Unfortunately, older patients are more prone to develop complications due to the ageing process. Nursing care, in which interventions are used to promote recovery, fulfils an important role in post-surgery care. Nonpharmacological Interventions are preferred in older patients because of the risk of side effects. Music is one such intervention. Centuries ago, music was used to promote well-being and even today, music often has a prominent role in daily life and at special moments. However, music is not yet a structural part of hospital care. Van der Wal-Huisman investigated how live music can be applied in hospital care, its effect on recovery and its perceived added value, with primary focus on the older surgical patient. In collaboration with professional musicians trained for this purpose at the Prince Claus Conservatoire, live music was played on the nursing ward, at the patient's bedside. Insights were gained into how music can contribute to recovery after surgery. Among others, patients experienced less pain, music seems to have a positive effect on the autonomic nervous system, which is involved in the recovery process after surgery, and it adds value to the emotional needs and experience of hospitalisation. Van der Wal- Huisman argues in her thesis for structural embedding of live music in healthcare because it fits in the ongoing transition in healthcare with increased attention for human values.