo, 2015).
Finally, we identified four studies that featured Singing+, per our definition, in Indigenous community contexts (Cooley et al., 1979; Graham, 1994; Gummow, 1994; Marett, 2007). Music, dance, and story are central to Indigenous culture (Harris, 2014; Hoefnagels & Diamond, 2012; Lu & Elschek, 2021; Reyes-García & Fernández-Llamazares, 2019), and these elements are often integrated into spiritual and artistic expression in unique and culturally specific ways. We included these studies to note their presence, while acknowledging that many other accounts of musicking by older adults can be found in different traditional and nontraditional or academic sources. Our studies described Indigenous musicking in the context of healing, ceremony, and/or tradition-bearing. Significantly, they recognized older adults’ cultural knowledge and vital leadership roles within the community.
Types of learning experiences
Formal learning experiences included company-sponsored Nō lessons in postwar Japan, where the students learnt through unison recitations and imitation while the master emphasized concentration, form, and humility, leaving “little room for individual interpretation” (Moore, 2012, p. 175). Similarly, Lo (2015) discussed Cantonese opera lessons that adhered to a strict master–apprentice model, but one in which seniors incorporated informal elements such as nicknames and student-led rehearsals. Collard-Stokes (2020), meanwhile, illustrated how a burlesque instructor in the UK adapted her teacher-centred style so that her students could rekindle their creativity and sensuality through a combination of singing and movement.
Other formal activities highlighted the reciprocal nature of intergenerational activities. Graham (1994), for example, showed how Xavante elders in central Brazil transmitted cultural knowledge to younger generations through ancestral songs received in dreams, whereas Stenberg (2019) described how a banned religious opera was revived through recollected choreography and collaborations between older and younger Chinese performers involving “impressions, guesswork, inspiration, and compromise” (p. 39). Spectatorship was addressed in only one clear example, in which Cuenca-Amigo (2019) documented senior citizens in Spain who attended live opera performances after studying these works in university lectures.
A number of studies explored experiential learning opportunities without predefined outcomes. Lin and Dong (2018) described daily gatherings of Cantonese opera performers in a public park in Guangzhou, China, where “distinct theatre boundaries no longer exist” (p. 119) between performers and audience members, as spectators were encouraged to join in, creating communal experiences where observation, participation, and shared enjoyment emerged. Similarly, Dassa and Harel (2019) discussed sessions in a dementia care facility, where older participants were paired with students and invited to engage, at will, in spontaneous singing and improvisational drama activities. These open-ended opportunities fostered a sense of agency in creative expression and an intergenerational connection. These examples illustrated informal, learner-centred environments where participants were active and willing contributors. Finally, Ray and Pendzik (2021) described a programme where individuals living with trauma received support to create autobiographical performance pieces, a therapeutic approach to improving executive function. In each case, participants also contributed to the activity by creating something new, “developing creative knowledge and action for oneself rather than [. . .] in the interests of developing knowledge for its own sake” (Su, 2009, p. 711).
RQ2: How are the Characteristics of Older Adults Reported?
Given the heterogeneous nature of the older adult population, and our desire to understand further how older adults are described in the literature on Singing+, it was essential to scope the characteristics of the older adult participants across this literature with respect to age, health status, roles, and level of experience with Singing+ activities.
Age
Our studies focused exclusively on older adults (n = 25) or intergenerational practices involving older adults (n = 14). In one study (McCabe et al., 2015), the participants’ ages were not explicitly stated. However, the data collection rationale cited the appropriateness of the activity for older adults and those with dementia, thus suggesting that their participants met the age parameters we set out within this scoping review.
Participants’ chronological ages were typically varied or not mentioned. Among the studies that exclusively featured older adults, eight described participants in general terms such as “elderly,” “senior members,” or “older people” (Cooley et al., 1979; Gummow, 1994; Hepplewhite, 2019; Joseph & Southcott, 2014). Studies that provided the participants’ ages listed various age ranges. Five studies included participants in their fifties, twelve included participants who were 80 or older, and three had participants in their nineties.
