Bev Foster • March 1, 2022
5 Reasons to Embrace Technology in Music Care Delivery
Music care delivery can happen in a number of ways. Technology is one of them.
We have seen through the pandemic that technology and digital platforms have kept us connected and able to interact, showing the ever growing need to embrace music in care in various technological formats.
We’ve also noticed that in care settings, many of those who previously “firewalled” the use of personal devices prior to March 2020, have now opened-up access through their internal WIFI networks.
Many families over the past two years have been able to connect with loved ones - whether stuck at home by restrictions or living in residential care - through the use of personal devices.
Technology has now become an essential dimension in delivering music care. Frontline caregivers, like health care and recreation aides, can use phones, tablets, and smart TVs on a regular basis to deliver music for programming and enriching the lives of the individuals in their care.
Professional practitioners such as music therapists use technology as an integral part of their practice for outcomes of socialization and comfort care. For example, Aaron Lightstone in Toronto leads a group of adults living with cerebral palsy in a weekly group called Bliss iBand. JB Music Therapy in Calgary is using robotics to deliver music therapy to clients in hospitals.
In the UK, family caregivers of people living with dementia have digital access to music that will help them create personalized playlists for their loved ones through a comprehensive and free-to-use program called Playlist for Life, in association with the BBC. Targeted tools and resources can be downloaded from their website.
Digitized and personalized playlists can be important for supporting our own self-care. In her new book, Wellness, Well-played: the Power of a Playlist, Jennifer Buchanan reinforces this idea saying that technology allows us to take our entire music library with us and to arrange it into playlists for particular purposes such as sport, work and supporting our mental health.
Whether you are a frontline caregiver, professional practitioner, family caregiver, or someone who uses music for self-care, here are five reasons to embrace technology for music care delivery.
- Digital delivery platforms allow music to become more accessible, anywhere, anytime on your personal devices. You can buy music in a digital file format for download from iTunes or Bandcamp. You can stream music to borrow – for a rental fee - from Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music. This accessibility extends into making treatments more widely available as Brian Harris is doing with MedRhythms Digital Therapeutics.
His company is developing music-based treatments for individuals with acquired brain injury and other neurological deficits to help improve walking.
- Adaptive technologies help musicians with disabilities make music. Take for instance the virtual music instrument
which assists Eric Wan make music meaningfully after his life-altering accident. Or other adaptive technologies that the Vancouver Adaptive Music Society
uses. Virtual reality and artificial intelligence are providing musical experiences for certain populations like this group of residents living with dementia.
- Adaptive technologies help people better hear and understand
sound and music. There has been a tremendous advancement in hearing aids to amplify sound. Sound processing and frequency response has improved. Companies like Starkey
are using AI to allow hearing aids to track body and brain health, eliminate feedback and make listening in noisy environments comfortable. Cochlear implants
which stimulate sound, use sound processors to bypass damaged portions of the ear to deliver sound signals to the auditory nerve. Signals are sent to the brain making understanding speech easier.
- Sound and music interventions can be less invasive
and still have optimal impact on targeted outcomes. Vibroacoustics
provides a good example of a type of therapy that yields excellent outcomes. Chairs, beds, mats implanted with digital devices use sound vibrations to relax muscles and stimulate the body at the cellular level to help mitigate pain for example.
- Music becomes personalized with the use of digital technology. Getting precise with musical preferences provides better care outcomes and is a tangible form of person-centred care. That is why we at Room 217, have taken our 700+ designed music care assets and put them into a streaming app, called musiccare CONNECT so that users can create personalized musical programs for themselves and for those in their care. CONNECT is available from the Google App or Apple Stores.
As we befriend technology in music delivery, may we see deeper peace, enhanced life and enriched quality of life and care.
I undertook the MUSIC CARE Certification program when I had journeyed through caring for my mother with Alzheimer’s. It was during my training, I learned how music works in terms of timbre, melody and rhythm and beat, music care domains and music care strategies. It helped me to support mom as the disease progressed. I continued to certify through Music Care and then I had the joy of teaching others the level 1 program Fundamentals of Music Care Theory and Context . I have loved coming alongside others in Long Term Care and using music to support giving voice of what is within one’s life, preventing isolation and loneliness, creating community. I enjoyed all it all. Then, I found myself once again in the Emergency Room with Tim, (my family member) as we were helping him home in his palliative journey. My “outside life” took a back seat and my inside hospital life began. Tim’s was failing and he was no longer able to open his mouth and swallow to obtain nutrient’s due to Parkinson’s . We tried various types of foods, textures and flavours, however, opening his mouth and swallowing remained inaccessible. Tim loved Glen Campbell and Rhinestone Cowboy . When he was a young man, he would repeated play this song until the LP was worn through. He was given a new Glen Campbell CD at Christmas and the song was welcomed back into our lives. There I was ,in my new environment on the tenth floor of the hospital, playing Rhinestone Cowboy. Tim sang along. He actually sang along! He moved his mouth, swallowed and sang along. We were able to get pureed food into his body. Later, the disease continued to ravage his body and Rhinestone Cowboy helped us connected with other such as the speech language pathologist, doctors, cleaning staff and nurses. We sang and danced together with the music and Tim smiled. He knew he was part of a community who loved him. As we knew the end was coming, I played music with a simple melody, 60 beats per minute and soft timbre on my harp to support Tim as he fell into sleep. Near the end, I used tonal music in simple phrases to support calmness matching his breath. Tim passed peacefully and gentle. Today, at his funeral our last song “Rhinestone Cowboy”. After hearing the importance of this song, all the people present joined in singing to honour the village of Tim that so lovingly cared for him. Music Care training has become a natural rhythm in my life to use with aging and sick family members, supporting young children’s learning and providing self-care when I was tired after intense caregiving.
