Music as therapy?

[RmC17101]

Absolutely. I'm not exaggerating when I say there was music in my father's life almost every day from the diagnosis of dementia. You see, Mum, Dad and I had always enjoyed playing music and singing along at the weekends. So we tried to continue that in some form. His carer would play music throughout the day and when we'd put him to bed we would play some soft music to relax him.

When Dad was in a nursing home we would bring CDs and many of the patients would start singing when usually some wouldn't mutter a word. It was lovely to see something come alive in them. Dad didn't react but we could tell somehow that it was having an effect. Two nights before he died, we had the radio on. Dad worked as a sports broadcaster on local radio and his friend and ex colleague was DJ-ing that night - Sinatra, Monro, Ella Fitzgerald, that type of thing. When he played a recording of a song sung by a deceased former giant in local radio who Dad knew and worked with, he started thrashing almost in excitement. It appeared that through all the suffering, he recognised the name and the tune.

I cannot emphasise enough that music is a wonderful form of therapy for those with dementia if they like music. And for all involved in care it can be part of their journey too.

 

[Izzy]

We're off to our Alzheimer Scotland choir this afternoon!

 

[RAINBOWROD]

SFTB & Favourite Music

My late wife became really animated when she attended our local Singing for the Brain Group. Initially she'd sing along with the words but as her memory faded she hummed the melody and clapped along. I had CD's of her favourite music permanently in the car and on the CD player at home. She LOVED music and that of John Denver in particular. The happiness on her face as we listened to the music together is something I treasure now that she is gone.

 

[Ovacomer]

The effect of music on my mum has to be seen to be believed. In the middle of worst rages of dementia playing Glenn Miller or similar sees her dancing round the room to the amazement of anyone who is watching. It doesn't always work and my mum now says when I switch it on 'does this do something to me?'
A well known broadcaster has set up a charity to use music to help people with dementia.
Best Wishes

 

[brianmtuk]

Headphones?

I'm planning on getting some mp3 players for our residents (so I can make individual playlists for people)

If anyone is using headphones, what kind do you use? Looking for something as indestructible as possible!

Thanks

 

[Izzy]

well known broadcaster has set up a charity to use music to help people with dementia.
Best Wishes

I think that's Sally Magnusson - see the posts above for the link.

 

[WirelessPaul]

The best thing I got for Susan's room was a secondhand ROBERTS stream 63i. It plays CD's etc and also links into our internet so we can have ambient sound, Rock music, Classical music or even bird song (lots more too) at the press of a select button from the internet stations.
Paul

 

[splinters]

Dancing

Its not just music but also mucic with dancing for my wife. One of her "My day my way" reintroduced her to dancing. The WRVS now RVS have a sequence dancing class and she took my wife to it. It totally changed her she now wants to listen to music at home. Even if she doesnt remember the words she conducts. The dance teachers said she gets the complicated beat right too. She has a gentleman 'friend', 94, who asks her to dance, the group involve her in everything insisting that she joins the group not caring if she makes mistakes. they say she makes less than they do. As a Dementia friends champion it does my heart good to see them as "dementia friends" without needing the presentation.

 

[Mary's daughter]

My mother has been in a care home since last August and attends Mindsong music therapy sessions fortnightly...even though she always enjoys it, sometimes she refuses to attend! I accompany her when I can and it's absolutely marvellous to hear her singing along. Most of the time she says very little and often the same thing over and over, so to hear her remembering song lyrics is joyful. I would really recommend singing as a treatment for dementia sufferers, as it reconnects people to the world for that short time and enables them to find real pleasure in the moment.

I haven't noticed many mentions here of music being used as a calming/relaxing/therapeutic measure for those suffering from AD and I wondered what experience people have with this?

Music can be such a large part of our lives and from an emotional point of view it's something we use to make ourselves feel better (or sometimes help us wallow in self-pity ) so I would have thought the right music in the right setting could be of benefit.

Interested to hear your views on the subject.

 

[CARERVAL]

Music for Therapy

Mum lost her ability to put sentences together through vascular dementia, but while in hospital - she was there for over 12 weeks, nursing staff had only heard her say "All right" over and over again. However while celebrating a nurses birthday they'd sang Happy Birthday to the nurse and mum astounded them with a rendition of 'It's a long way to Tipperrary" Word perfect. It seems sufferers of dementia lose music last of all. I can also recommend any film which has no narrative as they do lose the ability to follow narrative but Laural and Hardy, or Mr Bean had mum and her fellow sufferers rolling inthe isles and better still forgetting their troubles for a while.

I work for the Musicians Union so have heard numerous testiment to the power of music to calm and reassure, and the number of musicians who retain their ability to play when all else has left them. Amazing.

 

[brianmtuk]

I don't think you ever 'lose' music, it's a basic animal thing - we are animals after all. Just like birds singing it's hard wired in us, and very probably where language started in the first place!

 

[sinkhole]

Great feedback. It confirms what I feel - that music has the ability to bring calm, joy and happiness even to those in complete turmoil and confusion.

 

[rozz]

Singing for the Brain

Hi, I'm a Singing for the Brain volunteer, training to be a leader, and I continue to be amazed at the difference music makes - stimulating, calming, funny, repetitive, joyful, poignant, foot tapping, reflective, and much more. Mum has Alzheimers, and is lucky to be in a home where there is live music several times a week, and though she responds to very little, she will tap her hands and smile. Other residents get up and dance, and laugh and smile. Music seems to help so much, brings people together, and taps into a different part of the brain, and heart. There are Singing for the brain groups all over the country, held weekly usually. They are run by Alzheimer's Society. The format is tea and a biscuit and a chat with everyone, then singing, usually unaccompanied - greeting and farewell songs, warm ups, rounds, tongue twisters, topical songs, and a songbook packed full of great songs. I love it, people with dementia love it, and the carers also love it!