Health status
Nineteen studies referred to participants’ health. Although six described their participants as “healthy,” references to cognitive impairment or disease were frequent. Nine studies included participants with a dementia diagnosis, describing activities designed for these individuals (e.g., Chen et al., 2020; Henderson, 2019; D. R. Johnson, 1986; Reinstein, 2004), activities involving individuals with dementia and their care partners (e.g., Götell et al., 2000; McCabe et al., 2015), or activities forming part of intergenerational experiences (e.g., Bradwell, 2021; Dassa & Harel, 2019, 2020; Jenkins et al., 2021). Two studies in care homes involved individuals with a variety of cognitive and/or physical (dis)abilities (Bumanis & Yoder, 1988; D. R. Johnson, 1986). Although one study focused on individuals who had experienced trauma (Ray & Pendzik, 2021), only two studies reported on individuals with solely physical illnesses (Ng, 2021; Sun et al., 2013). These findings highlight a focus on cognitive impairments, especially dementia, with less emphasis on physical illnesses or trauma-related conditions.
Roles within the Singing+ experience
Roughly half (n = 17) of the studies investigated how participants engaged in Singing+ as performers. In many studies, however, older adults occupied multiple or different roles within a single Singing+ experience: participants were performing and creating (n = 9), performing and teaching (n = 2), or performing while creating and being part of the audience (n = 3). In studies where participants held different roles in the same Singing+ experience, the teachers were older adults, and their older adult participants were performers (n = 2) or creators (n = 1). These findings underscore the range of opportunities for older adults in Singing+ contexts—which expands the depth and inclusivity of these experiences.
Expertise
The roles adopted by older adults within Singing+ activities and their degree of complexity varied, as reviewed articles included participants who were novices (n = 8), of mixed abilities (n = 9), preadvanced amateurs (n = 2), or experts (n = 7). In the novice category, participants were not required to have prior experience or knowledge (Davidson, 1982; Ward et al., 2013) or had taken part in an earlier project offering (Bradwell, 2021). In the mixed category, varying degrees of expertise were observed within the same cohort, and surprisingly, about one third (n = 14) of studies did not mention participants’ expertise or experience.
The seven studies focusing on expert-level performers included studies of professionals (n = 2), professionals or very experienced amateurs (n = 2), tradition bearers (n = 2), and novices who became experts (n = 1). Professionals included credited performers (Henderson, 2019), retired playwrights, and artists (Stenberg, 2019). Professionals or very experienced amateurs comprised older music theatre performers who were “professional in that [they] got paid” (J. Johnson, 2016, pp. 251–252) and an individual who volunteered as an accompanist and music teacher for a local school choir (de Vries, 2012). Similarly, Lin and Dong (2018) described community opportunities involving amateur preadvanced participants with over five years of experience singing Cantonese opera. Ng (2021) mentioned how Teochew Opera musicians played together regularly but were not sufficiently proficient to collaborate with professional guest artists. Notably, Moore’s (2012) study highlighted how taking lessons in Nō theatre over several years as part of a workplace recreation programme enabled individuals to hone their skills and served as a unifying thread throughout their working lives. Thus, one student went from taking lessons at the company to private instruction at their master’s home, later studying under the master’s protégé. Another committed to performing a play every day and attended regular performances with his spouse. Finally, several studies also highlighted how older adults could be bearers or keepers of cultural knowledge (e.g., Cooley et al., 1979; Graham, 1994; Marett, 2007; Ng, 2021).
Across the studies reviewed, Singing+ activities were presented to older adults of varying ages, cognitive and physical abilities, and prior musicking experiences. This diversity highlights the many ways that Singing+ activities and repertoires can provide sites of lifelong learning to promote positive, creative aging for older adults. However, the specific nature of individual participants was often missing from the research studies, thus limiting the ability to nuance the findings to inform other research or practices for older adults.
