Music for Life
About Music for Life
Music for Life is a project pioneering and developing interactive music workshops for people living with dementia.
Work takes place in residential homes, hospitals and special day care centres. The project aims to:
- • Enhance the quality of life of its participants
- • Demonstrate to carers the emotional, social and physical potential of people in their care.
It focuses on people who can be isolated and disempowered as a result of the advanced stage of their dementia.
During projects, specially trained musicians work alongside small groups of people with dementia and their carers - drawing out individuals and enhancing communication.
Musicians interact with participants - identifying and building on areas still intact within a person suffering the losses associated with the later stages of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia: memory, physical capacities, personality changes and accompanying loss of identity.
Participant’s personalities come through in the work. Carers who are also part of the team can then re-evaluate their care of individuals in the light of their experience and observations during the project.
Increased Quality of Life
Music for Life raises awareness of the possibilities for increased quality of life for people in this care sector, and offers three interlinked strands of work:
- • Music improvisation workshops for people living with dementia
- • Working with staff to enhance their understanding of the emotional needs of people with dementia as part of a person-centred approach to dementia care
- • Training and developing professional musicians to work in this field
Music for Life was founded by Linda Rose in 1993 and developed together with an expanding team of musicians in association with Jewish Care. Music for Life is now managed by Wigmore Hall
In the press
Project Partner:
