First experience of music in a healthcare setting
Looking back at my experience of a five day foundation in music in helathcare training course
I've worked as a community musican with young people and adults of varying abilities in a variety of settings;. Education centres, youth clubs, outreach, etc. One thing i hadn't done until very recently is experience the effect of music in a health care setting. I took part in a five day training course run by 'wishing well'. I didn't really know what to expect fom the training, I was curious as to how music could be used in these settings. The wishing well team have been taking music into healthcare settings throughout sussex for a number of years now. Dementia patients and young children and babies have been engaged with by the musicians and the effects of these interactions have been documented in the testimonials of parents, carers and health care staff. It seems there is overwhelming evidence that music can play a valuable part in someones well being when they are in a hospital or a care home. People in these environments are often unable to access music and culture in the same way others are. Music can have a powerful effect on people in these environments. The training was delivered with great care and sensitivity but it wasnt an easy ride! We were trained to focus on engaging with individuals which is something I haven't really done much of. I've had quite a lot of experience of playing in front of audiences of varying sizes, large audiences at festivals down to fairly intimate small venues and for a long time i've been of the opinion as a musician that the experience becomes more and more personable and intense the less people you are performing to.
The recent training confirmed this when i was confronted with the task of performing to one other trainee. It certainly took me out my comfort zone but it was the perfect challenge to prepare us for the experience of entering the Royal Alexandra childrens ward in Brightons Sussex County Hospital. I interacted with a variety of patients, babies and children some of whom were with their parents at the time. I found the experience thoroughly rewarding and magical. The interactions went well beyond simply playing for the patients it was interactive and where invited involved moving from a 'play for' to a 'play with' using percussion and technology such as ipad apps to facilitate this. To make a donation or learn more about wishing well and affiliated charity Rhythmix see here:
Rhythmix http://rhythmixmusic.org.uk/
Twitter https://twitter.com/RhythmixMusic
More information on the wishing well project can be found here.
My colleague at carousel has also written a very interesting blog about his experience of the training here:
https://garycunns.wordpress.com/2016/04/12/music-in-healthcare/