People living with dementia progressively lose skills and abilities. Their feelings and emotions, however, remain; as does their enjoyment of music and their ability to engage with it.

Combining years of practice, research and teaching with a lifelong interest in music led Diana Kerr to helping to set up and run singing groups. She was Director of Stirling University’s MSc in Dementia Studies and a Research Fellow at Edinburgh University and has written widely.

She explains what research findings show about music and dementia, and practical ways in which these can be applied.

Here’s an example from her, from a trailer for a course, describing a lively example of how a neat solution was found for a problem for someone with dementia.