Join a choir

Caring for someone with dementia is hard, but music can help.

We believe joining a choir is one of the easiest ways to give music a go, and there’s a choir for everybody.

Inspired by our recent work with The Prime Timers from Runwood Homes, we’re encouraging eveyone to try singing in a choir. With an average age of 94, they showed you’re never too old to try something new.

Search ‘dementia choir near me’ or ‘community choir near me’, or use our resources below to help get you started.

As well as being fun, did you know all the health benefits singing can bring?

  • Improved lung capacity,

  • improved mental health and wellbeing,

  • and (for families affected by dementia) music can manage some of the symptoms of the condition, such as aggitation and distress.

Resources

Elderly choir group in red T-shirts, smiling and holding sheet music, sitting in a room with framed pictures on the wall.

Take our choir quiz

Take our fun quiz to find out which choir is right for you.

Complete the quiz →

Promotional image for "Music Can" with the tagline "Make music part of your dementia care" featuring an older person with headphones on, joyfully listening to music. The image includes a website URL, "www.musiccan.co.uk," displayed on a yellow background.

Music Can

Music Can has a directory with over 300 choirs listed. Visit their site to find the right one for you.

Go to Music Can →

Group of elderly people singing and holding song sheets in a choir setting.

Singing for the Brain

Singing for the Brain is the Alzheimer’s Society network of singing groups.

Singing for the Brain directory →

Real life stories

  • Two elderly women sitting side by side, one wearing sunglasses and a purple vest, the other in a blue patterned dress, both smiling while petting a small dog.

    “If it’s one of her off days I’ll say ‘shall we put the music on?’ And we both start singing”

    Brenda and Trish

  • Two elderly people sitting indoors by a window with vertical blinds and red curtains, smiling; one is wearing a polo shirt, the other a cardigan and headscarf, holding a cane.

    “You start to sing and you feel much better…you start to wonder if you’re the same person.”

    Tim and Cindy

  • Two women sitting indoors, one older and one middle-aged, near a window with floral curtains. The older woman is sitting on a red couch, wearing a dark outfit with a patterned scarf. The middle-aged woman is smiling, wearing a gray top with colorful sleeves. A bouquet of orange flowers is visible on the windowsill behind them.

    “It can just be five minutes or even just one song, but that’ll do.”

    Patricia and Clara