Art for Ages

An interdisciplinary project run between April 2016 and January 2017 examining the effects of group music making on the health and wellbeing of residents in nursing homes in Southern Switzerland. Four teams of musicians delivered a 10-week program of group music making in four nursing homes, one per home, combining in each session singing, rhythm-based activities, and listening to short, live performances. An experienced workshop leader and a researcher were part of all four teams to ensure consistency of delivery and interaction with participants. The total number of music students involved was 9, with 4–5 per team and some, on voluntary basis, involved in more than one nursing home. Students, who already possessed skills of advanced instrumental performance, were specifically trained to act as facilitators of the music workshops. The training consisted of being able to direct small groups of residents in singing, using the percussion instruments employed (boomwhackers, triangles, rattles, maracas, as well as common household objects such as spoons and graters), and to support learning in an appropriate and effective manner throughout the sessions.