Through my previous work with people with dementia, I have noticed that they sing or dance, even though they can barely walk, etc. Thus, I found out that music awakens something in them and I was interested in knowing what exactly that was. This is the reason I did research on the effect of music on people with dementia.
Music workshops were carried out for the research in my thesis. I worked with three married couples, i. e. six people, and I met with each couple four times. At music workshops I was using my music knowledge and music therapy techniques.
I was analyzing how people with dementia respond to music, how music affects the mood of elderly people with dementia and the couple’s relationship, as well as what is the difference between the participants’ reactions.
The data in my qualitative research was obtained by observing with full participation. I found out that there are many reactions to music in speech and music. I also found out that music affects the relationship between two elder people with dementia and that various speech and music relationships develop.
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