Rachel’s Blog

A few months ago I received an email from  the Age Concern community development worker I work with, asking if I would like to take the Singing for Fun group to a festival in Long Wittenham, near Abingdon. This year was the 10th annual Wittfest, or Long Wittenham’s Charity Music Festival.  It is free to go along, and any money raised is divided between 2 charities. This year the charities were Pets as Therapy and Age Concern’s Singing for Health programme.

We were given a room from 4.30 in the afternoon, but the weather was so warm and beautiful, and the room a little small, we all decamped to the front garden of the pub….

Now, this side, you sing this bit....

It was great fun to be singing outside – many of the passers-by stopped to join in, and as we continued the crowd grew. At it’s height there must have been between 30 and 40 people, all singing in 4-part harmony.

As well as the act of singing together being a truly wonderful community activity in practice, it also serves as a living metaphor of Diversity + Unity = Harmony.

I was very pleased with the way our session went – the Singing for Fun and Health group from Abingdon really enjoyed themselves, and it was great for them to meet the Witney group, who were still on a high when I saw them on Wednesday. They all had a wonderful day out, and described Wittfest as ‘their own Glastonbury’. A great deal of credit is owed to Lucy Quinn and the proprietors of The Plough for the fantastic organisation that went into the weekend.

I think we’ve signed up for next year! You can view the photos here.

I wanted to track all the potential health benefits of singing, so this post will be updated as I come across more evidence. The World Health Organisation describes health as “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease” (WHO’s Website) For this reason, I’ve divided up the page into 3 categories: Physical Health, Mental Health and Social Health, although of course, they are all interlinked and one aspect of health is bound to determine another aspect of health.

Physical health benefits include:

• Increased lung capacity through developed breath control (singing can help strengthen and tone the diaphragm, a muscle which sits beneath the lungs, and the intercostal muscles. These muscles are essentially what dictate thoracic capacity)

• Improved co-ordination e.g. through rhythm games

• Increased circulation

• Aids speech ability by exercising the mouth, toning facial muscles, and developing ability to project the voice with improved breath control

• Improves and maintains posture

• Stronger immune system – some research suggests that singing promotes the production of two body chemicals that are part of the body’s immune defence system – immunoglobulin and cortisol.

Mental health benefits include:

• Relaxation and release of tension through deeper breathing

• Engaging in positive activity helps alleviate mental distress by offering a distraction and diverting the participant from day-to-day worries

• The boost in self-confidence and self-awareness that comes from opportunities for creative self-expression.

• A sense of joy that comes from feeling part of something larger than oneself.

• Singing produces the same ‘happy’ brain chemicals produced by sex and chocolate

• Improved mental alertness as a result of learning new songs, and new challenges such as singing in a different language or singing in harmony.

• Chance to think or explore issues that are perhaps too difficult to talk about, but which can be examined in a song.

Social health benefits include:

• Meeting new people

• A relaxed atmosphere, conducive to conversation

• Songs which may jog people’s memories, providing a way-in to reminiscence dialogues

• Opportunity to discuss difficult issues in a supportive environment, should these issues arise.

I was just looking back through my bookmarks – bookmarking always happens fairly haphazardly for me – and I came across this post I found a little while back which I enjoyed, entitled ‘Music and Collective Wellbeing’, from Kevin Harris’ Neighbourhoods blog. Please, have a read! I think it’s interesting the importance he places on relationship – these are ultimately one of the most important things for our overall wellbeing.

I love singing and this project is so much fun for me, let alone the participants! Watching older people engage in a creative experience is very rewarding. Seeing them smile and laugh, and ask to take the song-sheets home at the end is such a joy, for me, and for them. But what else? The Silver Song Club model, run across the South-East region by the charity Sing For Your Life has pioneered singing for older people and have developed, from extensive evaluation of its clubs, a set of criteria:

1. Initiate one-to-one welcoming

2. Invoke memories

3. Stimulate fine motor skills

4. Stimulate grand motor skills

5. Encourage social interaction

6. Encourage client leadership

7. Provide progressive learning outcomes

8. Provide platforms for reminiscence dialogue

9. Give free choice

10. Cover multicultural material

11. Encourage shared performance


(from the Sing for Your Life website)

These criteria help shape workshops which engage with individuals through physical and mental stimulation, no matter what their circumstances/abilities, as well as helping facilitate interaction between the participants, and develop community. Having been involved for a little while with a Silver Song Club, the intentionality of some of these criteria can be fantastic to shape what could simply be a sing-along into something with more structure and purpose. However, it can run the risk of being formulaic, lacking in spontaneity as well as being a little bit patronising. Despite this, it is an extremely good checklist for workshops, particularly those  for older older people.

