When words fail, music speaks and helps us to communicate how we really feel. Many of us have songs that remind us of the people that are important to us like a partner, relative or friend on our ‘playlist for life’ – a collection of songs signalling to the memories and milestones that have shaped our lives.
A ‘playlist for life’ is an intervention in dementia care, advocated for by the UK’s leading and dementia charity Playlist for Life.
Playlist for Life supports people affected by dementia to live well with the support of personal playlists. It also works with health and social care professionals and community groups to embed playlists into dementia care and support. This is because personal playlists have been proven to manage distressing symptoms of dementia and create connection for everyone listening.
Creating a personal playlist for yourself or someone you know can be a fun thing to do for anyone, but it can also serve as a lifeline in the event of a dementia diagnosis for you or someone you know.
This Valentine’s Day, Playlist for Life is encouraging everyone to create a playlist of songs that remind them of someone important in their life and share it with them as gift and to help raise awareness of the power of music for people living with dementia.
Making a personal playlist is easy, and it’s a bit like making a traditional mix tape. Simply choose the songs you want to feature on the playlist and gather them somewhere you can listen to, even just writing a list of songs on our resource as a gift for someone can be an effective way to let someone know about a song that makes you think of them.
If you would like to give your playlist as a Valentine’s gift, print out our ‘mixtape’ template, fill it in and put it inside a card for someone.
You can also use our playlist maker, plus we have lots of guidance from how to pick the right music, to how to use music effectively in the care of someone living with dementia as well as the different ways to listen to personal playlist here.
And, if you’re still on the hunt for the perfect Valentine’s present, we have the perfect offering for any music lover, including tote bags and t-shirts, in our shop. Our book, 100 Years: A Century of Song, which lists popular tunes by decade can also help you choose the right songs to add on your playlist.
