Experiências Musicais e Bem-estar: Etnografia de um Coro Infantil na Cidade do Porto

Abstract

Childhood is a period of intense development, during which various areas of our lives begin to take shape. Understanding how to promote meaningful and positive health experiences during this phase is crucial. With the primary goal of examining how children's musical experiences relate to their well-being, we conducted an ethnography with the Children's Choir of Casa da Música in Porto, a Portuguese institution recognized for its artistic work. The research gave "voice" to the children themselves, allowing them to express their opinions in a leading role. Well-being is a concept associated with a positive state experienced by each person and has two main facets: Subjective Well-being and Psychological Well-being. The former refers to happiness and life satisfaction (Giacomoni, 2004), while the latter relates to aspects of healthy psychological functioning, divided into six dimensions: Self-acceptance, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, personal growth, and positive relations with others (Ryff, 1989). Studies show that artistic interventions, such as music, have the potential to enhance well-being. Music, besides being appealing to humans, has neurological effects (Levitin, 2021; Muszkat, 2019), stimulates emotional, social, physical and cognitive areas (Sacks, 2007), and releases hormones that improve mood and well-being (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2007). To address our objective, an ethnographic study of children's experiences in a choir was developed. For data collection, we used participant observation, focus groups with children and interviews with technicians and parents. We observed that choir members' musical experiences appear to significantly contribute to well-being, especially in social, cognitive and emotional areas. Choir members reported improvements in cooperation, self-confidence, emotional expression and problem-solving. Building bonds, mutual care and artistic quality were identified as factors enhancing participants' learning. Among the challenges reported, time management was most frequently mentioned and, collectively, we identified the use of socio-educational strategies to aid children's development. The Children's Choir serves as an example of a musical project and activity that can inspire us to expand similar programs, ensuring access to music for all children.