Make a Heart Sing: Music and Memory at the Library Sponsored by the Westchester Library System 2015 PROGRAM GUIDE

Transcription

1 Make a Heart Sing: Music and Memory at the Library Sponsored by the Westchester Library System 2015 PROGRAM GUIDE 1

2 Content Music and Memory at the Library: What is it? What you will need Making the list of music Music access Putting the music on the device Introducing the music Care and maintenance Feedback Conclusion 2

3 Music and Memory at the Library: What is it? Being a caregiver for a friend or family member with dementia or Alzheimer's is challenging. Experiencing a loss of connection and continuity is heart breaking. But there is something you can do to improve connection and quality of life and it starts with music. Reconnecting elders with the world through music triggered memories can vastly improve quality of life regardless of cognitive or physical status. Music, as part of a care plan, can lead to increased cooperation during treatment, increased interaction with family members and friends, and make life better for many suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer's. The nationally renowned Music and Memory program ( has proven how a simple program that provides the right music in the right way can greatly increase the ease with which family members engage in care and with each other. This is not a cure, but it can provide ease, pleasure, and fun at a time when such things can seem hard to attain. 3

4 Music and Memory was launched in 2008 by Executive Director Dan Cohen as an incentive in nursing homes to add music to care plans. Since then, the program has added music to the lives of thousands of nursing home residents and is the subject of the recent documentary Alive Inside (2014). With a simple message of connecting elders to music they enjoy, the program has revolutionized how we look at the connection between music and memory. Music and Memory at the Library brings this idea to your home. With the use of a personal music player and over the ear headphones, you can offer music to the person for whom you are caring and with this simple act create an opportunity for more engagement, including greater participation in the activities of daily life. This guide will detail what you need to bring this idea home: how to select music, build a playlist, and incorporate music into your family member or friend s daily care. 4

5 What you will need Here is what you will need to begin: 1. An ipod or an Mp3 player. 2. While there are many different Mp3 players available at a low cost, we recommend the ipod shuffle for ease of use. 3. Over the ear headphones: Over the ear headphones cause less distress and are easier to offer and use. 4. Access to music: This could be through CDs or a subscription to a music platform. 5. A list of music the person enjoys. If your family member or friend does not have a computer at home you may also need a wall charger. 5

6 Making the list of music Essentially you are working to connect someone that is struggling with memory problems to music that they enjoy. This is an opportunity to review your own or your shared music memories: What music was played during key life moments? What music played during their prom or wedding? Did you always play a certain tune with this person when you drove down the street? Is there a certain song that was so bad that you had an inside joke behind it? This could be a fun conversation about music and memory. Another thing that is important to ask is What music do you dislike? While the person you are caring for grew up in the 1950 s and 1960 s they might not enjoy The Beatles or another famous artist from that time period. Keep this in mind especially if the person for whom you are creating the playlist cannot remember what music they liked. Sometimes talking about music they dislike can generate good conversations and give you leads on what they might prefer. To purchase music you have a choice of many different music platforms. Most platforms will allow you to pay per song. In the itunes store users can pay from 6

7 .99 cents to $1.29 per song. For a 90 minute playlist you may by building a list of as many as thirty individual songs. Once you have the music downloaded to itunes you can either put the person s playlist in a specific order or set the playlist to shuffle (random order) to set the playlist to shuffle, toggle the button on the bottom of the device. You can always remove songs or reorder the playlist to create the best mix. Below is a sample playlist. Remember that you can 7

8 reorder songs by clicking on the song and dragging the song to correct place. Music Access Access to music could be through any music buying website. Itunes is a popular way to buy music as well as Soundcloud, Spotify, and the artist s personal websites. Another place to download music is Freegal ( read/freegal/ ). Freegal is a music service program that is free to every Westchester Library System card holder. Freegal offers five free song downloads a week from a large music library that includes the full SONY music catalog and more than sixty record labels. Another place to look for music is the person s personal music collection. Look through their CD s to find 8

9 what music they enjoyed and use those CD s to transfer music to the ipod. Do a web search on Freegal for favorite songs or albums that you don t have in a digital format. Contact our program if you want to explore converting cassettes or LPs. Putting the music on the device Now that you have a list of music for the person who will enjoy the music, the next step is to add the music to itunes. From there you can compile a music playlist. The playlist should be as long as you feel is appropriate. Part of formulating a care plan is establishing a routine for the person you are caring for. Perhaps he or she would like to listen to music after dinner? Perhaps they would like to listen to music when their family is coming to visit? Once you have an idea of what their routine is from there you can figure out how long this playlist(s) should 9

10 be. Ninety minutes of music is a fair amount of time for many people. Now that you have the playlist ready the next step is to plug the Mp3 player in. Plug in the Mp3 player into the USB port on the side of the computer. Your computer will recognize the Mp3 player. You will hear a beep and should see that your Mp3 player is recognized. In itunes the device appears under the menu box. The menu box is at the top left of the screen and will look like the picture below. 10

11 From there you will sync the playlist to the Mp3 player. You can do that by clicking on the playlist and dragging it over to the icon that is for your music player. From there you will be asked if you would like to sync the Mp3 player. Hit Yes or sync Introducing the music When introducing the music to the person you are caring for it is important to talk to the person about when they would like to listen to music. Time of day is important because the person might want to listen to music after lunch but be quiet after dinner. Perhaps the person would prefer to listen to music only when they are upset and the music calms them down. Volume level is also important. You can limit the volume (as below) to demonstrate how it can be adjusted manually. 11

12 As discussed before,having different playlists for different times might be a good idea. If the person you are caring for is upset, can you offer music that calms them? If they are happy, look to offer music that reinforces that mood and avoid something with which there is a negative association. Music that engages them the most could be useful when family and friends come to visit. Discussion with the person you are caring for is key in these situations. Listen to and observe reactions from the person you are caring for and make decisions about the music from there. 12

13 Care and maintenance The music can either be played supervised or unsupervised. It depends on the person and the environment in which they are listening to the music. The ipod shuffle is small and can be easily clipped to a shirt. If the music is offered as part of a daily routine, be sure that routine includes removing the music player and recharging as needed. (And just to be sure, always check clothing before doing laundry. The Mp3 player might still be clipped to a shirt. Few Mp3 players are water proof!) Another part of the Mp3 player care is charging the device. While many devices on the market have a battery life that lasts for several hours, it is still recommended to charge the Mp3 player in between each use. Many Mp3 players come with wall chargers you can plug into any electrical outlet. If a wall charger is not included with the purchase you can charge using the same computer USB port used to sync the music to the Mp3 player. Part of the Mp3 care is weeding out music. The 13

14 person you are caring for might decide that they no longer enjoy a specific song or genre. You can remove the music that they do not enjoy by plugging the Mp3 player into the computer. The computer program you have been using the sync to music to the Mp3 player will come up and you will be presented with the playlist. From there you will be able to delete a song by right clicking on the song and selecting delete from the drop down menu. Feedback While your family member or friend is enjoying the music, take note of their experience. Is the person remembering more about their past? Are they happier? Are they eating more? Also talk to other people. What do they notice? If the response is positive, continue the program! If no, contact us and we will help to troubleshoot. Either way, we d welcome your feedback. 14

15 Conclusion Westchester Library System is committed to helping all members of Westchester County have access to resources that can inform and enrich their lives. Music and Memory at the Library is just one of our many resources and services. For more information, visit our web site: For questions related to Music and Memory at the Library, contact us at 15