Adults are a tremendously diverse and vibrant population, which has a number implications for their teaching and learning. Adults learning music recreationally have widely differing learning interests and needs, requiring individualized approaches from the teachers with whom they work. However, in Western societies, many believe that musical exploration and development occurs primarily in childhood. Because of this pervasive focus upon music learning in childhood, adult learners face many unnecessary and often invisible hurdles when engaging in music making or learning in adulthood. Despite these challenges, many adults perceive a number of extra-musical benefits, including benefits to one’s physical, psychological, socio-emotional, and spiritual well-being as a result of their participation in music learning.The purpose of this literature review is to examine scholarship relevant to adult development, music learning in adulthood (Who are these musicians?), perceived benefits of music learning (Why?), and to offer implications for music practitioners and researchers. Literature for this review was selected with the intention to examine adult development and its implications for learning, and the perceived benefits of music learning in adulthood. Literature was also selected based upon its pertinence to adult developmental stages, the implications of development upon learning, and studies in which researchers conceptualize particular developmental stages in music learning contexts. In order to remain particularly relevant to music educators, literature was selected based upon its potential to be applied to community music and music education. Initial findings of this literature review indicate that adults may require a tailored approach through which developmental changes may be taken into account- especially if learners are to reap the potential benefits to participation.