RQ3: What are the Key Outcomes of Singing+ Activities as Experienced by Older Adults?
We identified three key outcomes centred around why individuals may engage in Singing+ activities, finding benefits within the individual (intrapersonal benefits), between individuals (interpersonal benefits), and outcomes related to the Singing+ activity itself (preservation of practices or traditions involving Singing+). Some articles addressed more than one key outcome, Figure 3 delineates the number of studies that address single or multiple thematic areas.
Singing+ Engagement Outcomes.
Key themes within these outcomes are outlined in Supplemental Figure 2 and elaborated upon in the following sections.
Intrapersonal benefits
Personal agency, enjoyment, empowerment, well-being
Increased feelings of confidence, empowerment, or agency were frequently mentioned outcomes. As both researcher and participant, Collard-Stokes (2020) gained rich insight into her participants’ experiences, with one participant describing how burlesque helped her reject societal expectations surrounding age-appropriate behaviour and to celebrate, rather than suppress, her femininity. Another noted that receiving peer admiration was cathartic and made her feel visible again. Such outcomes were not unique to burlesque, however. For example, older adults were able to express inner thoughts and explore alternate power structures while enacting a purimshpil (Lev-Aladgem, 1998). Other studies reported improved self-worth and self-confidence through co-creating and performing local histories or personal narratives (e.g., English & Davidson, 2020; McCabe et al., 2015; Ward et al., 2013).
Changes in cognitive abilities and mental health
Bumanis and Yoder (1988) implemented a two-week music and dance intervention for geriatric nursing home residents and showed that those residents who had been randomly assigned to the music and dance group were consistently more alert and enthusiastic, displaying higher levels of social adjustment and emotional well-being. This was particularly interesting because the residents in the control group were, on average, 20 years older than those in the intervention group. In another study, Man et al. (2021) implemented a five-week intervention with healthy older adults and found that actively learning and performing traditional Chinese opera improved auditory attention, while passively listening increased positive affect and reduced negative affect, as measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Chen et al. (2020) conducted a 12-week intervention involving older adults with mild to moderate dementia. Compared to the control group receiving routine nursing care, the experimental group showed significant improvements in memory, recall, and psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and irritability. Although qualitative studies also referred to improved memory or mood (Götell et al., 2000), decreased symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (Ward et al., 2013), and better physical and cognitive health (Jenkins et al., 2021), these benefits were only reported anecdotally and were not systematically explored.
Interpersonal benefits
Improved social bonds
Enhanced connections to people and places were mentioned across this body of literature. For example, Graezer and Martin’s (1999) case study of an informal yangge troupe in a Peking neighbourhood spent a year observing the group’s nightly gatherings, attended by 20 to 40 older adults in their fifties or recently retired. The troupe fostered new friendships and strengthened community ties, with members often invited to perform at local events and celebrations. Furthermore, although many had known each other previously, their shared dedication to the grassroots initiative deepened connections that extended far beyond the troupe itself.
Similarly, Joseph and Southcott’s (2014, 2017) phenomenological studies examined two established Australian groups—a show choir and a gospel choir. Despite multiple changes in music directors, the show choir maintained weekly rehearsals and regular performances, offering artistic stimulation and opportunities for social networking and companionship. Within the intergenerational gospel choir, older members provided advice and emotional support to younger singers, while outreach activities in hospitals and prisons created shared emotional experiences that further strengthened interpersonal bonds. Together, findings from these studies demonstrate considerable success in Singing+ facilitating the development and sustaining of relationships among participants. Finally, using nostalgia as an analytical framework, English and Davidson (2020) were able to show how participating in a site-specific historical opera in Australia allowed participants to connect meaningfully to the past and others around them.
