Case History - Older People, 'Meaningful Moments'
Wednesday 19th August 2009
In partnership with Nightingale House Care Home, London, LMN carried out a sustained programme of interactive music workshops in a special dementia unit, under professional observation.
In ten monthly sessions, working with the same two specially-trained LMN 
musicians, patients engaged with the music and communicated with others. To their delight, staff, family and carers regained glimpses of the real person behind the dementia as they began to respond to the musicians and those around them.
Ann Stuart, experienced evaluator in the field of dementia, who observed the work said:
"There is no doubt that the medium of music and the musicians themselves became therapeutic tools, activating communication and interaction that would otherwise never have taken place."
Nightingale House is a pioneer in providing arts therapies to assist in the wellbeing of those in its care. Alaistair Addison, Head of Activities, Nightingale House, said:
"Music is a memory function that remains towards the end of people's lives. We knew of LMN's success with working with older people and that they appointed highly qualified musicians with classical and popular repertoire."
Everyone involved in the project agreed that its success depended on the musicians' ability to call on a wide range of repertoire and use appropriate music in immediate response to participants, demonstrating the clear need for live music and highly competent musicians. Performed by specially-trained musicians, music's communicative and healing properties had a direct impact on patient care, enhancing their wellbeing and benefiting their staff, carers and families.
John's story (as below) captures the essence of many moving and magical moments observed throughout the project.
John a quiet, disengaged man, showed no real awareness of the other people living in the dementia community around him at Nightingale House.
Hard to engage for any length of time in activities, John spent much of his days roaming the corridors of the home. As his dementia progressed, staff found it increasingly difficult to carry out routine activities of daily living with him. They often faced challenging behaviour as he displayed his frustrations and anxieties.
Then with prompting and gradual persuasion, John was brought into the second workshop of the Live Music Now 'Meaningful Moments' project, part of the 'Active Music, Active Minds' programme, supported by Bank of America.
At first, John's interaction was one of social participation only as he does not usually join in with activity groups. This time however he stayed for the duration of the workshop, showing no signs of agitation or eagerness to get out of the room to roam, as with other activities and continued to come to the workshop sessions for the remainder of the project.
On his third visit instead of sitting down, he approached Pavel one of the musicians, who was seated at the piano, shook his hand and said 'oh personalised Beethoven, how are you today?' It was the first time that staff had seen him independently engage in any activity and so began John's participation in the workshops that were to follow.
Over the remaining weeks of the music sessions, John's involvement grew and the other residents, staff and musicians began to see the real person behind the dementia. His contribution didn't end with the LMN sessions and staff reported that he was beginning to connect with other activities and events within the Home, even orchestrating a recent music concert arranged by the activities team. The LMN project had definitely been the key to unlocking John's potential to communicate, engage; enhancing his well-being, care and his life within the home.
