Evaluating Live Music Now (v1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluating Live Music Now (v1)
IRAS ID
134482
Contact name
Murray Griffin
Contact email
Research summary
Live Music Now is a UK charity, founded by Yehudi Menuhin and Ian Stoutzker ‘whose vision was to encourage exceptional emerging professional musicians to enrich the lives of people often excluded from the joy of live music by age, disability, isolation or poverty through interactive music sessions’ (Graham 2012, p3). Amongst its activities the charity funds series of ten interactive music sessions at residential homes for elderly people across the country. \n\nMurray Griffin and Louise Marsland, researchers at the University of Essex, have been awarded funding by the University Age and Assisted Living Network to undertake a preliminary study to evaluate the impact of a series of interactive music sessions on care home residents. The study will involve:\n\n1) video-recording residents attending the 1st, 5th and 10th interactive music session in a series of ten, and reviewing recordings to compare a range of ’soft outcome measures’ relating to level of engagement, for example: \n• length of time awake vs asleep (eyes open vs closed)\n• length of time watching music vs being asleep/doing something else\n• length of time ACTIVELY involved – e.g. singing/percussion/dancing (as proportion of time invited to do so)\n• length of time remained in room\n• number of times laughed/smiled – showed other emotions\n• number of times interacted with another resident\n\n2) Qualitative interviews with care home residents, their relatives, care home staff and the musicians to explore their understanding of the purpose of, and their perceptions of the value of, the sessions.\n\nFindings from the study will contribute to the existing body of evidence about the use of music with dementia sufferers, and be used to inform development of a proposal for a larger scale study.\n
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EE/0022
Date of REC Opinion
18 Mar 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion