SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE

By Jackie Rankin

It makes babies go to sleep and people with dementia recall long distant memories. Studies of music’s impact on our psyche even stretch to it giving athletes extra stamina. We visited a project where the power of music is changing lives in an unlikely way.

I could see changes in body language among people who could never have imagined they could do this.

Darren Brown

Darren Brown knows the buzz of performing. He’s been in respected bands and enjoyed a critically acclaimed album.

A psychological practitioner at Mersey Care’s Personality Disorder Hub, Darren (pictured above), also knows that for people who struggle with confidence and being in social situations, the very notion of being centre stage is panic inducing.

He runs a music group at the service’s Hub in Waterloo, Merseyside, and had previously organised performances among a group of service users. He had watched the enjoyment of the audience and wanted to involve them. He decided to do it by stealth.

Seeing them develop as artists is incredible.

“I knew they’d never say yes to a straight invitation. I invited them along to listen and have fun, with an added offer to help them with any musical ideas they might have.

“As time went on they would bring along instruments or sing in a room with me. I’d work with them and when I thought the time was right I’d apply a bit of gentle encouragement and say, ‘this is fantastic, you really need to let the group see this’.”

A music festival for both service users and staff was planned for summer 2022. Darren provided the structure service users needed. He also gave them a get out clause.

“I’d say over and over that there was no pressure to perform, that what they had achieved so far was extraordinary. I told them this wasn’t The Voice; it was a collaboration where everyone would be valued for their contribution.”

Privately Darren expected a few people to pull out – but nobody did.

What transpired was a cathartic experience. “There was so much emotion on that stage. I could see changes in body language among people who could never have imagined they could do this”, said Darren.

“Seeing them develop as artists is incredible. They’re grasping the nettle and using music to grow. No one can take it away from you. In future when you have bad times you can reflect on your performance and keep going, knowing you’ve done that before”.

Country singer and service user Jeanette Gates

IT MAKES YOU FEEL FREE

The star of a Coca Cola television advert at 16, she’d inherited a vocal talent from her dad.

Life changed when, at 42, Jeanette embarked on a diet in readiness for her marriage. But the dieting didn’t stop. She dropped to five stone, became unable to stand and spent 11 months in hospital. Her relationship broke down and four years ago Jeanette was referred to Mersey Care’s Personality Disorder Hub, where she signed up for a music programme to distract herself from invasive thoughts.

Joining the music group struck a chord. When a festival was mooted as a way of showing what they’d practiced, Jeanette agreed to sing a country and Western song, with Ciaran (pictured right) on guitar.

Performing comes naturally to Jeanette Gates – being told she’s good would leave her highly anxious.

She smiles recalling the feelings it evoked. “People who are crippled with anxiety got up on that stage. We even had an ‘anxiety bench’ at the side of the stage for someone to take time out if nerves got the better of them. Some people were shaking –but they did it. The buzz was incredible. It makes you feel free.”

Country singer and service user Jeanette Gates

Yet her best memory from the festival wasn’t the music. “Watching everyone openly giving and accepting praise from each other – for me that was our greatest achievement.”

The buzz was incredible. It makes you feel free.

MUSIC GAVE ME A REASON TO LIVE

Songwriter Ciaran’s voice is soulful. It’s like he knows what it feels like to hit rock bottom and be on his way back. And he is.

For him music is driven by emotion.

“I remember performing a song I’d written at a festival and seeing people cry, that was something. It opened up an entire world to me.”

His own world crumbled when, exhausted by pressures of work and tortured by mental health issues he’d denied, he turned to substance abuse and lost touch with his beloved music.

“My lows were something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

“Some people connect with music at their lowest point – I just couldn’t. It wasn’t until I needed a reason to live that I put music back to the top of my priorities.”

Homeless with nowhere to go, he managed to board a ferry from Belfast to Liverpool where friends have given him a home and support. “In Liverpool, people accept you. They hear your story and say ‘welcome, you’ll be fine’.“

Now with the Hub, he says he’s ‘halfway there’ on his recovery journey, but scared too. “The further on you are the more you have to lose. But the Hub is the best, it’s a really safe place to be and the music group has been a big part of that.”

Stream Ciaran’s music at: m.soundcloud.com/ciarandelaney