Want to know how to create a personal playlist for yourself or someone you care for living with dementia? Doctor Who star David Tennant has you covered. We have created two brand-new animations to help people living with dementia, their families and carers to create and listen to a personal playlist – with two very special people lending their talents to help.
Part one – How to Make a Personal Playlist – is voiced by the multi-award-winning actor David Tennant, and takes viewers through the process of creating a personal playlist step by step.
Part two – How to Listen to a Personal Playlist – David introduces Willy Gilder, who is living with dementia, to take people through the ways to listen to a playlist from singing to streaming.
Willy is a retired BBC local radio journalist, with decades of experience on the airwaves prior to his dementia diagnosis. He lends his experienced voice to the video guiding listeners through the hints and tips.
Willy who is living with dementia, also has first hand experience of how music can change your life. Willy has been drawing and painting since childhood. But after developing Alzheimer’s he felt blocked from his much-loved hobby, and was unable to paint or draw. Willy said he was ‘baffled, bewildered and lost’.
But, music helped. Willy said music helped ‘rewire’ him and credits listening to the music of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones that helped him to reconnect with his hobby, painting and drawing.
Willy said:
“Personally, music has been really important to me because arts has been a hobby of mine forever. But my brain disease has meant that I lost the ability to paint and draw and listening to music brought this back so I want to credit my very own doctors John, Paul, George and Ringo.
As well as having a passion for 60s pop music, ever since I watched the second episode of Doctor Who, I’ve had a passion for the daleks and the cyber men. So to share a billing with one of the doctors is just amazing.
“These animations are important because music is really powerful for people in bringing back memories, bringing back skills and reminding them of good times. Generally, music is very, very good medicine. The more we can convince people about harnessing the power of music in their lives the better.
Scottish writer and broadcaster Sally Magnusson founded Playlist for Life in 2013 after she discovered that playing music that was familiar and meaningful to her mother who was living with dementia, brought moments of joy and flashes of happiness. Sally founded Playlist for Life to share this with others. Personal playlists can play a vital role dementia care and support. And it’s important that everyone’s playlist is unique to them because songs that are familiar and meaningful to us that have the power to evoke emotion and memories.
To help people discover these songs, Playlist for Life shares advice and resources to help people identify which songs to add to a personal playlist. To help get started, we advise people to think about the three areas below.
Our resources are shared by over 1,500 of our community ‘Help Points’ and we’ve delivered specialised training to more than 8,000 health and social care professionals and students to help transform the future of dementia care and support.
These new animations will make it even easier for anyone to create a personal playlists to help themselves or someone they know live well with dementia.
Michael Timmons, Executive Director of Playlist for Life, said:
We are so grateful to David Tennant and Willy Gilder for voicing these fantastic new animations. There are close to 1 million people living with dementia in the UK, there is currently no cure, but music can help. We hope these simple animations can help everyone get started on their personal playlist.
They provide tips on what songs to add to your playlist and how you can listen. One example is thinking of the music from your favourite TV shows or films and I don’t think there is a more iconic TV theme than the eerie Doctor Who theme. This has soundtracked people and families gathered round the TV from 1963 right up to when David Tennant starred in the show and beyond, so it’s extra special to have David involved. His voice is instantly recognisable, warm and engaging. As for Willy, his personal experience combined with decades of experience on the airwaves shines through, making his voice perfect in guiding people through the process.
Much like the Tardis, a personal playlist can instantly transport you back in time. A playlist can help you relive some of your happiest memories or simply provide you with a comforting sense of familiarity.
For free support and resources for people living with dementia, access all of our resources here.
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