I initially trained with MUSIC CARE to work with Seniors in Long Term Care who were experiencing dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. This is the path I travelled with my mom. My training with Music Care and Room 217 supported capacity building in selecting music that was played on my harp or chosen recorded music. The music centered on the care of the individual and their specific needs. My job was to determine the individual’s specific and select music to address these needs. The music selected helped to build community, support sleep, talk about life experiences, create a background landscape of sound, support connection to decrease isolation and loneliness, as well as coming alongside people dying. My training with Music Care helped me understand how to support people “where they were” physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Through using beat, tempo, melody, and timbre, I could cater the music and desired support required for individuals or small groups. My profession is teaching. I am a special education teacher and use music in my primary teaching as a method for learning, practicing language skills, transmitting information about science studies or math equations, as well as having fun and creating our own songs. My teacher toolkit married exceptionally well with the knowledge and skills provided by the Music Care Certification training. Recently, my work with students has involved individual programming for the medically fragile children and the palliative children. I use music (repeating the chorus several times) to engage and connect with the kiddos. We use music to "talk" about feelings (our communication is through eye gaze, eye blinks, and squeezing hands), and content material. I use music to enjoy our relationship of being together. At times, due to medication for seizures, my little ones can be very sleepy. I increase the tempo, engaging in tapping the beat on her hands and using silly action songs. The giggles and wiggles make it magical. I also use music to tell stories (my students have CVI, cortical vision impairment, so visual perception is difficult). This helps the child to engage in the story arch and adventures. Music is my conduit for reaching out and being with the students. Recently, I had the sacred journey of visiting one of my children in ICU at Sick Kids. I was invited to come to say "goodbye". A dear friend who was an ICU nurse in a different department told me (AKA, insisted) that I bring my harp with me. I wasn't sure if this would be appropriate for the family. However, with the permission of the mom, I bravely packed my harp up and took it to the Unit. It was a beautiful evening of talking with their mom and dad about how special their child was in my life. I played the kiddo's favorite songs and then ended with "The More We Get Together". The little one opened their eyes and stared at me. We hugged, and I left. They passed the next morning. I consider this time to be a sacred gift. Music Care Certification has given me the confidence and toolset to work alongside people and to journey together. It is a time a beautiful, difficult, or sacred time that I have been honoured to participate in. Thank You
This article was written by Julia Cara, and is part of a series provided by upper year Health Sciences students at McMaster University.
I will never forget the call that came on that cold, crisp January afternoon twenty years ago. I knew it was imminent. I was expecting it and I thought I was ready. But would I ever be ready to say the final farewell to my father?
Poodles skirts, saddle shoes, ducktails and fins on your cars. If these words don’t evoke memories and images from the ‘50s maybe this will:
Ask people what folk music is, and you'll get a variety of answers. Is it about the music? The lyrics? The song's history? According to Wikipedia's entry on folk music , it's all of those things: music that's performed by custom over a long period of time; that has no known composers; and that has been transmitted orally. It can describe the traditions of the "uncultured classes" and definitely means it's music of the people. And because it's been shared orally, it is music that has a place, or is indicative of a community. In some circles, because folk music tells stories about events and history, it's known as world music. In a dissertation, Rachel Clare Donaldson simply stated "Folk music is what the people sing."
As explained in this blog post Not Afraid album, the intent behind the Not Afraid album was not to tell people in hospice palliative care that they needn't be afraid; it was to let them know there are people who love them and are sharing the journey.
Room 217 ’s music was designed for use in palliative care. The music is produced at 60 beats per minute (resting heart rate) which has several benefits for the person receiving palliative care. It also aids others in the circle of care. This link will take you to a report that discusses the benefits of music in hospice palliative care .
Do you remember where you were the first time you heard them? The Beatles? Had you heard them on the radio? Or was your first experience with The Beatles watching the Jack Paar show, or Ed Sullivan?
Room 217’s British Invasion album features 16 tracks of soloists and bands from the U.K. that changed the North American music scene.
