Music and dementia
What is the philosophy behind the Music and Dementia workshop?
What does a Music & Dementia workshop involve? Check it out here:
Embrace Netherlands developed the innovative Music & Dementia program with the goal of improving the well-being of people living with dementia. We do this in nursing homes and day care centers for people with dementia and their caregivers. We provide interactive music workshops based on improvised music, along the lines of Music for Life in London.
With specially developed trainings we give (care) workers and family caregivers tools to integrate music in daily care practice. We always involve experts active within the venue, such as music therapists, agitators and local professional and amateur musicians.
Listening to music and making music together offer the opportunity to communicate in a different (non-lingual) way with people with a form of dementia.
Music & Dementia was part of Age Friendly Cultural Cities in Leeuwarden and has been an exemplary Project at Fonds Cultuurparticipatie and RCOAK, ZonMw in the past Years.
Effects of the Music and Dementia Program.
For people with dementia
– Increase well-being, both short- and long-term
– Eating and sleeping better
– Less ‘problem behavior’
– Making contact more easily
For employees and family caregivers
– Making it easier to connect with people with dementia
– Better (work) atmosphere
– Helps with daily activities such as going to eat, showering, going to sleep or administering medication
– More job satisfaction, less stress
– Employees gain self-confidence through development of own musical talent and musical leadership
What happens during the music workshops?
A workshop series for people with dementia consists of eight sessions. Each session lasts about one hour. The musicians first play a recognition melody, a short composition they created especially for this group. Then they improvise shorter and longer pieces of music and encourage residents to join in.
Who will participate?
Eight to 10 residents with some form of dementia can participate. Three to five staff members and at least three professional musicians are involved in the workshops.
Interested in a workshop series?
Want to know what music workshops can do for your clients?
We would be happy to come to you for an interview!
Training for employees and family caregivers
Our trainings for (care) workers and family caregivers include as a component:
- awareness of sounds
- therapeutic use of music
- development of own creativity & musical taste and music choices
- simple and effective exercises with improvised and composed music.
By making music themselves, participants learn to connect with people with dementia. Participants do not need a musical background.