An investigation into the experiences and perspectives of members of the Communitas Choir An Extended Abstract Lucy Coleman
1. Aim of the study To investigate the experiences and perspectives of members of the Communitas Choir. The Communitas choir is based at York St John University and is part of the Converge project. It comprises people who use mental health services, university students and staff.
2. Method a) Semi-structured interviews b) Questionnaire based on Clift and Hancox’s (2010) mechanisms that enhance wellbeing. Sample group: out of 38 choir members, 16 filled in the questionnaire and 9 were interviewed. Ethics: Approval was gained from York St John University Ethics Committee. Data Analysis: Interview data were analysed through thematic analysis recommended by Creswell (2009).
3. Findings a) Questionnaire 16 people fill in the questionnaire. 15 out of 16 said they looked forward to the choir most or all of the time. 12 out of 16 said that singing in the choir ‘helps me relax’. 10 out of 16 people said that the choir helped them in other areas of their life. 10 out of 16 thought that the choir was intellectually stimulating.
b) Interviews The following themes emerged through the interviews: I.
Positive Feelings
“the choir helps me relax” the choir “puts me in a situation where I’m more comfortable and confident” “it just…releases all the stress and gives me a buzz” Two members of the choir said that if gave them a reason to leave their house. II.
Community, belonging and support
“I feel it’s very supportive. It’s not like I’m on my own, I’m with a group.” “It’s a good situation to be there with everybody else and they’re in the same boat…my confidence goes high”. “I do feel that my confidence has been boosted. It's a positive thing. I have issues in large groups or in simple things like going to the supermarket. I find that’s not been as daunting as it has been in the past. III.
Creating an atmosphere that helps:
“Well I’m actually quite tense when I start off, but I find the relaxation techniques very helpful”. “One of the reasons I come every week is because the teaching style is always fun … even when you're in a bad mood you can sort of get happy from the teaching style”. “It takes me out of my life sometimes…” “It's a distraction and it takes me out of myself for as long as the session is”.
More information about the choir can be found at: http://communitaschoir.wordpress.com Lucy Coleman’s research can be found in full by contacting Converge: converge@yorksj.ac.uk Clift S, Hancox G (2010) The significance of choral singing for sustaining psychological wellbeing: findings from a survey of choristers in England, Australia and Germany. Music Performance Research, 3 (1), 79-96 Creswell J W (2009) Research Design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed). California: Sage Publication