Casio Music Projects: 'Playing for Change' with Nathan Aké & 'Light Up My Life'.
- Music For Wellbeing
- Jun 4, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 10, 2024
Last week my online newspaper contained an interview with Nathan Aké, the Manchester City footballer who started learning piano during lockdown. Playing and learning turned into a bit of an addiction and was something that Aké derived a huge amount of joy from.
Forward wind a few years and Aké is now the figurehead for a Casio led project Playing for Change, supporting and promoting the unique benefits of music education by donating digital pianos to schools and colleges.
The article particularly caught my eye because of the involvement of Casio and because of my interest in another project; the Casio Light Up My Life initiative.
The Light up My Life project was led by Casio in partnership with Music for Dementia, The Utley Foundation and Methodist Care Homes Association (MHA). It took place in MHA's specialist Dementia care homes and was designed to explore how music can positively impact people living with Dementia. Casio's lighted keyboards were used in the project. Choose a pre-programmed piece from the keyboard memory and each note of that piece lights up. The participant is guided lighted note by lighted note through the chosen piece. There was no need for prior musical knowledge or piano playing experience.
The social benefits for both participants, therapists and residents alike was overwhelmingly positive and was measurably found to reduce anxiety and depression.
"Over 70% of the music therapists using the keyboards saw a reduction in anxiety and depression amongst residents, further supporting the evidence base that music therapy reduces the need for medication in 67%* of people living with Dementia."
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts Health and Wellbeing, Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing 2017, Older Adulthood, Music 8.6.4, 133.
I use the Casio lighted keyboard when I visit Pammie in her care home, mainly as an easily portable keyboard but we do use the lighted keyboard function as well. Not as often as we used to but even in recent weeks Pammie was able to follow the first few notes of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as they lit up on the keyboard.
Long gone are the days when I would just have associated Casio with digital watches and calculators!