Take Note is a set of music resources and strategies for the carers of older people, including those with dementia.
Welcome to Take Note
Music enhances wellbeing at all stages of life and has a remarkably positive effect on the ageing brain.
This website provides videos to see our strategies in action and resources to help you implement those strategies, from songs to sing along with to questions to create playlists from.
Our strategies are avaliable on beautiful printed cards for everyday use.
There are 27 cards, each featuring 4 tips on a particular topic
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Ideas for experiencing live music in the home and the community in a group context, as well as ideas for choosing music for individual listening.
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Ideas for what songs to sing and when, encourages the learning and creating of new songs as well as playing instruments.
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Ideas for group singing in and outside the home as well as for playing instruments together.
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Ideas for using music to calm difficult situations, to relieve pain, anxiety and depression and to improve wellbeing and social interaction.
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Ideas for prompting short and long-term memory. These include listening to music associated with the past such as historic public occasions and important family events.
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Ideas for stimulating language through singing carefully chosen familiar songs as well as learning new songs set to simple everyday language.
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Ideas for enjoying music with others, including other residents, family and friends. There are specific ideas for using songs that encourage interaction between residents.
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Ideas for using music to encourage residents to dance, to help them take part in other forms of exercise and to relax.
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Ideas for using music in ways that help people living with dementia to know what is happening, where and when.
Meet the team
Adam Ockelford is Professor of Music at the University of Roehampton and has an international reputation for undertaking music-psychological research that has a practical value.
Fiona Costa has spent the last fifteen years researching the use of effective music interventions with older people in residential care and has also pioneered a range of musical activities for older people in community settings.
“Using these cards gave our residents an increased sense of wellbeing and peace.”
— Cinnamon care home manager
