For linking music and well-being

It was as an undergraduate at McGill University that Annabel Cohen first became intrigued with the links between the mind and music. Cohen, who has been a professor of psychology at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown since 1993, now leads an international multidisciplinary research project called AIRS, which stands for Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing. “Most people love to raise their voices in song,” says Cohen, “but few stop to think about the impact singing has on their lives and the society they live in.” 

AIRS is the first Major Collaborative Research Initiative (MCRI) grant the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has awarded in the Maritimes. Over the seven years of the project, Cohen and a global team of researchers are using the grant’s $2.3 million to study individual, cultural, and universal influences on the development of singing. They’re addressing such topics as how we learn to sing as babies, whether cross-cultural music programs can promote understanding, and if singing can improve the well-being of the elderly. 

“We are integrating new knowledge about singing from the perspectives of psychology, music, linguistics, sociology, anthropology, and education,” says Cohen. “It will bring enormous research training opportunities to students in Atlantic Canada, and the societal benefits will be significant.”

Cohen is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the growing field of music psychology, but her commitment is personal as well as academic. She has always been interested in music, taking piano and flute lessons while growing up in Kingston, Ont. Twelve years ago, she decided to explore her singing ability. “It was a personal experiment to see if I could pass the Royal Conservatory of Music exams,” she says. She went on to earn the Conservatory’s Associateship diploma, which gave her new insight into the emotional components of song. “Now I know from personal experience as well as from a research perspective that music is a powerful tool,” says Cohen.