Dancing Hands and Creative Souls » Music

Spontaneous Interactive Games

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:48:41 +0000

Games can happen in the moment….unplanned and wonderfully interactive. At Parkview Nursing Center many were milling around waiting for supper. I dug out a container of “things” that could be used for rhythm sounds. One was an old Ball jar of all kinds of marbles. Shaking it made a wonderful sound to go with the songs we were coming up with. It wasn’t long before Ben started taking the marbles out to see what they would sound like if you dropped them in a metal pan. Before long, the washtub that we were using for a drum ended up in the middle of the floor and the marbles were divided up and we were seeing how many could hit the tub with the marbles. If you got a hit, everyone knew it because of the wonderful sound it made. One person said, “This is just like when we were kids…having fun with whatever you could find”

Spontaneous Drumming

admin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:29:36 +0000

Mary Lou circles the building up and down all day long using her walker.
“Come and sit down,” I said, as I pulled up a chair at one of the dining room tables.
I knew she liked rhythm. I also knew that she played the piano for years and is constantly drumming her fingers in some kind of rhythm.
I placed a drum in front of her and gave her both drumsticks. I played a rhythm on the table and she played one back. We experimented with the natural rhythm of words, using songs and rhymes from childhood like “Pease Porridge Hot”. We tapped the rhythms without the words. As we drummed, more and more songs were popping into our heads.
“Listen to THIS one!” I said with gusto.
“What about THIS one!” Mary Lou would say.
We started drawing a crowd. I handed a tamborine to one of them and a shaker to another and before long, we had a rhythm band. It was made up of those who normally would not participate in organized activities. We sang. We talked. We laughed, and we listened to the overall effect of many instruments.

Dancing Hands on Sale

admin — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 02:27:27 +0000

I want to make it possible for more nursing care centers to have Dancing Hands. There is a lack of money in activity budgets, so Dancing Hands Elderly Set is going on sale for 50% off through to the end of the year.

Fingertip Tapping

admin — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 01:59:02 +0000

Marge was drawn into the room where we had a bossa nova CD playing. She was dramatically moving to the music. I placed Dancing Hands taps in front of her as she sat down. She could not get her fingers to grasp them, so I held the handles down and she very naturally started tapping the bouncing discs on the table. It sounded like a typewriter and it even looked like she was typing. She not only liked the sound, but seemed to like the feel of her fingers making the rhythm.

Natural Rhythms

admin — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 01:24:58 +0000

Artist Jan picked up some crackling leaves on her way into the Alzheimer’s unit and put them in a baggie along with some extra air.
We passed them around, crunching on them with our hands and stepping on them with our feet. This led to using it as a shaker to shake to the rhythm of Fall poetry that we dreamed up.

The leaves were flying all around
Red, and yellow, orange and brown
Stepping on them making sounds
Crunching sounds all over the ground

Humming a Picture

admin — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 03:23:16 +0000

Sonda is not able to put words together because of Alzheimer’s, but she loves to sing, especially beautiful trills that sound like opera. One day, I handed her a paintbrush. She dipped it in the blue and started humming high notes, low notes, and in-between. She was simultaneoulsy moving her brush in circles to the notes. She was immersed in the arts and very happy.

Music Soothes the Soul

admin — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 06:01:25 +0000

Ginny spends her days in a wheelchair with her head down. She is in the end-stages of Alzheimer’s. She cannot focus enough to do very much at all. Last week, I placed a Reverie Harp on her lap. I strummed it once and waited to see what she would do. We sat for several minutes in silence and she moved her hand on the strings and enjoyed the thrill of hearing the music that she was making. We sat together for the next 20 minutes experimenting with the sounds. I could feel the release.

Try the Ukelele

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:39:55 +0000

A guitar is wonderful for sound but often gets jostled and bumped in hallways and doorjams. A ukelele is so easy to carry around and play. I learned to play one a few months ago and it has been invaluable! It is most enjoyable to go room to room and sing to whoever is there, if invited in. It is especially fun if family members are hanging out. We reminisce and play songs from the past. A most recent favorite is “You get a line and I’ll get a pole and we’ll go fishin’ in the crawdad hole.” Many times, we put new words to familiar tunes, like “Down by the Riverside”. Much conversation comes between songs.

Arnold Remembers

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 21:04:21 +0000

Arnold shuffles all day long and is unable to communicate because of Alzheimer’s. I asked him if he would be willing to come outside with me because we were starting to see the first signs of spring. He slowly enters into the sunshine, stopping at the door, as his body gets used to the brightness. As I pointed to the leaves sprouting on the bushes, his entire attention went to my guitar which was perched on the outdoor furniture. I followed him and watched him bend down and lightly pluck the strings. I helped him sit down and laid the guitar in his lap. He lightly placed his fingers in chord positions and loved on it, holding tightly to it. It was evident that he had played it before…who knows how long ago. That moment for him was the best medicine.

Expression Through Percussion Circles

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:15:49 +0000

Pictured is a percussion circle in an Alzheimer’s unit. We started by taking lots of time to pass the African drum around, feeling and smelling the hide stretched across the top, the ties, and rubbing our hands over the carvings at the bottom. One on one we echo as the others watch. As we get in the flow, more instruments are introduced (shakers, bells, etc.) We experiment with sounds as we sing various songs. Rhythm is something that is quite active beyond mental capabilities. It expresses the inner soul.