Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies

The family, as a fundamental social unit, plays a vital role in shaping individuals’ emotional, social, and relational development. Shared family activities and routines—such as storytelling, singing, and music-making—serve as meaningful practices that foster connection, transmit values, and strengthen bonds across generations

This qualitative study investigates the role of “musicking” – the act of engaging with music – as an instrument to help build and strengthen the relationship between parents and children. To explore this, the research employs Clandinin and Connelly’s narrative inquiry design, a framework for examining the lived experiences of ten Filipino parent-adult child dyads purposively selected from diverse musical sectors in Metro Manila, Rizal, and CALABARZON region.

To deepen engagement, purposive and snowball sampling were employed to recruit dyad participants resulting in a final cohort of twenty individuals (nine males and eleven females), aged 22 to 67. Eligibility required that both parent and adult child be Filipino, with active involvement in music at the time of study. Parents were aged 35 or older, while adult children are aged 18 or older. Educational backgrounds varied widely, spanning specialized music degrees and professional qualifications in medicine, finance, and psychology. This diversity allowed the study to examine how musicking transcends professional boundaries, becoming a shared language across different life paths. These dimension, situates the narratives in time and in social context and ground them in particular settings. The study was conducted in Quezon City, Philippines, from July 2025-March 2026, allowing for sustained engagement with participants and their evolving musical journey.

From the analysis, the findings reveal that shared musical engagement acts as a systemic stabilizer, shifting the parent-child relationships from traditional hierarchies toward resilient, peer-to-peer partnership. Out of these narratives and the identified themes the BOND framework emerged, comprising of four resonant threads: Becoming, Oneness, Nurture, and Dedication. In conclusion, the study show that musicking is a generative act-an instrument that turn shared sounds into a living practice of connection and a shared family legacy.