'FreeNotes'

FreeNotes specialise in making outdoor musical instruments primarily for schools and playgrounds, however these have been utilised within a music therapy context in a number of care homes across the UK.

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Tubano drums are a popular range produced by FreeNotes, with the set of five drums providing a range of tones making them 'musically rewarding. 

These drums would be particularly useful within the field of music therapy as they are large enough to encourage the users to move their whole body to play the drums but are also simple to interact with reducing the risk of confusing the player. The drums are also brightly coloured which will attract attention to the areas which are to be played on. 

Whilst the upright position shown in the image above would make it relatively difficult for those in a wheelchair to play it could be possible to have them mounted an an angle making them more approachable.

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Eye Chimes are large tubes of aluminium, which offer lower resonating tones to the user, which 'grow, from the first hit' and become louder and louder with each subsequent hit of the chime. 

Again, the scale of these chimes encourages the user to move their whole body but limits the usability of a user within a wheelchair due to reach limitations from the chair limiting them to only playing a small selection of the notes. 

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Swirl Aluminium chimes, feature 26 chimes in the key of C Major and ranges in tone from soprano to alto. Each chime has an individual resonator (Green square section behind chime) which enables the note to resonate for long periods of time.

Whilst the chimes shown would be great for children, then uneven lines and many visible fixtures would more than likely distract and confuse someone suffering with dementia who would have a tendency to hit the lines between the chimes and the fixtures.

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The Manta Ray metallophone is an outdoor instrument made of stainless steel with the chime bars suspended on two coated steel cables. with notes covering 2 octaves and a fifth (mirrored between left and right sides) in the key of C Major (Diatonic). 

The way the manta ray mirrors its notes between the left and right sides makes it suitable for playing by two individuals, encouraging listening to other people and interaction between them.

FreeNotes also have a page explaining why they are particularly useful for the elderly within a music therapy role in this article