Music, Memory and Wellbeing: A Pilot Project in Liverpool

Abstract

Working at the University of Liverpool alongside Julia Hallam and Lisa Shaw, and in the Department of Music, are Sara Cohen and Jacqueline Waldock. Both Sara and Jacky have led projects that engage with and support local organizations and communities, and examine music from the perspective of those involved. In fact, it was their shared interest in how ‘ordinary’ people engage with and experience music in everyday life that prompted them to join forces in 2014, and start working together on community engagement projects. At the same time, they have brought to these projects their own individual research interests and expertise. In this chapter, we discuss their recent collaboration on a project that explores the use of music to improve the wellbeing of older people in the UK, including people living with a dementia-related cognitive impairment and in nursing homes and health-care settings, and those who live independently but are cared for at day-care centres run by voluntary and community-based organizations. We situate this project within a selection of UK music initiatives or ‘interventions’ aimed at helping those living with dementia and age-related memory loss, and outline how specific projects informed our own approach and work.

Citation

Waldock, J. and Cohen, S. (2020), "Music, Memory and Wellbeing: A Pilot Project in Liverpool", Hallam, J. and Shaw, L. (Ed.) Movies, Music and Memory (Emerald Studies in the Humanities, Ageing and Later Life), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 73-107. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-199-520201004