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How can technology support musical creativity for people with dementia?

Dementia continues to be a growing problem, affecting the person with dementia and their family members. The main symptoms of the disease are memory impairment, cognitive dysfunction and executive functioning problems. Research has established provision of activities can improve quality of life for people with dementia. This research concentrates on musical creativity, investigating how technology could support creative music making for people with dementia.
 People with dementia experience difficulties with communication, short-term memory and learning new skills. These issues make it difficult to find activities that people with dementia can participate in. However, music is one activity enjoyed by people with mild dementia, and those in the advanced stages of dementia.
 Research has shown that people with dementia can be creative. However, when it comes to music, the researcher has found a lack of resources available for them to make their own music. Traditional musical instruments are too difficult to play, so simple percussion instruments are used for rhythm making. The aims of this research are to develop a novel tool to support creative music making for people with dementia, and from that, provide key insights into musical creativity in persons with dementia.
 It is important that the music created is pleasant for both player and listener. The researcher experimented with chord playing, as chords played in sequence will always sound harmonious. By using specific chord types, i.e. major or minor, passages of chords can also be used to portray emotions. Researchers have discussed how music can communicate emotion, and as people with dementia are prone to difficulties with communication, the tool could also be useful for self-expression.
 Small-scale prototypes have been developed to demonstrate how the tool works. An intuitive interface prompts users to select an emotion before beginning play. Users will interact with the tool using a touch screen, as this has already been shown to be usable by people with dementia. On touching the screen, chords will play portraying the emotion selected. Users control pitch by moving higher or lower on the screen, and dynamics, by moving left and right across the screen.
 Visual feedback is also provided, using appropriate colors and shapes to match the emotion selected.
 Basic melodies can be created by dragging a finger up and down the screen, with more complex pieces created by touching different parts of the screen. Investigations will establish if the tool can be used for music creation, whether it provides enjoyment and if it can actively engage people with dementia. It will also be interesting to establish if people with dementia can use it for self-expression.