Citation

Gibbons AC. Activ. Adapt. Aging 1983; 3(2): 61-67.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1983, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1300/J016v03n02_10

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

To determine if primarily Caucasian non-institutionalized elderly persons were satisfied with their musical skill levels, 13 male and 139 female subjects were asked to evaluate their current and their desired musical skill levels. The data indicated subjects generally desired an increase in their current musical skills. While 52 percent of the subjects who rated singing skills indicated a desire for better musical skills, 90 percent of the subjects who rated playing skills desired better ones. When general or overall musical skill was considered, 84 percent of the subjects indicated a 'desire for better skill. All results were highly statistically significant, p < ,001. The study indicates that the majority of Caucasian female non-institutionalized elderly persons in a limited population sample are not necessarily satisfied with current musical skill levels and would like to improve them. These results cannot be generalized to all elderly non-institutionalized persons, however, due to the restricted sample used in this study. Even so, it is possible that some elderly persons who are interested in music are also interested in improving their musical skills. Therefore, they may willingly participate in educational programs designed to improve musical skills. They may prefer such educational programs to those designed merely to maintain minimal or current musical skills levels.