Singing Together

Online singing sessions with residents to help improve mood and wellbeing.

Benefits of singing and music

Singing has been shown to offer social, personal and mood benefits for adults, and a lot of evidence highlights the benefits specifically for older people. For people with dementia, singing activities can reduce symptoms of depression and behavioural issues. Singing in a group encourages social bonding, group identity and inclusion across cultural groups. Music also improves mental wellbeing and has been associated with reduced anxiety in young adults and reduced risk of depression in older people. It can support bonding between mothers and infants and plays a part in language development. Music and singing may also improve quality of life and coping for people living with health conditions.

Location

Citywide

Project team

Buzz

Martin Purdy

Aim

To deliver engaging & fun online singing lessons to residents.

Testimonies

“Hi…. did you sing along with us? It was lovely on a day like today, I enjoyed it and I didn’t have a coughing fit! Look forward to next session.

“That was brilliant. Thank you. When is the next singing session and do you run groups?”

Evaluation

The project was a success and the sessions attracted over 200 views from residents across Manchester. The sessions also received some excellent feedback from those who joined in the fun. The project was delivered to all residents using social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. From the project it is hoped that new singing groups will emerge across the city.

Strategic links to local/national policies

Benefit	Policy
Increased mental wellbeing	Manchester Health and Wellbeing Strategy
Social and wellbeing benefits for older people	Taking Charge of our Health and Social Care in Greater Manchester (GMCA, 2015) Manchester Health and Wellbeing Strategy
Increased social cohesion	NHS Five Year Forward View (Department of Health, 2014)
Good start in life for children	Taking Charge of our Health and Social Care in Greater Manchester (GMCA, 2015) Manchester Health and Wellbeing Strategy
Encourages social connection and inclusion	Manchester Population Health Plan
Helps with coping for people with health conditions	The Manchester Prevention Programme