At Millers, we believe in supporting and sharing the message of the power of music in all its forms. Today we wanted to cast our spotlight on our new friends at Nordoff Robbins, the UK’s largest music therapy charity, who continue to enrich and inspire the lives of people with life-limiting illness, disabilities or feelings of isolation through the beauty of music.
We want to not only share their incredible message with our own musical communities, but also continue their quest for awareness of the impact music has on both mental health and physical wellbeing but outlining a little more about their incredible work.
Just one look at some of their incredible stories will show you exactly what we mean...Ava is 12, she has complex health needs including cerebral palsy, complex epilepsy and she’s blind. Despite this, Ava has always loved music and it’s brought her and her family many magical moments over the years.
About Nordoff Robbins:
In 1959, American composer and pianist Paul Nordoff and special education teacher Clive Robbins developed a new form of collaborative music-making to engage vulnerable and isolated children, which they termed ‘therapy in music’.
Since then the charity have continued to expand their work and impact by touching the lives of those around them through the use of music., offering both individual and small/large group sessions to those who need a place for self-expression and self-discovery through music.
Nordoff Robbins has helped over 270+ organisations across the UK by having their dedicated music therapists on site, including: SEN schools, care homes, hospitals, mental health services, hospices and more.
This has equated to over 45,000 music therapy sessions being held and over 11,000 lives being enhanced through music.
The Relationship Between Music And Mental Health
We’ve written before on the impacts that music can have on anyone’s mental health, however music therapy takes this theory and applies it into the most sensational circumstances and has some truly amazing effects on mental health and physical conditions.
From helping a person with dementia reconnect with their family, to helping a child with autism to speak for the first time, music therapy helps break down the barriers put in place by language. The simple sound of playing one piano note, or singing their first note can be all it takes to trigger a kaleidoscope of colour and exploration into self-discovery and connection with music.
In their own words “When a parent comes to us with a child who’s never spoken, or when a family comes to us because their mother is isolated by her dementia, we use music with the ambition to enhance and improve their lives.
Our music therapists are trained to tune into each movement, reaction and expression of the people they’re working with. They can then adapt their approach and the music they’re playing to skilfully unlock potential and inspire positive emotions and interactions.”
How Can You Get Involved?
If you are feeling inspired by the stories shared by Nordoff Robbins and would like to support their work, you can do so in a number of ways.
Not only by donating directly but they also encourage fundraising in any way shape or form you like. Learn more about donating to Nordoff Robbins here.
We are incredibly excited to be beginning our relationship with Nordoff Robbins and will be sharing how we plan to continue raising incredible awareness for music therapy very soon.
Explore more incredible stories across Nordoff Robbins social media channels!
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