Parkinson’s disease: the project that turns physical tremors into music | Fantastic

Brazilians help transform Parkinson’s tremors into music

Diagnosed with Parkinson’s, five English people who did not know each other were selected to participate in an unusual project: transforming the physical tremors characteristic of the disease into music (see video above).

The disease affects more than 10 million people worldwide — a number that is expected to double in the next ten years.

The project was born at the agency of São Paulo publicist Ricardo Wolff, who lives in Berlin.

“He had an idea basically looking at the visual of the sound curve and said: ‘Wow, this is similar to the tremors. It was time to knock on the door of UCL (University College London) and, luckily, there is someone behind the door”, Wolff told Fantástico this Sunday (28).

That someone was neurologist Christian Lambert, who immediately embarked on the project.

“I spent a lot of time trying to understand why this disease presents itself in such variable ways, and it seemed like a good idea to marry the visible and invisible symptoms,” he explained.

The patients chosen to participate in the first experiments were of different ages, ethnicities and stages of the disease. The tremors were measured in June last year, in the neuroscience department at UCL, one of the best universities in the United Kingdom.

The volunteers used a type of watch that captures the tremors.

“We used a chip called an accelerometer that measures vibrations. It’s exactly the same one we have on our cell phones to measure, for example, how many steps we take in a day. Then we recorded patients making different movements that activated different tremors “, said the neuroscientist.

O Fantastic interviewed patients to understand the impact of the disease on their lives. And there’s a lot to understand — although tremors are the first association when hearing about Parkinson’s, they don’t appear in all patients. There are more than 40 symptoms.

“I have difficulty swallowing, my posture has changed, the expressiveness of my face has decreased, I don’t smile as much as I used to. Parkinson’s is always present”, reported John Chandler.

At 68, he was skeptical about the project. He suspected that the result might be amateurish.

But he didn’t know Wonder Bitten, born in Londrina and raised in Curitiba, but who has lived in Berlin, Germany for five years, where he opened a music production company.

“For each patient, we had several different waves, because there were two wrists, two ankles. So each patient had several waves that we could direct, directing that patient’s music. And music is a wave.”

Each composition respected the person’s taste, as Bitten explains.

“We did it based on a long interview with each of the participants. (…) They talked about their preferences, whether they listen to music a lot or not, what kind, how music influences their daily life, if not. “

And the result was impressive.

“My music captured the high-spirited side of my personality. Parkinson couldn’t steal that from me”, said one of the participants.

“My symptoms change when I get emotional. And there’s nothing more emotional than music,” said another.

For Lambert, the project’s greatest achievement is showing the individuality of each person’s disease and ways to adapt and live with Parkinson’s.

“There are many ways to treat symptoms. It’s not just medicine. This is a more holistic treatment approach. We need to find the right combination for each person.”