A national charity has been given a grant to bring professional musicians to memory cafés in the South Hams. Music has often been shown to have a dramatic effect on people living with dementia, unlocking memories and reaching parts of the damaged brain in ways that other forms of communication cannot.
The Musical Memory Café project has already been piloted in Totnes, with Live Music Now working alongside Totnes Caring to hold monthly music sessions.
The audiences, which include carers as well as people living with dementia, have been able to listen to a wide range of music, from folk to classical to popular, and to join in through singing, playing percussion instruments, dancing and even conducting.
The impact on the group has been profound, as Victoria Wolf of Totnes Caring described following a Live Music Now session: “One gentleman accepted the invitation to conduct and stood bolt upright, arms fully extended, and conducted the whole group imaginatively and confidently.
“The entire group displayed sustained, concentrated focus for a surprisingly long time. Even those with quite advanced dementia joined in with joy, confidence and musicality. It was quite simply magical to witness!”
To build on the success of this project, Live Music Now applied to The National Lottery’s Community Fund to support an extension of Musical Memory Café sessions to further settings.
Musicians will be making regular visits as part of existing Memory Cafes run by Dartmouth Caring and Alzheimer’s Society, as well as Totnes Caring. The charity is also planning a training session for staff and volunteers who are interested in bringing more music into their work.
The project will launch on March 22 with a session at Totnes Boat Club. Anyone with concerns about their memory or who is living with dementia, or caring for someone who is, can find more details by visting the websites: www.totnescaring.org.uk, www.dartmouthcaring.co.uk, www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you and www.livemusicnow.org.uk