Causes of Death of Professional Musicians in the Classical Genre (original) (raw)

Gender Differences in Mortality and Morbidity Patterns in Popular Musicians Across the Lifespan

Medical problems of performing artists, 2017

Recent studies have highlighted the disturbing morbidity and early mortality of popular musicians. Most of the studies have focused on male musicians because, until recently, there were relatively few female popular musicians on which to base a population study. With the sharp increase in female popular musicians from fewer than 2% in the 1950s to 32% in the current decade, researchers are better able to examine the health status and mortality profile of female popular musicians. To this end, this paper makes what we believe is the first detailed analysis of mortality and morbidity in female popular musicians. Mortality patterns were similar for male and female musicians, and both were highly discrepant from population curves. Examination of death rates for younger (<45 yrs) and older (>45 yrs) musicians by sex and genre showed that violent deaths continued to dominate cause of death even in older musicians, accounting for 20% of all deaths, a figure three times higher than fo...

A New Look at Musician's Health

Looking for solutions to the health problems of musicians can lead one through many corridors of information. A new wing of interdisciplinary research has been opened which offers more possibilities to solving medical problems without traditional medicines or therapies. The following is a report on the Art in Motion Symposium held at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz in May 2008. This paper seeks to assimilate the physiological and medical research of Horst Hildebrandt, Victor Candia and Jane Ginsborg with the research in motor learning of Richard Schmidt and Gabrielle Wulf to advocate for healthier and more productive practice for musicians. Where the medical research was done by and musicians, the research in psychology and motor learning was done by sports scientists. This collaboration of information made this symposium unique in its output. The assimilation of this information is new and ongoing, providing musicians new food for thought as to how they incorporate healthier practice.

Music and Public Health

Music and Public Health, 2018

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Music as a resource for psychological health for music professionals: A Nordic survey

Nordic Journal of Arts, Culture and Health, 2020

Purpose: Interest in the health relevance of music has been growing rapidly, yet few studies have addressed the protective role of music for music professionals themselves. In the current study, we investigated music professionals' (music teachers, music therapists, musicians and academics) health, particularly their uses of music as a resource for their psychological health. Design: An online survey (N = 504) for music professionals was conducted across four Nordic countries. Participants responded to questions on music as a resource for psychological health and assessed their general levels of health and health behaviors. Their self-reported health was compared to similar prior data from the general Danish population (N = 14,022). Findings: Music professionals demonstrated high levels of self-reported health and health behaviors and approved of the idea of music as a resource for their psychological health. The most important psychological function of music for them was that music provided affective experiences. Music also provided feelings of belonging and supported mood regulation, but did not really offer relaxation or help to concentrate. Music teachers and therapists reported significantly higher use of music as a personal resource for psychological health than musicians and academics. Value: The results provide new insights into music playing a dual role-professional and personal resource-for different types of music professionals. The findings have relevance for how to address music in the training of musicians and create grounds for dialogue about the role of music for music professionals in comparison to laymen.

Nordic Dedication to Musicians’ Health and Performance A Successful Launch of the First Nordic Conference

Medical problems of performing artists

Within the last 30 years performing arts medicine has grown internationally as a scientific and clinical specialty for investigation, examination, treatment, and prevention of disorders among performing arts professionals and amateurs, i.e., dancers, singers, musicians, actors, and others engaged in performing arts. 1,2 In the Nordic countries, clinical specialization and research regarding the health situation of musicians and other performing artists has been relatively sparse. However, this has gained speed in the last decade and is today a growing field.

Incidence and relative risk of hearing disorders in professional musicians

Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2014

Background Hearing disorders have been associated with occupational exposure to music. Musicians may benefit from non-amplified and low-intensity music, but may also have high risks of music-induced hearing loss. Aims To compare the incidence of hearing loss (HL) and its subentities in professional musicians with that in the general population. Methods We performed a historical cohort study among insurants between 19 and 66 years who were employed subject to social insurance contributions. The study was conducted with data from three German statutory health insurance providers covering the years 2004-2008 with about 7 million insurants. Incidence rates with 95% CIs of HL and the subentities noiseinduced hearing loss (NIHL), conductive HL, sensorineural HL, conductive and sensorineural HL, as well as tinnitus were estimated stratified by age, sex and federal state. A Cox regression analysis was conducted to estimate adjusted HRs and two-sided 95% CIs for HL and its subentities. Results More than 3 million insurants were eligible, of whom 2227 were identified as professional musicians (0.07%). During the 4-year observation period, 283 697cases of HL were seen, 238 of them among professional musicians (0.08%), leading to an unadjusted incidence rate ratio of 1.27. The adjusted hazard ratio of musicians was 1.45 (95% CI 1.28 to 1.65) for HL and 3.61 (95% CI 1.81 to 7.20) for NIHL. Conclusions Professional musicians have a high risk of contracting hearing disorders. Use of already available prevention measures should reduce the incidence of HL in professional musicians.

Effects of Music on Health: The Plight of the Piper

Online Journal of Health & Allied Sciences, 2019

Music, an important tool of social and cultural value, has found relevance in healthcare and is being harnessed for therapeutic purposes. However, the art of producing music with musical instruments, has potential health benefits and hazards, which are often ignored. In this article, we review literature, and expound on the effects of playing wind instruments on the health of the player. Some authors have documented superior lung function and a lower risk of obstructive sleep apnea amongst wind instrumentalists. However, the list of health hazards associated with playing wind instruments exceed the potential benefits, with myriad cases of adverse events documented following wind instrument playing. Many of these adverse events are as a result of increased pressures (intra-thoracic, intra-abdominal, intra-ocular, intra-cranial etc.), especially with high resistance instruments, when delivering high pitches and volumes. It is recommended that wind instrument players be aware of the po...

Musical performance as health promotion : a musician's narrative

2013

A musician has a wonderful profession: playing the instrument she loves, whether alone or in an orchestra, as a teacher or as a solo performer. Of course, performing on stage demands long hours of practice. Audiences can be fickle as well, and a performance judged as lacking by either critics or the general public can influence both the personal and the professional life of the musician. Working as a freelance musician, one is being at the critics’ mercy. Still, some musicians perform for their whole lives because there is simply nothing better. The audience receives, and the audience gives back; the musician finds or makes meaning based on the simple principle that music is life. Many musicians pay a price—no pain, no gain—both in the body and in the psyche. Yet most play on and even discover the personal health benefits that musical performance can provide. In what follows, I will present an interview with an internationally renowned musician whom I address via the pseudonym Rose....