John Bellamy day centre

Research question -

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

Venue - John Bellamy day centre

About the concert: Todays concert was form an senior group who visit the centre as a social gathering and have lunch then some entertainment. There didn’t seems to be any special needs or anything other than an audience that met up who had similar interests in socialising. The centre is located in the outskirts of East Lothian right by the sea.

Verbal content and clarity: As also my introduction was strong explaining the reasons why I was there, what to expect and setting the scene. One thing I have been guilty of is not telling them how long the concert will last. I think this should be an important part of the introduction.

Vocalization of residents: The clients were very quiet. I arrived early as I wanted to make sure I was there on time and so I left plenty of time for delays o the road but there was no snow in East Lothian, I was told that was because of the salt air.

The clients seemed friendly but they took a while to warm up, It came to the point I was asking them what they would like to hear and I even put in some new songs, traditional Scottish ones like Loch Lomond.

Eye Contact: There was plenty of eye contact from me and I found that some of the clients did catch on to this and I’m sure this helped break down the barriers but for the older men that were there they seemed a little harder to break down.

Facial Expressions: It was difficult to judge this crowd, some seemed right into it and other were very poker face and it was difficult to judge if this was because they didn’t like it or if they were just that way inclined.

Body Posture & Movement: : Lots of feet stomping, clapping and swaying from the clients but this was helped on by the staff. I was wondering if it was the case that they didn’t really fully get into it because they all don’t really know each other that well.

On-going evaluation: It took a while to really engage with this audience. I swapped the songs about and placed some traditional, country and took some requests and I found that by discussing the concert helped get them engaged. There was help from 2 of the staff members but todays concert was very relaxed. I murdered a version of Loch Lomond, I started too high however it was the best reception I got from them. Maybe they were just being nice.

One lady at the end came up to me and said she really enjoyed the music and that it reminded her of the grandchildren who are musical. She told me she likes her own company so she can listen to music so she prefers to visit them.

I asked her what it was she liked about listening to music and she told me. “music is amazing it takes you away to another place and reminds me of times gone by, I love it”

 

 

 

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