Changes in the perceptions of older adults
Several Singing+ activities provided opportunities that recast or reshaped the perceptions of older adults. For example, J. Johnson (2016) used a case study approach to examine how cast members playfully challenged ageist assumptions in an industry that traditionally privileges youth. The performers not only reclaimed visibility in a theatre where they once worked, but reminded the local community of their ongoing artistic relevance while affirming a reciprocal sense of need and belonging. Similarly, Henderson (2019) explored two autobiographical plays featuring a performer with marked memory loss. In her analysis and critique of dominant portrayals of ageing and dementia in Western theatre, Henderson argued that by foregrounding the performer’s personal history and relationships, normalizing memory loss as a shared experience, and sensitively adapting performance conditions (e.g., allowing the performer to read lyrics on stage or avoiding a focus on their Alzheimer’s diagnosis), the plays invited audiences to challenge decline-based narratives of aging. Meanwhile, other studies involving intergenerational activities commented upon the reciprocity of learning and, in some cases, changes in younger participants’ understanding of older adults’ abilities (Dassa & Harel, 2020; de Vries, 2012; Hepplewhite, 2019).
Preservation or growth of musical practices
Preservation of practices or traditions involving Singing+
We also reviewed studies that illuminated the roles older adults played in preserving or reinvigorating the performance of lesser-known genres, practices, or traditions. For instance, Moore (2012) described how corporate-sponsored workplace recreation enabled three older salarymen to play a key role in sustaining utai (the singing of Nō plays). As long-term amateur practitioners, they actively learned and practised utai through the workplace-sponsored activity. Notably, after several decades of practice and obtaining his teaching licence, one practitioner went on to teach utai to others. In another study, Ng (2021) used an ethnomusicological case study methodology to examine the state of Teochew Opera and its cultural significance within the diasporic Teochew community in Western Sydney. Sustained primarily by an ageing group of practitioners, a small ensemble of older male musicians and senior singers met weekly to rehearse and preserve key elements of the genre, including hexatonic modes, intricate embellishments, and ancient melodies. Indeed, several studies underscored the knowledge of older individuals vis-à-vis enacting Singing+ experiences (Lev-Aladgem, 1998), as well as preserving and transmitting practices through dialogical mentoring (Graham, 1994; Stenberg, 2019), reintroducing recordings (Gummow, 1994), or refining works (Marett, 2007). These instances are crucial in their demonstration of vital cultural roles, and therefore offer distinction and respect for older adults whose lived experiences and cultural knowledge of such practices is prized and honoured.
Development of professional practices
Some literature included discussion of the potential for facilitators to create and expand opportunities in Singing+ for older adults. Six articles focused on the importance of attending to repertoire choice (VanWeelden & Cevasco, 2007), the value of selecting physically accessible venues (Davidson, 1982; McCabe et al., 2015), and the significance of supporting interactions among participants and emerging professionals (Dassa & Harel, 2020; Hepplewhite, 2019; McCabe et al., 2015). For instance, Dassa and Harel’s (2020) action research study illustrated how Singing+ programmes could substantially support the reciprocal sharing of practices and embodied knowledge among participants, students, and therapists. The study focused on a weekly intergenerational music and dance programme for nursing home residents with moderate dementia. In one-on-one sessions, participants and performing arts students—alongside music and drama therapists—co-created improvisational scenes and a final performance grounded in the older adults’ memories. The person-centred programme, which involved reflective free writing and facilitated discussions for the students, emphasized preserved capacities and nonverbal communication. The approach fostered meaningful connections and helped students recognize older individuals’ identities rather than their conditions. Similarly, Hepplewhite (2019) explored how three early-career artist-facilitators developed expertise through weekly arts sessions in residential care homes for older adults living with dementia. Describing both groups as “unsettled” (p. 105)—the early-career participants due to their postgraduation transitional state, and the older adults due to changes in environment and identity—the study framed this shared condition as a creative resource rather than a limitation. Over time, the young facilitators moved from simply leading activities to becoming more self-aware co-creators, increasingly responsive to participants’ creativity and lived experiences. This reciprocal exchange not only enhanced participants’ enjoyment but also advanced the facilitators’ artistic and professional growth.
