The Incredible Power of Music - with 'Music 24'

Have you ever watched the light reappear behind someones eyes right before you? I have, and its incredible. He displayed signs of severe mental illness, behaved aggressively and clearly lacked the ability to concentrate and to stay in the same room for longer then 30 seconds. An outsider would have almost definitely thought it impossible for him to focus on anything resembling a tune, but as he visibly started to feel the rhythm of the music, sounds flowed out of him in time to the beat, so melodic and soulful it made my heart smile. It was amazing. There were no words, just noise and sounds but it completely transformed him right before our eyes.

Music is a therapy - clearly. It is a communication far more powerful than words, far more immediate and far more efficient. Music has a healing power and the ability to take people out of themselves. It is an escape that silences fear and worry.

Teela and Graeme from Music 24, a not-for-profit organisation that offers music therapy and high quality music activities to Bedfordshire residents, are 2 people that demonstrate daily the power of music. Working at The Hat Factory in Luton delivering music sessions for dementia patients plus taking their services to several of the psychiatric wards in the area, they connect people through music; shift mood, manage stress induced agitation and stimulate positive interactions, proving that music really is medicine for the soul. I am lucky enough to be a part of this amazing synergy on a regular basis. The atmosphere in these musical sessions is electric!

I am now in my 6th week of working with Teela and Graeme at Music 24 and the experiences I've had in that short time have been incredible. I feel so fortunate to have landed this fantastic job with such amazing people - it really is serendipity.

As someone who has always believed in fate, to have met Teela just a couple of weeks before being made redundant seemed to fit my belief system entirely - it was surely meant to be. The ironic thing was I met her whilst I was a patient on a psychiatric ward and she was there delivering music therapy. When I was released from hospital and then made redundant it seemed like the most natural thing to do to contact Music 24 to offer my time - and a wonderful friendship and working relationship has developed since then!

Each day at whatever session I am part of, my soul is touched. The joy in the room elevates steadily throughout each session and people always leave feeling uplifted and energised. With use of many different percussion instruments, piano, guitars and singing - or whatever we can get our hands on that could be musical! - people are given confidence in themselves that they then take out into the world with them afterwards. Music requires little to no mental processing, so singing does not require the cognitive function that is not present in most dementia patients - this is why they feel so empowered and confident during a session and afterward.

Sessions can be structured or complete improvisation and A-tonal, they can be small and calm or large and energetic, they may sometimes appear to an outsider like organised chaos, or we may be making some excellent music from scratch. Whichever sort of group it is, it is always positive, energising and uplifting for the participants and us, the facilitators. Engaging our various participants in 'thinking outside of the box' during a session gives them more confidence to exist just as they are in the outside world. There are rarely any rules in a session, other than to be kind to others and a willingness to make music. As a sufferer of Bipolar Disorder myself, I know only too well how hard it can be to fit in as you feel different. We want to teach people that its ok to be different and improvisation plus music with no borders is a great way to do this.

In and out of the various music groups, Teela and Graemes passion for what they do is infectious and clearly the musical community that they have built has an enormously positive effect on these peoples lives - it is an honour to be there to witness it every week. Teela and Graeme should be extremely proud of what they have achieved and what they continue to achieve.

Music has always been there for me; my escape, my therapy. My whole life has a soundtrack, songs that remind me of certain times and bring memories flooding back. If I need it to, music can silence the world and keep me in a protective bubble, or it can lift my mood and make me happy. Music 24 is a very exciting place to be at the moment. Ever evolving with more and more groups beginning for dementia sufferers, mental health patients in hospital and in the community plus sessions for adults with learning difficulties. I am blessed to be here to be able to help other people achieve what I have with the use of music and I'm very excited for all that is to come!