Music and Dementia: Perspectives on Research and Implementation

Providing a range of perspectives from music practitioners, researchers, and people with lived experience of dementia, this comprehensive volume offers latest research into music for people with dementia. Amidst growing concern over public health resourcing and an ageing population, the book explores how the familiar tool of music has been used to ameliorate dementia symptoms and improve quality of life, presenting insights from music therapy, neurology, and the practice of delivering and evaluating music interventions. Written by leading international researchers in the field, chapters look at key frameworks and current science to explore a range of settings such as the impact of music in care homes and hospitals, community singing initiatives, and in-home environments; as well as providing up-to-date research. Chapters take a novel approach, guided by the experiences of music practitioners, scientists, and researchers. Anchoring scientific knowledge on music and the brain in relation to dementia and cognitive decline to current practice, the book will appeal to scholars, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of gerontology and ageing, dementia care, and music therapy. Practitioners, therapists, and health care professionals involved with music and older people as well as music for those with dementia may also benefit from the volume.