75 in Wanganui

I was expecting 60 Diversional Therapists in Wanganui, but there were 75, including four who had driven down from Auckland! They came from Tauranga, and New Plymouth and Wellington. It was most exciting to work with the whole group.

We started with breathing, as that is one of the definite benefits of singing: improved oxygenation. At this point I had someone who tried to take over my workshop. She wanted the people to breathe into their backs, (totally valid for people standing, who have a well developed understanding of the extra breath that is available when expanding the floating ribs) and would not listen to the fact that I was modelling for seated people who could see what they were doing. I had her sing a song, that she suggested, and then was able to control her. She had a very nice voice, and entertained well. Needless to say I am not going to tell you her name :-)

I had duplicated the lyrics to four songs from the first disc, but the CD player that had been supplied was not loud enough for the space, and I was glad that there was a piano available, which I had set up, pulled away from the wall, at an angle, which made the sound bounce off the wall and fill the space.

I had the group set up the chairs against a solid wall as that is the most supportive place for singing. During the session, I asked half of them to experiment with singing in a space, and they noticed the difference straight away, they had to work much harder, and the sound disappeared into the space.

During question time I did not have the current prices available, but when the pastor of the Wanganui Central Baptist Church came in, I was able to get online. The church has a completely unhackable password, but I managed to get all 20 characters in, in the right order.

Many people said that they were going back to their site and going to sign up for the programme. I do hope that they take the graphic showing the brain when listening to music, and when singing, to their manager when they ask for funding.

FYI the do-it-yourself price is $9 a week with chance to cancel at any time, or $7 a week if locked in for 12 months.

To have access to the training for the diversional therapist and the manager it costs $15 a week to cancel at any time or $11 a week if locked in for 12 months.

Going to Wanganui to present to 60 Diversional Therapists

Diversional Therapist Elizabeth Juden (who I have known since we were children, and lived across the road from each other) was at the conference in Hamilton last year.

She has invited me to speak to the lower North Island Diversional Therapists at the end of this month, in Wanganui. I will be travelling there by bus, rather than driving, and it is far cheaper by bus. I get congitation time :-)

I have two sessions with them. The first will be a chance to sing, and use the products. This is to get them to reflect on how good singing makes them feel. (I know this because singing releases endorphins, and those are happy hormones, furthermore in increase oxygenation, as people breathe with the musical phrase, and therefore breathe more deeply). Having experienced it for themselves is important, as they know that the same thing will happen to their residents, as they use the programme.
The second session will be helping them to work out how to engage with their manager. Having had experience with Diversional Therapists and their place in the 'pecking order' of a retirement site, this is important: for them to be able to start a conversation about why they need our singing programme in their facility.

For starters, all the work is done for them. The songs are chosen, the lyrics are provided, in size 20 font. They get a singalong disc to learn the songs, and an accompaniment disc to use when the songs are learnt. They get ongoing training to apply the benefits of the singing programme, with Monday Monthly webinars on different topics. This is relevant, as DHB funding comes to each facility, and it is increased, when the facility can show that the staff are undertaking training.


This is what one of the users of the programme says:

 “Singing for Seniors has done all of the hard work” says Bronie. "You get an email every-time a new resource is made available. Every month there is a new health theme for us to focus on, like depression, or the health benefits. We know our residents, but Singing for Seniors give us the confidence to work with them in the best way possible. We even have a lady on oxygen 24/7 who joins in. We wouldn’t have known that this is good for her if it wasn’t for the Singing for Seniors programme.

Training is 30 minutes long, once a month and they gives me new ideas I introduce each month. Because can’t leave the village training is easy to join, and I spend more time with our residents. I don’t have a computer at work so I call in by phone and if I can’t dial that month because we’ve short staffed I watch the training at home and if I have any questions I just email Dr Julie. "

 Singing can alleviate the effects of a Stroke

(Natural News) The damaged brains of stroke patients can be "rewired" by
singing, restoring the ability to speak to patients who have lost it, according to a
study conducted by researchers from Harvard Medical School and presented at
the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
in San Diego.

The findings came out of an ongoing trial in which stroke patients who have
lost the ability to speak are treated with music therapy and taught to put words
into simple melodies that they tap out with their hands. According to Schlaug,
patients who had previously been unable to form any words at all became able to
say "I am thirsty" after just one session.

Music has been used as a form of therapy for stroke patients since the discovery
that damage to the brain's speech centers did not affect the ability to sing.
"People sometimes ask where in the brain music is processed and the answer
is everywhere above the neck," said Aniruddh Patel from the Neurosciences
Institute in San Diego.

"Music engages huge swathes of the brain - it's not just lighting up a spot in the
auditory cortex."

Speech and movement are mostly controlled from the left side of the brain,
making them vulnerable in the case of damage to that side.

"But there's a sort of corresponding hole on the right side," Schlaug said.
"For some reason, it's not as endowed with these connections, so the left side is
used much more in speech. If you damage the left side, the right side has trouble
[filling that role]."

Putting words into song, however, appears to stimulate the formation of speech
connections on the brain's right side.
"Music might be an alternative medium to engage parts of the brain that are
otherwise not engaged," lead researcher Gottfired Schlaug said.

Sources for this story include: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/

8526699.stm.

Latest News: Singing can decrease snoring

But it is not quite as simple as that.
Research in the UK has resulted in exercises that strengthen the throat and mouth muscles, so that they do not get slack, and then vibrate, causing snoring.

The singing comes in, as it is much easier to sing the exercises than just speak them, and therefore the repetition is easier and more interesting to do.

Here is the website that will tell you more about this new finding

http://www.singingforsnorers.com/

Here is a link to an interview with Alise Ojay

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23753524

Just returned from ICVT conference July 10 - 15 at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music

The ICVT conference in Brisbane, Australia was stimulating. Known as the International Conference of Voice Teachers, it was for singing teachers, not speech therapists.

There were over 500  people in attendance, but only two presentations about working with seniors and their voices.

At the same time, there were many interesting presentations given on voice, different styles of singing, the science of voice, in many different forms.

Professor Ingo Titze  is an expert in this field, and he produced one of the images that I found most useful in talking to my own students about where the vowels are placed in the mouth and throat, which I have reproduced below.  I have in the past drawn it in a circle, with  the 'i' vowel and the 'u' vowel close to each other. The formant frequency mentioned is the harmonic of the note that is being sung. Fascinating stuff!!

Diversional Therapist's Conference

I was pleased to be able to present the Singing for Seniors programme to the attendees at my workshop on Music Therapy at this conference, held in Hamilton, my home city. The biggest barrier that we have found, for people implementing the programme, is that people with no confidence in their own singing just can't get started. So the presentation took them through the steps, which are reproduced here.

There are 8 steps to implementing the programme

1.     Visit the www.singingforseniors.co.nz and read (especially) the frequently asked questions. You will find out all about me,  about the company, and the programme.

2.     Order the discs, after discussion with your manager. The Do-It-Yourself plan comes with no support. If you want phone support to get your programme off the ground, go for the $11 per week programme. (How much do you pay someone to come in and entertain, without any guarantee of audience involvement?)

3.     Duplicate the lyrics, either A4 or A3 depending on the sight capabilities of your residents.

4.     Talk to residents & find people who want to sing. Get them to talk it up among their fellow residents.

5.     Find a time and space where you can play CDs (or order the DVD programme, which is now available, where lyric are on the screen in large font).

6.     Publicise your first event, with posters at appropriate places in your facility.

7.     Listen to (or view the DVD) to familarise yourself with the products.

8.     Run your first session.

It was interesting to be able to help one participant find her upper voice, and she is going to be meeting me in Skype for some singing lessons, so that her residents do not criticise her singing any more.

At the dinner that evening, with a wine or two under their belts, the whole conference were happy to join in singing the chorus of the song that I always use in workshops: the Happy Wanderer. I use it because there is always laughter "Val de ri, Val de ra, Val de ri, Val de ra ha ha ha ha ha Val de ri Val de ra, my knapsack on my back"

Go to my Facebook site: Harmonic Health, to see the images from the conference.