 

[DeborahT]

Music for Dementia sufferers

In my experience - as someone whose beautiful Mum had vascular dementia - music can be a very powerful soother. My brother had put together a CD of her favourite songs which we played in the car (or in the care home once she got beyond going out) and even when Mum got to the stage of not knowing who we were, who she was or even how to drink a cup of tea, she would listen to the music and sing along - word perfect - to 'Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me', clicking her fingers and tapping her toes. Her relaxation was immediately visible, she was happy, she felt secure in familiar territory. Just make a list of some of the songs and music your loved one grew up with and play them - you'll know when you've hit on the right ones!
Seeing the other residents singing and swaying along was so lovely - the compilations of 50's and 60's hits, musical soundtracks, Glenn Miller, Big Bands, Brass bands, Songs of Praise (their age groups mostly went to school when hymns were always sung at morning assembly) TV themes - all struck a chord with someone listening.
We tried to make the staff understand that if Mum was anxious, upset or grumpy just put on some music. Sadly, it was all too often the television that was playing to no-one.
I would always suggest music as the first step to creating a better atmosphere.
I hope this helps - anything to give sufferers a little respite from their bewildering world is worth a try!

 

[Jenn]

I think music is marvelous too - it can be very evocative though. I bought a CD for my Mum of a Welsh Male Voice Choir (she is Welsh) which I thought she would enjoy. The first song was `Cwm Rhondda' and instead of enjoying it she turned and sobbed and sobbed, she said it bought back so many memories to her. There is something very moving about that song, and it just seemed to overwhelm her.

 

[welshtaffy]

Music therapy help.

I haven't noticed many mentions here of music being used as a calming/relaxing/therapeutic measure for those suffering from AD and I wondered what experience people have with this?

Music can be such a large part of our lives and from an emotional point of view it's something we use to make ourselves feel better (or sometimes help us wallow in self-pity ) so I would have thought the right music in the right setting could be of benefit.

Interested to hear your views on the subject.

Since over thirty years I have specialised in composing music to combat various types of stress for both adults and children.Five years ago my father died from Alzeimers and I know for a fact that the right type of music can benefit dementia.It helped him.I have produced many many CDs to help not only stress related problems but also to provide a safe warm atmosphere to help bring people together at parties/social gatherings.I found out that very long titles i.e 60 minutes or more without any breaks and without any ups or downs but also offering a simple pleasant melody that anyone can follow.With my type of music i.e deep relaxing (60 bpm) one does not have to think about it as it normally enters the sub conscious mind.I do not beleive short pieces of music help that much because every few minutes comes a different sort of tempo/sounds and volume.That can be very disruptive to the mind.I hope this might have given you an insight as to how music can help dementia and other forms of stress! Good listening to you.

Having said all that,I also know that sometimes the sufferer will not want to listen to anything and especially not want to put up with wearing headphones.If headphones can been worn they can help create a very personal atmosphere that only the listener can appreciate.Sometimes my father welcomed them but other times he would want to tear them off and throw them away, but I do think they are worth experimenting with.With the right type of music they will certainly induce relaxing and then helping the person to sleep.If you do decide trying out headphones,then I recommend the ones that are without any cable attached!

I arranged for my father to be taken, twice a week to a day care center where he would see other faces and there they used to play music the whole time.It really was a wonderful therapy not just for him but for all the others that were there.

 

[imnotloony]

I'm pleased to say that my Mum has been enjoying a weekly singing session in her care-home, led by a volunteer who has put together a little booklet with words of all the familiar songs so they can sing along. The first time I was visiting while it was on, Mum sang along gustily but a couple of bars behind everyone else as she couldn't hear the rest of the group. I had tears running down my face as it was so comical to hear, but the main thing was they were all enjoying themselves so it didn't matter if someone sang out of time!

 

[NanLorac]

brianmtuk, you asked about headphones. I got my husband wireless headphones. This means if he decides to go to the toilet, he can get up out of the chair and go without dragging a CD player with him. They are heavy but they are the same as the first headphones he had and I find he has more problem with the small bud earphones.

Playlist for life on Facebook give you link to a song every Friday its called Flashback Friday. This week Britney Spears last week Smokey Robinson.

 

[Highstreet]

Musie Therapy

Thanks for starting this Thread. Music is so important to people with dementia, especially if they have loved it in the past. My Pa has a CD player in his room but when one CD is finished we need to rely on others to change it. A playlist on an ipod is excellent idea.

Highstreet

 

[momanddadalz]

music can help

I have found posts about singing sessions and group activities such as choirs, dancing, entertainers in care homes etc. but the situation at the moment is that my aunt spends a lot of time alone and I was wondering about the benefit of her having some sort of recorded music to listen to. She has a radio but I'm pretty sure she listens mainly to Radio 4 which is mainly speech.

I'm wondering if there may be a place for low level background music in some situations or to have recorded music available in a way to make it easy for her to play (she couldn't cope with CDs or MP3 players).

My dad and mom apprecieate soothing music and nature calming images and they both have alzheimer. Maybe a classical music radio station might help. i read that Mozart and gregorian chants are relaxing.
All the best !