'HAPI Drum'

HAPI Drum website

The HAPI Drum is inspired by HANK drums (home made drums produced from propane tanks) and is a steel tongue drum, which uses each of the 'tongues' which are all cut to different lengths to produce the notes. 

These notes then reverberate within the tank before being released through a sound hole placed in the bottom section of the tank. 

These drums can be produced in a range of scales and a range of amounts of notes but most are produced with 9 or 11 notes.

'Swiss Hang Drum'

Hang Drum Website. 
Hang fan Website

The Hang drum is a relatively new instrument developed by a swiss company (PANArt) who initially specialised in constructing steel drums (55 Gallon drum Carribean style drums). The Hang drum come about from years of experimentation and work with many different professionals including physicists, engineers and metallurgists to help the company create a new material (Nitrided Steel). 

This sheet steel with a high nitrogen content proved to be perfect for the dome shaped toned nature of a hang drum which is designed to be played with the instrument placed within the lap of the user and struck with the hands and fingers to get a range of sounds. 

However research shows that there is a good chance that the production of these instruments has been halted or is only occuring in very limited numbers and the instruments are very very difficult to come by.

Blog article looking at purchasing a Hang Drum. 

'Huntington's Disease (Chorea)'

"Huntington's disease (also referred to in more formal medical research as Huntington Disease) is an hereditary neurological disorder of the central nervous system that causes progressive degeneration of cells in the brain, slowly impairing a person's ability to walk, think, talk and reason. "

Source
Huntingtons's Disease Association
                   Huntington's Disease association fact sheets page
Huntington's Disease Wiki
NHS Choices Huntington's Page.

(Video Source)

The above video shows an interview with a patient who has been diagnosed with Huntingtons after his mother died of the disease some time before, he goes on to talk about how he has become clumbsy, has a tendancy to mumble and can get highly stressed from the smallest of things. 

The doctor who is also interviewed in the video also expresses that many of the patients have a tendancy to become irritable and aggressive, presumably due to the increased amounts of stress related with completing simple every day tasks with the disease. This is further supported by the patient when he expresses that his mother could go from "being fine one minute to being in a complete rage the next". 

This would pose problems within a music therapy environment as it would mean that over complex decisions or instruments could confuse and agitate the user and end up with them becoming aggressive to the therapist, this is something that needs to be considered when designing instruments specficaly for the purpose of music therapy as there is potential for them to be used as weapons against the therapist or other members of the group.

"Remember the person."

Alzheimer's society, Patient profiles

These three patient profiles show the diversity of people that are affected by dementia and how they can vary so much in their personality and mannerisms.

A common theme between all three of the profiles is that they all mention that they enjoy company and hate being alone, but most mention that they often have friends, neighbours etc round to see them. Also it was noted that all three were either involved within a creative trade or expressed a love for music and dancing, this could be a common trait amongst those with dementia?

Also all of the videos above show the individuals talking a little about their lives and whilst they have strong recollections of what they used to do etc, they all seem to have points where the struggle and get confused with words. Whilst they seem to brush over the problem and quickly correct themselves this demonstrates the ways in which it would be possible for a person with dementia to get confused with a situation.

"Singing for the brain"

 

Singing for the brain - Alzheimer's society

Singing for the brain is a service run by the Alzheimer's society to help those suffering with Alzheimer's disease to connect with other sufferers and their carers through the use of singing within a social environment.


The singing within these sessions is structured to help the visitors express themselves in a comfortable manner with group singing but to also help the visitors recall simple memories of the music etc.
With all of the visitors who express their opinions within the film offering positive feedback with one commenting that "it makes me feel alive" showing the power of music in provoke memories and emotions within people. 

Source

Music Therapy in Neurorehabilitation

Source : Music therapy methods in Neurorehabilitation: A clinicians manual - Baker, F., Tamplin, J.

This book looks at the uses of music therapy within a the field of Neurorehabilitation (another of its many uses) and covers many of the interventions which are used and advised by the authors with their patients to compile a complete guide to other therapists (as none currently exist).