Discussion
This review has examined the potential of Singing+ opportunities to promote positive and creative aging, highlighting their significant intra- and inter-personal benefits and prevalence across a broad range of traditions, abilities, and learning objectives. At the same time, the review suggests that Singing+ can be a lifelong learning activity that can support creative aging in older adults. It also reveals that existing studies are not cohesive or robust enough to form a solid research base that practitioners can use to effectively translate these findings into practice. By mapping these studies, we identified a disparate body of research suggesting that Singing+ education is being leveraged to support multiple access points, inviting participation from individuals with diverse abilities and interests in roles such as leaders, performers, creators, or audience members. The older adults in these studies represented various ages and abilities, each motivated by different reasons for participation. However, these distinctions (content and structure of experience, participant characteristics, and potential outcomes) are not fully realized in the literature. Many studies use broad terms such as “the elderly” to characterize participants, often overlooking key factors like differences between chronological, biological, or psychological age. In addition, some studies note rich opportunities for older adults to take on leadership roles within Singing+ activities, such as those of teacher or mentor, either as volunteers or paid workers. However, these roles are rarely explored in depth or adequately theorized, which limits our understanding of how older adults take on such expert roles.
This scoping review has underscored the accessibility of Singing+ as a diverse type of musicking that allows for a flexible integration of singing with other art forms. These combinations may reflect traditional genres of music theatre, as well as more customized or unique combinations that represent the many contexts in which the combination of singing with movement, dance, and/or story is being employed, including in global contexts. The versatility of these practices also allowed for older adults of differing ages and abilities to be leaders, teachers, performers, culture bearers, or learners in a variety of Singing+ activities. Because of its adaptability and community-based pedagogical nature, the opportunities for intergenerational engagement and exchange in Singing+ distinguish it in exciting ways from traditional age-segregated learning contexts. This panoply of opportunities provides a supportive and rewarding space for older adults to share their expertise or learn new creative skills.
We acknowledge that many Singing+ activities—in community arts contexts, for example—are not explicitly framed around teaching or learning. Furthermore, in the reviewed studies, descriptions of repertoire, teaching and modelling tactics, and ideal conditions for specific Singing+ activities were either missing, limited, or not the main focus. Clearly, these gaps limit a reader’s ability to fully understand the precise nature of each activity’s context, to determine how musicking contributes to individuals’ experiences and the benefits described, and to recreate similar activities as practitioners. Notwithstanding, the available evidence suggests that learning within Singing+ can occur in formal, informal, and experiential ways, with older adults engaging in varied capacities. As such, this highlights the potential of Singing+ to engender lifelong creative aging in later life.
From an ethnomusicological perspective, the selected studies illustrate how various Singing+ forms serve as dynamic sites of knowledge transmission, integrating singing with other artistic elements in ways that preserve and pass on cultural traditions, interests, and capacities. Some research has highlighted the reshaping of traditional boundaries (e.g., Ferm Almqvist, 2020; Henderson, 2019; J. Johnson, 2016), whereas other studies emphasize how distinct traditions are maintained (e.g., Moore, 2012). These practices reflect the contextual and evolving nature of the varied learning opportunities in Singing+ contexts, illustrating the diverse roles and access points that facilitate the sharing of cultural knowledge.
