Whitdale Care Home, Whitburn Concert

Date: Tuesday 2nd Septenber 2014

Time: 2pm  

Venue: Whitdale Care Home, Whitburn

About the concert: The concert was located in the middle of the central belt in West Lothian for a care home well known in the area. Music is a good part of the complementary therapy program in the centre and they often have 2/3 concerts per week for the residents.

Verbal content and clarity:  The clients were very vocal in this performance and really wanted to be involved. The staff really helped also as they got involved with the clients and danced and sang along with the music.

Vocalization of residents: Lots of engagement with the customers in this concert and they were not shy in asking for songs they wanted to hear. The great thing about having the ipad on hand is the ability to bring up lyrics and chords to deal with requests. There was one woman that kept on asking for a song called lipstick on your collar. I managed to start a few bars of it but then the group took over and this resulted in a good few of the residents singing together.

Eye Contact: Lots and lots of eye contact in this concert. Lots of smiles and great rapport with the group, this was really helped by the staff who got involved. The way the concert was set up didn’t really help. The room was long with hard surfaces and the chairs were not arranged in any real order. To have a really successful concert its easier to move around if the room lets you, however this challenge did not impact of the enjoyment factor of the day.

Facial Expressions: Lots of smiles and people enjoying themselves. The real power of this came from getting the set list right. The age group were all between 60 and 80 years of old so the set I picked really helped with involvement and joy in the group.

Body Posture: The clients that were able to get up and dance did and those that couldn’t make up for that by swaying and clapping. I generally would not expect a group to dance away but its great if they feel they need to express themselves in that way.

Movement: Clapping, cheering, dancing and singing are what made this concert a success. Lots of involvement from the clients I found that barriers were broken down as they all knew each other and I wonder if in the concerts that people don’t let themselves go may be because of the unfamiliarity between each other in the room.

On-going evaluation: The staffs being involved is one of the biggest factors that can really help make a successful time in these concerts. There are many factors to consider. The right songs the right environment however today concert was made by the three staff members at the back who said they were on their break and so I encouraged them to be my backing singers. This had an effect on the whole performance, which was positive. The clients seen that they were letting themselves go and so they did as well.