Melody memory project: Increasing dementia awareness through traditional gamelan music

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundGamelan, a traditional music ensemble has become the most popular traditional music played by Balinese people for decades, both as leisure and religious activities. Musical activity can enhance cognitive function. However, there are limited activities for retired musicians.AimAlzheimer Indonesia Nederland Foundation (ALZI Ned) initiated the “Melody Memory Project” which aimed to increase the quality of life and dementia awareness of the retired Balinese elderly musician through gamelan practice.MethodsA weekly gamelan practice was conducted at the Pinda village community center, Gianyar, Bali Indonesia. Each session is preceded with dementia awareness session (e.g. sharing the 10 early signs of Alzheimer’s, brain gym) by ALZI Ned volunteers. There were health screenings once every two weeks (i.e. blood pressure/ blood sugar check, hearing problem). Cognitive assessment was conducted using Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) before and after 6 months.Thirty participants (age 58‐77 yo) were registered in this program. From July to October 2021, 6 practice sessions (each for 2 hrs), 2 performances and 3 health screening sessions were conducted in cooperation with the local government authorities. Due to Covid‐19 local lockdown, the program has been halted and will resume in February 2022. This activity has recently been approved as part of the village program and further continuity will be supported by the government. We expect to obtain more data by the time of the conference.