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Music as therapy


The Admiral
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Just learned through Facebook that an old jam band mate has just been voted the UK's leading nursing home entertainer.

On the face if it that has the whiff of Peter Kay and Phoenix Nights, but - he works closely with the medical professionals, as part of the music therapy programme they run, and the results are remarkable I'm told.

Essentially, there are people with dementia and Alzheimer's, who don't know their families, but can remember all the words to Chuck Berry's sweet Little Sixteen.

Easy to forget that the first 'teenagers' are now in their 70s, and the Rock and roll generation are going into care.

It made me wonder if anyone on here is involved in this kind of thing, as it sounds a great idea for all concerned? He's out virtually every day apparently on lunchtime acoustic gigs, which are paid, albeit not royally I'm sure, but lugging a little vocal PA and an acoustic in your car seems like a nice little gig, and of course, playing to delighted audiences, whose day you make, must be great.

Edited by The Admiral
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I work in a dementia care home. It took me a while to realise that putting music on instead of the telly really does a lot of good.
Music works for a lot of the residents but not all.
We have people like your mate there who come in and do a very cool little gig in the afternoon and all of the residents enjoy it.
We have learned though that some may come back from the concert thinking they have been out with friends from 40 years ago and spend the rest of the day looking for them.
If I could sing I would be doing what your mate does.
I bet he's having a really good time.

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[quote name='Qlank' timestamp='1454048546' post='2965718']
I work in a dementia care home. It took me a while to realise that putting music on instead of the telly really does a lot of good.
Music works for a lot of the residents but not all.
We have people like your mate there who come in and do a very cool little gig in the afternoon and all of the residents enjoy it.
We have learned though that some may come back from the concert thinking they have been out with friends from 40 years ago and spend the rest of the day looking for them.
If I could sing I would be doing what your mate does.
I bet he's having a really good time.
[/quote]

He loves it I must say, and everyone looks forward to him coming in. Lovely for everyone.

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[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1454058991' post='2965797']
The Drake Music Project does similar - even providing single finger or blink controlled instruments to disabled kids.
[/quote]

Friends of mine have a company that makes an instrument designed for the disabled. It's really awesome. I want one myself!

http://skoogmusic.com

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Our singer's done this as one of his solo gigs when he was full time. He enjoyed it, and he was the first person to point out to me that Chuck Berry, Beatles and Stones songs are in the right age bracket nowadays - I'd assumed it'd be much earlier stuff...

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