The group I work with in Witney is a younger group, and on the whole everyone is still physically fit, living independently and not really needing a lot of the above criteria. Most of the participants stay on for a gentle exercise class afterwards, so I try and focus on singing new songs, on engaging their creativity by asking them to come up with new verses or actions, and on harmony singing which many find takes a lot of concentration.

It is my hope to develop my own tools and frameworks to help me when planning workshops for groups that have different needs.

Today was the third in a pilot series of ‘Singing for Fun’ sessions, so it’s more than time to reflect on how it’s going

Location

Singing for Fun is supported by Age Concern and is held on a Wednesday morning in Witney Methodist Centre. The centre is a fantastic example of how churches can really use their premises for social good. Tea and coffee are available cheaply (50p for a cup of tea) in the lobby area, so it’s a relaxed place to come and meet friends, without having to spend a lot of money on an expensive mug of something-you-can’t-pronounce.

People

The first week 8 people came, the following week there were 11 and this week, 10, plus two carers. In all, about 17 different people.

There is no minimum or maximum age on this project – anyone can join in, although because it is on a weekday morning, and supported by Age Concern, the average age I would guess is around 65. The people who attend are mainly quite ‘young’, but it is really great to see a mixture of people of varying abilities and mobilities.

Workshop Set-up

The sessions are set up in a hall with a circle of chairs – so everyone feels included, although occasionally there have been people who simply want to listen, and whilst they are invited into the circle, they sometimes choose to sit at the edge. I sit in the circle – with a low music stand. Participants have a booklet of the songs we will be singing, approximately in the right order. This saves time during the session because there is no handing out/taking in sheets, and it is simpler for the participants to follow.

The sessions run for an hour – although we don’t usually get started until about 10.25 (the advertised start time is 10.15), but as there is an exercise class at 11.30, I try and finish on time at 11.15. It would be great to try and start on time, so I have more time to introduce some more challenging songs…

…please read the next post for some more reflections on the workshop content and structure.

last Thursday I had so much fun leading a singing session with 20 65+ year-olds. It took place at a fortnightly coffee-club, run by a church in Dean Court. We sang old favourites, some old favourites with the odd twist, as well as some more challenging medleys of songs, the classic O When The Saints, layered with Swing Low, This Train, and I’m Gonna Sing, and the ‘Folkestone Sea Shanty’ which I picked up at the Arts and Heath Conference in Folkestone in September.

I think it went down well, and I’ve been invited back. I think I was able to stop singing at different points during the session and listen to the groups’ voices which was good, and I think possible mainly because they were 20 people present to support each other. I was particularly pleased that chatting afterwards, one woman, nearly 90 said ‘ I’ve never sung before in my life, but I’m too old to try new things’ – I was pleased she enjoyed the session and found it easier than she thought she would.

A few things I need to improve are:

• giving clear instructions – thinking more carefully in advance how to describe different activities.
• expanding the repertoire, although it was useful to cover the same repertoire with different groups
• thinking about how to include the men more. Out of 20 people, only 2 were men. I don’t feel the songs are at the wrong pitch, as many older women have lower voices and sing an octave below me, but I do feel they need encouragement and affirmation in a different way from the women. Answers on a postcard please.

And there was cracking cake. This generation really know how to bake!

I had a milestone day today as I conducted my first independent singing session with a small group of over-60s at an activity day organised by Age Concern Oxfordshire. The event took place in a Methodist church centre in Witney, which was hosting a range of different activities including a creche, a coffee bar, as well as the hall being used by Age Concern.

The purpose of the activity day was to provide information for older people about services they are entitled to or may need to access, as well as giving them taster sessions of different activities: seated exercise, singing, movement to music etc.

