Music modulates dwell-times on discriminating facial features (e.g., eyes) and rumination levels modulate visual attention/responses to music. As these factors are understudied in dementia, particularly in non-care settings, home-based music research with webcam-based eye tracking (WBET) was explored. Participants completed online self-report mood/rumination measures and a cognitive status interview. In silence and then with background music, participants fixated on a cross, naturally viewed emotional-neutral facial pairings, and then fixated on a dot. Percentage dwell-time on emotional faces, and the top-half versus bottom-half of these images were compared. WBET use was feasible (i.e., some full datasets were collected for both conditions). During background music, (1) sad and angry-face dwell-times increased and reduced, respectively, for participants with and without cognitive impairment, and (2) happy-face and image top-half dwell-times increased for participants with cognitive impairment but reduced for participants without cognitive impairment. Sad-face dwell-times reduced and increased for high and low ruminators, respectively. In conclusion, descriptive findings show that older persons’ visual attention may be altered by music and that rumination should be considered in such studies. WBET use is feasible and may provide access to eye-tracking studies for some individuals. Hypotheses and practical recommendations are provided for future research.