Music Enrichment Activity is a big part of life at Richardson Care homes. It takes various forms and Martin’s weekly visits to our care homes are greeted with great enthusiasm. Known as Martin the Music Man, one of his main aims with music is to gently encourage participation. He is equipped with all sorts of percussion instruments so that service users can join in and have fun. He makes each session as interactive as possible so service users can participate in whichever way they choose.

Music has a profound effect on people, in terms of the pure enjoyment of singing and playing along, as well as the cognitive benefits of remembering melodies and lyrics that are hidden away in the memory banks. Of course, this does also mean that certain songs have to be sung in every session!

Martin visits all of our care homes, entertaining service users with many different needs, abilities and personalities. Each visit has to be approached in different ways in terms of the material he uses and the way he interacts with the service users. He enjoys the challenge of adapting to different situations and relating to the service users through the music, as no two sessions are the same.