End of Life Music
In 2023 Holistic Harmonies received an Awards For All Grant from the National Lottery to experiment with bedside music for people at the end of life and in palliative care.
Bedside Music Exploration
Over the last year we have been exploring how to use music, sounding, and song around bedsides. We've experimented with:
- Singing Bowls
- Chimes
- Flute
- Harp
- Vocalisations with shruti box
- Rounds and chants
- Singalong Songs
What We Learned
Over the last year we've gained so much experience and what has become most evident is our deepend intuition; what to play or sing, and when and how to do it.
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We learned...
* Live music interactions are pretty rare in nursing homes, especially around bedsides. Live music is tangible, it creates vibrations that affect a persons physical, mental and emotional body
*People assume that we are 'entertainers', there is a place for that, but what we're doing is specifically focused on health & wellbeing
* How to use multiple instruments and our voices to create a soothing atmosphere
* That touch is important, as well as sound, and encourages a somatic and embodied experience
* To read cues from patient’s body language and breathing patterns to inform what kind of music to play
*The staff were affected emotionally, just by hearing us as they went on with their work
Next Steps...
* Pilot a project to introduce and embed music into the framework of services available within the SWAN End of Life and Bereavement Care Team
* Work with staff and families to offer musical interactions for end of life patients
* Use a creative health intervention to support the wellbeing of the staff (creative atmosphere), the families (musical tools to support their own experience and to connect with loved ones), offer a soothing experience for patients
* Give a live music experience to those who are the most isolated