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Workshop Presenters

• Emma HewatDementia Pioneer, Dementia UK

• Caroline WelshFreelance Musician, Music for Life

• Lucy PayneFreelance Musician, Music for Life

History of Music for Life

• Founded by Linda Rose in 1993• Jewish Care, growing team of musicians• Managed by Wigmore Hall in partnership

with national charity Dementia UK• Partnerships include: Jewish Care, NHS

Westminster and Westminster Adult and Community Services, Brighton Dome and Festival, Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution (RMBI)

What is Music for Life?

What is Music for Life?

• 3 interlinked elements: Participants living with dementia, Musicians, Care Staff

• 8 people with dementia• 5 members of staff• 3 professional musicians• 8 week intervention• 1 hour workshop, 1 hour debrief

People Living with Dementia

• Enhance quality of life of people living with dementia

• Draw out individuals, enhance communication and build relationships

Themes

• Importance of non-verbal communication• Discovering residents life history • Taking control• Leadership• ‘Enabling’ rather than ‘doing for’ • Respecting choices and individual preferences• Music unlocking feelings• Creating a sense of belonging

Challenges

• Some positive and difficult stories

• Residents awareness of losses

Musicians

• Sessions framed by theme• Musical improvisation• Spontaneity, respond to needs of the

group, in that moment• Generate music collaboratively with the

participants• Using percussion, voice or through

inviting them to direct the music making

Challenges

• Multiple layers of meaning occurring at any one moment

• Being responsive and flexible, musically and personally

• Skilled interpreters: picking up on signals, reading between the lines, prioritising the development of a connection, and adopting the right approach

Inspiring Model for Care Workers

• Team work• Non-verbal communication: verbal articulation

in reflection• Supporting and valuing participants’ musical

offerings, however small• Finding effective creative solutions in difficult

moments• Musicians brilliant at enabling participants to

make choices, and to feel confident about their contributions

Care Staff

• Develop person centred approach to dementia care

• Engage on an emotional level

• Effective Staff development tool

Benefits of M4L to staff

• Space for observation and reflection• Develop confidence and initiative• Greater sense of team working Broader understanding of the needs of

residents through discovery of their histories, interests and strengths

• Enjoy their time at work

Staff Feedback

• ‘I enjoyed watching them enjoying it, taking part, exploring’

• ‘I’m no longer afraid of him’

• “It’s ok just to do something that seems foolish, it can have a really positive effect”

Conclusion

• Improves the quality of life of those in the end stage of dementia

• Develops workforce (NDS Objective 13)• Raising awareness (NDS Objective 1)• Challenges pre-conceptions of people

with dementia• Demonstrates personhood in people in

the later stages of dementia

Interactive Music Session

For further information please contact

• Kate WhitakerMusic for Life Project Manager Wigmore Hallk.whitaker@wigmore-hall.org.uk