My session lasted about 30-40 minutes and covered a range of music, starting with a gentle warm-up, and moving onto some favourites from shows and musicals. The actions for Edelweiss caused a fair amount of confusion and hilarity, and engaged the participants with the song and with each other. It is so important to give the participants something to ‘do’ with the song, be it actions, singing the song in an exaggerated style or accents, or simply encouraging the participants to make a sound in a particular way, e.g soft and quiet, or precise, staccato etc.

I finished the session with a pared-down medley of African-American Spirituals: Oh When the Saints and Swing Low Sweet Chariot. This received a round of applause from other people in the room who were not participating.

A few learning points for me:

- remember to sing more quietly and listen to the sound the group is making

- think about the pitch – is it too high or too low for participants?

- how do I cater for people with particular needs? for example, there was a man there who was blind and so could not read the words, although I deliberately chose short songs, and could not see the actions

Last night I started a volunteer placement at a social club for lonely people, organised by Christian-based charity Archway Foundation. The evening started with tea, coffee, biscuits and chat as people arrived. It was difficult to distinguish between volunteers and ‘friends’ (service-users). Each week some form of entertainment is provided, and last night a guitar/singing duo performed a variety of songs, including the hits of Buddy Holly, Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Simon and Garfunkel. In the latter half of the evening, after the audience had participated by clapping and singing along, chairs were cleared away to make space for dancing. It was amazing to see the difference in people, who previously were struggling to lift a tea-cup, get out of their chairs and move to an old 50′s hit. And the overall lift in atmosphere from the beginning of the evening to the end was palpable.

The people who come to Archway come from a variety of different backgrounds. Some are elderly, some are suffering from mental health problems, or other health problems that prevent them from working. A question I have is how much does loneliness inhibit our actions – are we less likely to get up and dance if we have had limited social contact? And how much does general inhibition stop us from forming strong relationships with one another? The friends at last night’s social clapped, sang and danced, but only when invited to.

And we all finished with the hokey-kokey!

As we have already crept into October it’s about time I wrote something about the Music and Health Conference I attended 9th-10th September at Folkestone University Centre, home to the Sidney de Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health.

In some ways, it feels better to reflect on the conference after an interval, in order to relate more simply my key learning points from the 2 days.

1. People are so friendly!

Of course they are. But I had not quite anticipated people’s willingness to be phoned out of the blue by a novice asking daft questions, and to answer them. I am greatly encouraged by several conversations I have had since the conference resulting in oportunities to shadow other practitioners and to discuss facilitation styles. Certainly, my experiences of the conference have taught me to be absolutely bold and to just pick up the phone.

2. Community is an important dimension in Music Therapy.

Dr Gary Ansdell, in his key note presentation, drew together the practices of music therapy and community music as being in the same continuum, or under the umbrella term ‘social musicianship’ – it was both motivating and deeply affirming. I feel I have so much to learn from the practice of music therapists – working with the existing musicality of the client, rather than pasting music on top of them. He said of music therapists and community musicians “we need to share the territory and draw a shared map” – Bring it on!

This report from the Audit Commission came out a couple of months ago (I mentioned it in my first blog post) and it makes some observations about the UK’s ageing population although it is aimed almost exclusively at the statutory sector. Its key point is around the independence of older people – that services should not just be able to cope with those who are vulnerable, but should also be accessible to older people more generally, so more over-65s can retain their independence “Councils need to ensure that independent life is an option for as many older people as possible, for as long as possible”.

I would have to say I agree, although I think there are maybe two or three points to draw out.

The first is that in order to maintain independence, community is key. When we are vulnerable, we need help from others to maintain a fulfilling and varied life, it is our neighbours who can uphold us in basic matters of living – for the infirm it might be putting out the wheelie bin, or picking up a pint of milk, for those who are fit, it might be an added sense of security, someone to water your tomatoes when you go on holiday (and help to continue a life-enriching hobby of gardening). Which leads me to my next point, that community does not have to be complicated, at least not to start with. In May, the Guardian published this article on neighbourliness. Have a read.

My last point is really about the excitement I feel about the increasing cross-over between the voluntary sector (third) and the statutory sector (second)- the report Don’t Stop Me Now is really quite dry reading (hence it took me a whole two months to comment) and I feel as though it is up to the voluntary sector in many ways to add colour, imagination and creativity to a lot of bland and well-structured government edicts.