Abstract

Dementia is a progressive deterioration in cognitive ability that affects many people worldwide. As cognitive and verbal skills decline, persons from this population who are involved in music therapy require more diverse music therapy interventions. Persons with dementia may gradually lose the ability to sing as the disease progresses and the use of percussion may allow for continued musical participation. This research is a systematic literature review of the use of percussion with persons with dementia in music therapy and non music therapy contexts. From 2005 to 2014, many resources were published on the use of percussion in music therapy and non music therapy contexts for persons with dementia. This review examines the literature in terms of the professionals, the stages of dementia, the prevalence of group versus individual settings, the percussion instruments described, the experiences used, the goals targeted, and the results of experimental studies on the use of percussion for persons with dementia. The findings may serve as a resource for clinicians, students, and researchers, and has the potential to increase knowledgeable use of diverse percussion interventions in music therapy and non music therapy contexts for persons with dementia.