Singing classes bring joy to dementia sufferers

connect with music,” Jan said. “I have such joy seeing my mum having fun and to see people come out of their shells. “I can’t praise it enough.” Lammie developed vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s in her mid-eighties and is now 90.

“She was becoming quite depressed sitting at home and not socialising,” Jan continued.

“She went into a care home 18 months ago, and between that and attending these sorts of groups, the difference in her is amazing.”

Dementia adviser Polly Mark runs the session, which attracts an average of 45 people for every class.

She said: “We started life as a café but the people attending decided they wanted it to be a singing group instead and it’s been going for about five years now.

“There’s a real feelgood factor among the group, including the staff, volunteers, friends and family.

“I absolutely see the difference in people once they’ve been here.

“You really don’t have to be a competent singer, it’s just a singsong. People shouldn’t stop doing what they enjoy because they have dementia.”

Musician Eddie Binnie leads the singing. He has been leading choirs and performing in care homes for years, so knew music had a special way of engaging people.

That led to him setting up Musical Minds six years ago with Katy Hawker from Alzheimer Scotland.

The first group was in Kilmarnock and now there are several similar singing groups held around the country.

“Everyone is equal in the club – there is no stigma or embarrassment and we all come together,” Eddie said.

“The idea is that they do the work, I’m just the backing singer.

“The songs should be meaningful to them, so we ask what their favourite songs are. It could be a song played at their wedding and so on.

“They are having fun and that’s what it’s all about – living well with dementia.”