Interestingly, despite the multidisciplinary nature and use of Singing+ activities for and by older adults in articles from authors in highly varied disciplines, to date, most journals have only published one study on these activities for older adults. As such, this body of literature indicates limited depth within individual disciplines. The sporadic publication rate over time and the fact that most authors have contributed to only a single article highlights the literature’s disparate nature. Indeed, of the 40 articles published over a 42 year period (1979–2021), only two sets of authors (Dassa & Harel, 2019, 2020; Joseph & Southcott, 2014, 2017) have published more than one article in this area. This mapping of the literature therefore suggests a nascent body of research that lacks sustained programmes to systematically examine the relationship between the well-being of older adults and their participation in musicking activities that combined art forms with singing. The formative stage of this field of research likely reflects the limited sustainable offering of and access to opportunities that feature the combination of singing with movement, dance, and/or story by and for older adults. It similarly demonstrates a lack of attention to the nuances of older adulthood and highlights the need to further examine ways that creative and positive aging can be supported by leveraging older adults as artistic leaders or knowledge keepers who can foster opportunities for self-expression and social connection. To attain a more thorough understanding of the participants and practices involved in these activities, further research is needed—ideally with more detailed descriptions of experiences and outcomes. This deeper level of understanding would result in far greater clarity regarding the potential of these activities to support lifelong learning and creative aging more generally.
Conclusion and implications for research
In this scoping review, we have uncovered a body of literature that provides inspirational accounts of how opportunities featuring the combination of singing, movement, dance, and/or story can serve as a rich site of lifelong learning, creative engagement, and personal growth for older adults, thus contributing to positive and creative aging. By scoping the diversity of opportunities within the umbrella of Singing+, we have illuminated how diverse pedagogical approaches and configurations contribute to its accessibility and inclusivity, making it an art form that older adults of all abilities, goals, and experiences can embrace. Despite gaps in the selected studies’ methodological consistency and marked variations in their reporting of participant characteristics, activities, and outcomes, this review opens up several avenues for further research while underscoring the need for a more systematic approach to integrating our understandings about the combination of singing with these other artistic art forms, its associated pedagogies, and the mechanisms underlying its cognitive, physical, psychosocial, creativity, and meaning-making affordances. Thus, future research studies in this area should include more detailed descriptions of the activities, pedagogical strategies, and participant characteristics, and acknowledge the myriad ways that Singing+ genres offer radical and dynamic opportunities for the reclaiming of space, as well as opportunities for creativity, self-expression through the use of the voice and body, role-playing, and community building. By establishing a research base where we can learn about different ways that singing can be combined with other artistic elements to empower a variety of older adult populations, we will have a strong foundation to serve multiple cultures and communities through these activities, thus supporting aging in all its complexity. Strengthening this evidence base will not only enable educators to refine and amplify their instructional methods, but also ensure the continued role of these activities in fostering lifelong learning and thriving among aging populations.
Supplemental Material
sj-docx-1-rsm-10.1177_1321103X251394998 – Supplemental material for Creative aging and lifelong learning through singing+: A scoping review
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-rsm-10.1177_1321103X251394998 for Creative aging and lifelong learning through singing+: A scoping review by Julia Brook, Colleen Renihan, Wynnpaul Varela, Cheryl Bruce and Katarina Prystay in Research Studies in Music Education
Supplemental Material
sj-docx-2-rsm-10.1177_1321103X251394998 – Supplemental material for Creative aging and lifelong learning through singing+: A scoping review
Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-rsm-10.1177_1321103X251394998 for Creative aging and lifelong learning through singing+: A scoping review by Julia Brook, Colleen Renihan, Wynnpaul Varela, Cheryl Bruce and Katarina Prystay in Research Studies in Music Education
Supplemental Material
sj-docx-3-rsm-10.1177_1321103X251394998 – Supplemental material for Creative aging and lifelong learning through singing+: A scoping review
Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-rsm-10.1177_1321103X251394998 for Creative aging and lifelong learning through singing+: A scoping review by Julia Brook, Colleen Renihan, Wynnpaul Varela, Cheryl Bruce and Katarina Prystay in Research Studies in Music Education
Footnotes
Author contribution(s)
Declaration of conflicting interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (grant number 435-2019-0360) and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund (grant number 37974).
Ethical approval
This project did not collect empirical data, and so ethical approval was not required.
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