The book covers interventiones which the authors have felt suitable for a range of patients ranging from coma patients through to patients with behavioural problems through to those requiring physical rehabilitation.

 

A chart showing the patient needs outlined by the source book

 A pie chart showing the categorised figures from the patient needs table above.

These charts show how the content within the book has many interventions to help clinicians manage the situations requiring the patient to undergo some element of physical rehabilitation. This is likely to be due to the fact that the book is meant for those treating patients who have an acquired brain injury rather than a disability/difficulty that has been instilled from birth. The fact these 'injuries' are acquired means there has been an incident leading to the brain injury which could range from a road traffic accident to a stroke, meaning these types of injury are likely to have some associated physical injury. 

 

Pie chart showing the most recommended elements of music used within therapy sessions for those in neurorehabilitation

This pie chart shows the recommended elements of music to be used within the interventions, many of the interventions specified within the book recommend the use of improvised music with patients playing percussion instruments. However it is often recommended that the therapist uses the patients personal music choice (pre composed) and asking them to play along or contribute using percussion instruments. 

The use of pre composed music also enables the therapist to aid patients who are in a coma etc as they will be enabled to play familiar songs to these patients, providing comfort and relaxation. 

"Hearing Cultures" - Pt. 3

'Thinking about sound, proximity and distance in western experience: The case of odysseus's walkman' - Michael Bull

This essay explores the modern day 'walkman' culture, shutting off our surroundings and being emersed within our own personal music and the way in which radio (and presumably Television) have effected modern society.

"Users no longer commune with those next to them but with the 'distant' voices transmitted through the ether"

"The radio listeners privatise their already private space of experience"

"Hearing Cultures" - Pt. 2

'Edison's Teeth: Touching Hearing' - Steven Connor

This essay explores the extraordinary story of how Thomas Edison (American Scientist and Inventor) used to listen to his gramophone by biting onto a wooden section on the side, allowing the vibrations to pass directly into his inner ear through his skull, which he personally believe allowed him to have a greater level of hearing than the average man.

"Thomas Edison would chomp on the wood of a gramophone in order to hear faint overtones" 

Similarly it is rumoured that "Dead Beethoven gripped a stick between his teeth to convey sounds of the piano to him"

The essay also explores the ways in which the senses are combined and utilised simultaneously to allow greater perception of surroundings, conversations, people etc.
 
"Perhaps because of the imperfect nature of hearing in humans, hearing tends to ask questions that get answered by the evidence of the eyes"

Which prompts thoughts as to what would happen if we were forced to rely on individual senses (such as in the case of blind/deaf people) and the ways in which this is overcome by people who are placed within this position. (Further research point!!)

This essay was sourced from the book:

'Hearing Culture; essays on sound, listening and modernity' - Veit Erlman, Berg Publishers 2005. 

"Hearing Cultures"

'Raising spirits & Restoring souls: Early modern medical explanations for musics effects' - Penelope Gouk`

"Music (as embodied as sound, movement etc.) is variously used by cultures to restore balance between people and their environment"

"Music used in 'healing' since the late 1600's early 1700's"
1729 - 1749 First recorded texts of music used within healing. However texts exploring the use of music in the altering of patients moods go back as far as 1489.
It was particularly noted that "music could help cure certain ailments, especially nervous diseases and mental disorders" (recorded mid 1700's - Browne & Brocklesby)

The fact that music has been used within 'healing' for over 250 years shows how people see music as having 'healing qualities' and being beneficial for the patients specificially with 'brain injury' or mental health issues.

"Peculiar power of music was due to a similarity between the air, the medium in which the music was transmitted and the human spirit"
This quote shows the way in which people used to believe that music effected people via their 'spirit' through the air, which in turn presents interesting ideas referring to the vibrations within the air created by sound waves. Could this vibration be used within 'healing'?

The essay quoted above was sourced from the book:

'Hearing Culture; essays on sound, listening and modernity' - Veit Erlman, Berg Publishers 2005.