Music and Parkinson’s
The RNCM is quickly becoming one of the world-leading research institutions for embodied scientific investigation on what music is useful for people with Parkinson’s around the world.
Dr Michelle Phillips (R) with Professor Dawn Rose (L) and Professor Ellen Poliakoff at ‘Playlist for Parkinson’s LIVE!’, RNCM, 14 June 2022. Photo ©Robin Clewley.
Over 150,000 people in the UK live with Parkinson’s, which is ‘the fastest growing neurological condition in the world’ (Parkinson’s UK). Since 2019, an international team of researchers have been exploring the use of music for people with Parkinson’s: Dr Michelle Phillips (RNCM), Professor Dawn Rose (University of Applied Arts and Sciences, Lucerne), Professor Ellen Poliakoff (University of Manchester), and Dr Will Young (University of Exeter).
The team is committed to conducting extensive empirical studies in the lab environment, investigating embodied data and evidence that suggests a crucial, multifaceted role for music and social prescribing in treatments for Parkinson’s worldwide.
Over the past six years, this international team has identified new ways in which music may be useful for emotion and mood management, for motivation, and as a personal anthem for people with Parkinson’s.
Their studies also suggested potential benefits of musical imagery (people imagining music in their head), as well as the effects of listening to music of various genres and underlying characteristics.
These findings have been extensively published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and periodicals:
Dr Michelle Phillips (RNCM) at ‘Playlist for Parkinson’s LIVE!’, RNCM, 14 June 2022. Photo ©Robin Clewley.
Phillips, M., Poliakoff, E., Young, W., and Rose, D., “Music is my Tonic: A qualitative study exploring how people with Parkinson’s use music in everyday life”, Music & Science [in preparation]
Dawn. R. Stadelmann, M., Jerjen, R.; Köchli, S., Senn, O., Baldassarre, A., Poliakoff, E., Phillips, M., “The use of music among Swiss people with Parkinson’s: A mixed methods survey and comparison to the UK findings” Music & Science [in press]
Poliakoff, E., Young, W., Phillips, M., Bek, J., and Rose, D. (2023), Vividness and use of imagery related to music and movement in people with Parkinson’s: a mixed-methods survey, Music & Science, 6
Rose, D., Poliakoff, E., Young, W., and Phillips, M. (2023), The use of music for mood and movement management among people with Parkinson’s: A mixed methods, Music & Science, 6
Rose, D., Hadley, R., Guerin, S., Carapellotti, A., Young, W., Phillips, M., and Poliakoff, E. (2023). ‘Levelling the playing field: the role of workshops for to explore how people with Parkinson’s use music for mood and movement management as part of a patient and public involvement strategy’, Frontiers in Rehabilitation Special Issue: Patient and Public involvement in Disability and Rehabilitation Research
This ongoing scientific investigation has also branched out to a series of public engagement and knowledge exchange initiatives both in the UK and internationally. These included learning from people with Parkinson’s about their experiences of the music used in existing music and movement workshops and classes that already take place across Greater Manchester, and the impact of these activities. The team has also been sharing their research to date with composers and performers, attracting new music created for specific uses that benefit people with Parkinson’s (e.g. music for motivation, music for relaxation). These activities have received critical acclaim including features in ITV Granada News and the BBC in recent years.
