Music Sessions At Barford Court Connect Generations Through Song

Pre-school children are helping to bring the joy of music to residents at RMBI care home Barford Court in Hove with a new music group.

The Full Circle Music Group, run by music leader Debra Wade, is held weekly at the Home and encourages young children and residents to sing and play musical instruments together. The group aims to create social interaction between young and older people with some families having four generations taking part in the activity.

Christopher, aged three, said: “The grownups sing with me and I like it.”

One resident commented: “I’m 90 now, and I don’t have children. I haven’t sung that song since I was a little girl in the Far East.” Debra said: “The residents join in with gusto when we sing older songs, such as, ‘Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary’ and ‘I Had a Little Nut Tree’, because they remember the words and the younger ones benefit from coming into contact with a different generation. They are so young they don’t notice that some of the residents have dementia.”

During the sessions at Barford Court, which have been sponsored by a masonic grant, the children hand out instruments to residents to stimulate conversation. Debra said: “I try very hard to find songs that the older residents know and also to find songs that reflect the seasons – for example, last month it was Christmas songs and in November they reflected Bonfire Night and Remembrance Day.”

Debra got the idea for the group a few years ago when she realised how much her father-in-law enjoyed singing songs with her own children.

To find out more about the sessions please contact 07778 666893 or email drumatum@icloud.com