Hello dear research friends, interested people and those who would like to become one!

 

On 21 and 23 June, the last workshops for the time being took place with us at the Lucerne School of Music. Just like the workshops in England and Brissago, they were a very positive and wonderful experience for all participants, I hope, but also had their own individual charm. For me, it was really amazingly fascinating to observe how the different cultural backgrounds not only reflect musical tastes, but also make for a unique atmosphere during the workshops.

As in England, the four workshops took place over two days and a joint lunch was organised, which everyone appreciated for the social exchange. I had provided a 1½ metre long sand dab for this, which I think everyone found very funny. It really looks delicious, doesn’t it?

Besides, this time it was my job to lead the workshops, as I was the only one at all the others and of course it is important for my dis to be in charge for once. At first I was terribly nervous, but after the ice was broken and I could feel the pleasant group dynamic, my nervousness flew away.

As at the other two locations, we and the participants enjoyed the fourth workshop the most. It is always great to observe what a positive effect making music and dancing together can have.

One of the Parkinson’s sufferers who took part even brought his accordion and gave us a little performance.

It was fascinating to see how the others immediately adapted musically to him and followed his example. In the end, some even sang along! It was a wonderful atmosphere and we were able to learn a lot in relation to the planned intervention.

It was also great that we were able to hold the workshops in our lab, which gave us a first impression of what the work there will look like in the coming years.

The workshops are now over for the time being. We have collected some data to develop programming for the intervention over the summer before returning to the three sites for a final workshop. I am very excited about the analysis and development and wonder what the participants will say about the programme for the intervention. I really hope and believe that together with the therapists and people with PD we can develop something that can have a positive impact on the quality of life of people with PD.

So, but now I’ll get to work on the evaluation, wish me luck 😉

 

Thank you for reading this blog and feel free to leave comments. I can’t wait to tell you about all the other exciting things and experiences.

Best wishes and see you next time!