Music for Dementia 2020 has launched a guide for making the most of music’s ability to connect people during the Covid-19 crisis.
Backed by broadcaster and Music for Dementia 2020 ambassador Lauren Laverne, the guide offers tips and activities to help everyone in isolation by using music as a unifying language.
Originally developed for people living with dementia and their carers, the guide details how to watch live-streamed concerts and performances, making a playlist, watching a musical film, and involving children in becoming musical detectives.
“We’ve already seen how music has played a vital role in keeping people’s spirits up across the world during isolation,” said Laverne.
“It echoes exactly what the Music for Dementia 2020 campaign has been saying - although the feeling of isolation is an ongoing situation for people with this condition. For people living with dementia, music is a lifeline to connect in a way that nothing else can,” she added.
Many music organisations have already made their services available digitally and these are being added to Music for Dementia 2020’s digital Musical Map, an advice hub of virtual events and activities that people living with dementia can participate in.
Examples of online music events include London Symphony Orchestra, which is streaming online-concerts and The Sofa Singers, a new weekly online event which sees 500 people come together for a 45-minute rehearsal where they learn a classic song and sing it together.
Music for Dementia 2020 is urging music services that are moving online to get in touch, so they can be added to Musical Map.
The guide is also backed by the Alzheimer’s Society. “At our Singing for the Brain groups, we’ve seen people who may have become less communicative completely transform,” said operations director Helen Foster.
“There’s also evidence that music can improve mood and wellbeing, as well as being a powerful prompt for memories.”
The Music for Dementia 2020 musical map and guides can be found online at https://musicfordementia2020.com/.
