Music int the community task three

Workshop Evaluation

We went to the care home to lead our workshops with Kevin.  Kevin brought his drums and other equipment with him.  I began by asking everyone how they were, and then began the clapping and tapping of my hands and calling out the month, day and date, and also asking everyone's names.  Surprisingly, the group kept up a steady pace, and were mostly all responsive.  The occasional problem was one man singing 1940s songs rather frequently, which was off topic.  However, I paused and then restarted when the noise died down.  I felt pleased with the pace of my activity, and with how the group was responding.  My plan worked, and I had support from Kevin who knows the group better than I do.  Then Callum followed by doing some call and response using the drums and other instruments.  He was very nervous, so there was a large pause, but after a while again the group responded very well to the louder and quieter hand gestures.  Kev had to help Callum at first, by demonstrating.  Then, Callum drummed some rhythms, and the residents responded very eagerly with a response.  Again, we had some random singing in the middle, but we left a pause and then continued.  After this, Kevin took over and played some songs like "chachacha" and "Olay" that the residents could join in with, with only one word. This was so effective as Kev was playing a very detailed and melodic song which were very uplifting, so the residents could enjoy a more cheerful beat and join in with a simple response. 

All in all, I'm pleased with the outcome of the session; the people seemed happy and had a small amount of entertainment and stimulation.  The residents said thank you and seemed grateful, and Kev and the staff said well done, which implies we took on the role in a comfortable and professional manner.

Project evaluation

From the start of the project, we knew that we would need to tailor the project to suit participants with dementia. We would need to finish the work by the end of the session, as the following week the participants would have no recollection of the previous session. We also had to hone in on our skills, learning or creating a song would be too ambitious, as would leading the group in a music composition with a lot of complex notes. We have to assume that there are no musicians in the group so our activities had to rely on body percussion and repetition, which suits people of all abilities.

We met with Kev, who gave us some ideas for activities. Being an experienced activity and workshop leader, Kev has experience in suitable activities for the target group. We then had to realise our skills, and create a session using techniques that we can carry out. For example, Kev is a musician who can play many instruments and music patterns. However, I am not musical, so I tailored my activities to body percussion which was more manageable for me as it suited my skill set.

Finally, Callum and I created a session plan and liaised with Kev to discuss our plans. This was helpful as we decided I would be the most comfortable in introducing the session, and Callum was more comfortable with instrumental work whereas I preferred vocal and body percussion exercises.

I feel that the planning paid off, we were not rushed for time, or thinking of gap fillers. Although we had some disruption, we did gently guide the group back to the plan which worked very well. Although Callum was nervous, with some peer support and demonstrations and support from Kev, the session continued smoothly.    

I think overall, throughout the project, our team effort and planning skills were successful. I think this could be a very successful and stimulating project if we ran hour long sessions for 6 week blocks. This type of session could be moderated to fit with the needs of other client groups for example Age Concern groups, where the takes are based around old songs that could trigger memories, youth work where the youngsters could mix with peers who are also socially isolated to create music and develop communication skills by creating modern music. For participants with dementia, this type of session would be perfect to help them recall memories, whereas it would be a great icebreaker for other groups, perhaps omitting the days and dates exercise.

One good thing about the project was that it was adapted to fit the needs of the participants, and it visibly stimulated them, it was clear to see they were enjoying themselves. I think one way to improve the session would be to have an informal session before the workshops so that we can get to know the group and know what to expect. We could also then aim the workshop towards what the group indicated they wanted to do. Although, as we were working with people with dementia, they may not have a recollection that they inputted in to the session planning.  We have also received some written feedback from Kevin based on responses from staff and residents after the session. We can apply this feedback to future workshops, in order to make adjustments and improvements where needed.