Live music benefits long-term care home residents and workers, researchers say

Music can have a different effect on everyone.

For Ron Weiler, it lifted his spirits as he sat and listened to a live concert with two musicians at a long-term care home in Waterloo, Ont., earlier this month.

"It was an inspiration for me," he said. "I love listening to music."

Music can take a person back to a special memory or it can make people want to get up and dance.

But a question researchers have is: Can it heal?

To find out the answer, they have been hosting live, intimate concerts at long-term care and retirement homes in Waterloo region.

The concerts are part of a six-part pilot project by the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging.

Research lead Kate Dupois says they want to learn more about the healing effect music can have, especially on the well-being of staff.

"We truly believe that having these musical opportunities can help to boost the morale and the mood of our staff," Dupois said.

"And hopefully in the long run, the goal of this program is to encourage more homes across the province, across the country, to offer these types of opportunities to bring more creativity, music, arts into the homes to really harness the powerful benefits that these can provide for everyone."

The project is being done in partnership with an organization called Concerts in Care Ontario, which is focused on enriching the lives of seniors living in care homes with live music.

Debra Chandler, executive director of the organization, said they've found playing recordings doesn't have the same impact on the listeners' well-being.

"The quality of the music matters. If it's played professionally at a really high skill level with commitment and our musicians mainly self select because they are comfortable in this milieu, then it makes a difference no matter what kind of music it is," Chandler said.

The organization connected with former members of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony to ensure the music being played is at a professional level.