How music can help people living with Parkinson's

Mick Broad said music can take him "anywhere, anywhere at all"

A passionate rave and prog rock fan with Parkinson's disease who teamed up with a composer to create a new piece of music said the end result made him feel "whole".

Mick Broad has taken part in research by Manchester's Royal Northern School of Music (RNCM) into the way music can support people living with the condition.

The project sees people living with Parkinson's working with composers to create music which reflects their own personalities and love of music.

Composer Emily Howard, who worked with Mr Broad, said he had emailed her "about 200 examples of 90s rave songs" before she composed his piece.

"And I listened to them all, and also some 70s prog rock," she said.

Hearing the composition played on the piano, Mick described it as "powerful" and "absolutely excellent".

He is a self-avowed fan of both rap and house music, or anything with a "big, powerful bass".

Music can "take you anywhere, anywhere at all", he added.

Composer Emily Howard said she wanted Mick's piece to "break the mould"

Ms Howard said Mick's taste had "resonated with her", inspiring her to compose something "energetic and passionate that broke the mould".

The piece was premiered alongside other collaborations created with Parkinson's patients at a concert arranged by the the RNCM.

Dr Michelle Phillips from the RNCM said the college was "ideally placed" for the project collaborating with people with Parkinson's "so we can learn more about how music features in their lives".

She is leading a five-year study into how music can help those with Parkinson's manage their symptoms, mood, and daily routine.

What is Parkinson's?

Parkinson's is a degenerative condition which affects how your brain communicates with the muscles in the body.

The three main symptoms, external of Parkinson's are a tremor, slowness of movement and muscle stiffness.

A person with Parkinson's can also experience a wide range of psychological problems.

In the UK, about 153,000 people are already living with the illness.

In 2023, it was estimated that, external more than 4,000 of those were in Northern Ireland.