CHOIR
The Forget Me Notes Project
In the words of the Sound of the Music “Let’s start at the very beginning”. Well, if I did we would be here all day so I will explain a little bit about Forget Me Notes today and the support we offer to those living with dementia and their carers. What we are best known for is our inclusive choir called The Forget me Notes. As with all the music memory opportunities we offer, the aim is to create community through music, to challenge isolation and develop an environment for positive communication.
The Choir in normal circumstances meets fortnightly for an hour’s music memory session. During the pandemic we have created a Zoom Community and we meet twice a week. Zoom Choir has become another string to our bow, one that we see being a part of the Forget Me Notes project for years to come. We have been able to explore favourite songs of members and hear different memories surrounding those songs. We have been able to develop friendships with some people we have never physically met. We are joined each session with people living in Plymouth, York, Durham, Aberdeen, Perth and Edinburgh. We have even been joined by a dementia resource centre in Italy, so Forget me Notes has bucked the trend and become European.
We also deliver Music memory sessions in nine community and residential centres. Unfortunately we are not able to do this at present and so we have provided DVD’s to support staff and bring music into the lives of residents.
