Sound Therapy

I had a rare opportunity last week to try out the Music gym, as I’m usually in the cafe area, explaining it to someone instead. I’d forgotten just how much fun it is. Continue reading ‘The Music Gym - a personal view of this service for people with complex needs’

At Decoda we don’t claim to be authorities but we are observant. We’ve seen the impact of what we do on people with ASD (autistic spectrum disorder) though we can’t necessarily explain it. Continue reading ‘The Music Gym and autism’

Decoda’s a social enterprise. The problem is that the vast majority of people still say A what when told that. I’m curious as to why that is. It’s such a wonderful concept, bringing together the best of the charity and business worlds. The idea behind it is that you operate as a business but with the intention of benefiting the community. Continue reading ‘A what enterprise? Life as a social enterprise’

The Short White Pulse film demonstrates the possibilities of using video effects to create images. The software is fascinating but we needed to be able to use it in our work with people with profound disabilities.
We’ve done this by setting up the shadow wall as part of the Music Gym - a magical feature that immediately makes you feel you’re taking part in your own dance video.

Continue reading ‘The Shadow Wall:movement for people with multiple and profound learning disabilities’

This film demonstrates the use of video effects to create images by movement. It’s a basic example of the software we’re using in the Music Gym, to enable people with profound disabilities to make something happen, to move to the music they’re creating and to have a lot of fun at the same time.
The music was composed by a young woman with very limited mobility, using a soundbeam.

For more information, please visit www.decoda.org

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/4k4s-CRgKjM]

“So it’s music therapy that you’re doing?”

Almost every conversation we’ve had about Decoda in the past three years has contained that remark. Anyone not in the business isn’t interested in the fact that to call yourself a music therapist you must be a trained professional. We’re using music, our work is clearly beneficial therefore, in the minds of most people we talk to we’re entitled to call ourselves “music therapists” and call our work “music therapy”. Continue reading ‘Music Therapy’