Objective: Tremors Vs. Tremors is a creative engagement project exploring the intersection between music, mood and tremor. The objective was to raise awareness of Parkinson’s variability and the importance of an individualised and holistic approach to management.

Background: Parkinson’s is a highly variable condition, yet this remains poorly understood by the general public. Tremors are one of the more obvious features, yet there are many other non-motor symptoms that affect each person differently [2]. Tremors can be difficult to treat [3] and may be influenced by mood disorders such as anxiety [1]. Music can significantly impact our affect, and like Parkinson’s, musical taste is unique to each person. In collaboration with creative agency Innocean Berlin and audio company DaHouse, we used music as an innovative way to communicate the variable nature of Parkinson’s, both visible and hidden, to a general audience at a national scale.

Method: A representative group of five people with Parkinson’s and tremor were invited to UCL to have their tremors recorded using accelerometers.  They described their personal experiences living with Parkinson’s and relationship with music. Their tremograms [figure 1] were then used to modulate signals from instruments/melodies [figure 2] and five bespoke songs were composed, each inspired by the individual interviews. The participants were invited back to listen to their song and their first reactions captured.

Results: The project and documentary can be found at: https://www.tremorsvstremors.com/.

Each song is bespoke, reflecting both the physical properties of each person’s tremor, but also their own unique experience of living with Parkinson’s. It was released at the start of Brain Awareness Week and attracted significant media coverage in major UK news outlets.

The participant’s reactions were positive, one said: “I found it really powerful, very moving as you can tell, it made me think about how strong I am” [figure 3]. Another said “I feel a physical change in my symptoms when I have an emotional reaction to things. And there’s nothing more emotional than music that’s based on me.”

Conclusion: We released a widely disseminated awareness campaign. Our objective was to communicate the variable nature of Parkinson’s and importance of broad holistic approaches to management. The album is available to stream on major platforms (Apple Music, Spotify) with royalties donated to Parkinson’s UK.

References: [1] Blundell, E.K., Grover, L.E., Stott, J. and Schrag, A., 2023. The experience of Anxiety for people with Parkinson’s disease. npj Parkinson’s Disease, 9(1), p.75.
[2] Chaudhuri, K.R., Healy, D.G. and Schapira, A.H., 2006. Non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease: diagnosis and management. The Lancet Neurology, 5(3), pp.235-245.
[3] Pirker, W., Katzenschlager, R., Hallett, M. and Poewe, W., 2023. Pharmacological treatment of tremor in Parkinson’s disease revisited. Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, 13(2), pp.127-144.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/tremors-vs-tremors-the-first-music-album-from-parkinsons-tremors/