Gartnavel Glasgow

Research question -

“What are the quantifiable effects and advantages of therapeutic live music performance on the welfare of those in care?”

Venue: Gartnavel Hospital Glasgow 12th of Jan

About the concert: Todays concert was for a mixture of palliative care clients. The age group was 50+ and a mixture of care needs.

Verbal content and clarity: The clients were not as verbal as other concerts but certainly joined in due to movement and dance.

Vocalization of residents: There were some songs that were easier for the clients to sing but vocalisation wasn’t as great as the other concert I have attended at the Gartnavel.

Eye Contact: Lots and lots of eye contact. This was the main engagement tool in this performance. I was really happy that I have been able to consider the impact a smile can make to the clients and this was well used with smiles coming back my way.

Facial Expressions: Lots and lots of smiles and miming to the songs. Happy faces, joking and observations from the patients.

Body Posture: There was a good few thumbs up and a good few dancers, feet tapping and hand clapping also. The first thing I always look for is the foot tapping and it seemed to be more present with the quieter patients.

Movement: The staff, always makes it easier to have a successful concert. The music Co-ordinator was encouraging people to dance and this is a major success of the concert. Only a few danced but there wasn’t much room for this but they made the most of it.

On-going evaluation: I was a bit nervous for going to the Gartnavel after the last concert there. I found that last performance very tough and interaction for the staff was non-existent which made it difficult. I got the opportunity to speak with the music co-ordinator before the performance and this made it a lot easier to settle into today’s performance.

I was able to gather some real good insights into what songs would work for the people at this venue. I have already been able to download the chord charts for next time so im looking forward to going back and implementing my new songs.

I try to take something away from each concert and from this one it would definitely be having more of a robust and tailored set list. I’m pretty sure I will be able to it the nail on the head the next time and even though I feel today was successful performance and people enjoyed it, I believe the next time will be the one iv been waiting for after all my research.