Agency and Creativity in Musical Interaction for those living with Dementia and Cognitive Decline

Musical interventions are becoming a more popular tool in dementia care. Although the use of music is developing in a range of contexts such as choirs, song writing groups, and more specific therapies, these often rely on musical knowledge or the expertise of facilitators. Limited tools are available which facilitate unguided musical experiences, fostering agency for their users through musical creativity. We present a workshop-based study exploring the use of a procedural music platform designed for those living with dementia and cognitive decline. The paper takes a mixed-methods approach, exploring a range of procedural processes, and reviewing participant engagement during their use. We demonstrate the use of the platform and highlight its potential for engagement. We evaluate the techniques implemented and demonstrate an inverse relationship between operational complexity and interaction. We conclude it is possible to facilitate engaging musical interactions which foster agency and creativity while maintaining rich and age-appropriate outputs.