De Zingende Snaar Harpen

For the "Gurl" in Everyone. Ever get tangled up in wires trying to set up a simple sound system? Ever wondered how it all works? Or how come it doesn't? The "Gurl's Guide" explains it in plain English, with lots of Deborah's drawings to show you how it all fits together. Special instructions for harp players, but useful to EVERYONE! 

Dementia or Alzheimer's Disease is a brain disorder that seriously affects a person’s ability to carry out daily activities.  Patients slowly lose their ability to communicate and rely more and more on their feelings. Emotions of the patient prevail, but also empathy with the people around them. To be able to get into their world and get in touch with them it is necessary to use non-verbal communication. Music is a great way to accomplish this. People with Dementia who cannot speak anymore, but they are very often still capable of singing. Music can open the way to get into contact with these patients again. 

The work of Mieketine van de Laak is meant for the elderly in intra- and semi-intramural care and suitable for all that experience physical or mental disabilities. Whether the clients do or don’t posses a musical ear is unimportant. Mieketine aims to give joy to the participants in a safe environment, in a way that moves, touches them and takes them away to another dimension for a moment or two. 

The book is a practical manual to work with, and for this reason spiral bound so that it will lie open easily during the session. The poems heading  the themes are printed in an easily readable font. It has clear instructions about what you can do with the material and clear references to the included CD's.  Even if you don't play an instrument, this book van be used because these CD’s are excellent material.

Two CD’s with 48 songs are included with the book that also gives the music (notes & chords). Annemarie van Dijk (harp, composition, arrangements), Micheline de Rooy (vocals) and Mieketine herself (harp, vocals) feature these CD’s.