Source note · R019
Can Community Music Contribute to More Equitable Societies? A Critical Interpretive Synthesis
Community music can support individual experiences of inclusion while wider inequalities persist.
- Setting
- Related music & arts
- Kind of evidence
- Reviews & synthesis
- Review extent
- Selected sections reviewed
What was studied
A critical interpretive synthesis of 74 articles concerning 66 purposefully selected community music programs.
What it contributes
The synthesis distinguishes personal and relational changes from changes in the social structures that produce unequal opportunities.
Where the evidence stops
Selected programs and interpretive synthesis do not establish a general causal effect on equity. Benefits within a program should not be treated as proof that structural barriers have been removed.
About this review
This is a targeted review of selected sections. The record should not be read as an appraisal of the entire work.
Source note updated September 7, 2026. Read our approach to evidence.