How Harrogate man and finalist of Channel 4's The Piano Duncan Goodwin manages Alzheimer's with music

Duncan, from Harrogate, developed Alzheimer’s disease several years ago and, although he can sometimes struggle with daily tasks, his ability to play the piano has never been affected – so much so that he was a finalist on the Channel 4 TV show The Piano, which invites talented amateur pianists to play live at UK train stations.

Duncan regularly performs with his wife Fran, who sings whilst he plays, at the local church and he is also a professional pianist at charitable events and local venues around Harrogate.

Speaking alongside Fran, to whom he has been married for 43 years, Duncan said: “I do feel that I’ve been luckier than most when I’ve had an illness. Like what I’m doing now – I’m incredibly lucky to be able to play like I can. I play an hour or two every day – I never feel that it’s practising, I’m just enjoying myself on the piano.

“Whilst I can sometimes not remember what I need to put on in the morning, my piano playing is never affected – my musical ability is an area on its own. Even if we’ve been away and I’ve not played for a while, I can always get straight back to it.”

Duncan also uses his music skills to help others with dementia, as he volunteers for an organisation called Dementia Forward, where he plays the piano at the weekly ‘singing for fun’ sessions.

He said: “When I play there, I do feel lucky as the people who come to the singing are in a much worse condition than I am. And I do think that is because of the piano and how it has helped me.”

Duncan’s Alzheimer’s was diagnosed in 2021, not long after the couple returned to the UK after living in France for 24 years.

Explained Fran: “Duncan had some problems when reading. Sometimes when reading, he would turn a page and would have no idea what he’d just read on the previous page.

“If we were in town and I would say to Duncan ‘I’ll meet you at such and such a place’ he sometimes wouldn’t quite know how to get there or get back. His reactions were slower remembering where things were.”

Duncan was referred to a memory clinic by his GP, where they did a series of tests and a brain scan which confirmed his diagnosis. Fran said: “After the scan results the psychiatrist said, ‘I have to tell you that it’s showing you have mild Alzheimer’s’. The fact he said mild Alzheimer’s was less daunting than if he’d said it was something ingrained or more serious. We took that as a positive.”

Although Duncan was prescribed medication, it took 18 months of trying different types to find a medication that was suitable and did not cause side effects. He believes the medication is helping with his condition, but he also thinks that his love of music, having a positive mental attitude, active social life and healthy lifestyle have also contributed.

He said: “I am pretty accepting of it and I feel pretty good with things. I watch television, love watching the news and have my music, which is so important. We have a social life, see friends. We have a very busy life.”

Duncan’s talent for the piano began when he started playing at the age of four or five and, although he had lessons, he soon had the unique skill of being able to play by ear.

He said: “Quite quickly I started thinking of tunes I knew and I just got the urge not to play from sheet music but rather by ear. I would know a tune and could just sit down and play it. I love playing the old stuff – the music you’d hear from the 1920s is my favourite.

“I enjoy doing my version of a song – say Chopin or one of the classics – I’ll do my own improvisation of it. If I’m learning a new song by ear it takes only a little time.”

It was through his volunteering for Dementia Forward that Duncan was asked to perform on The Piano. Fran said: “As we were leaving, one of the volunteers gave us a piece of paper from a dementia charity looking for videos of amateur pianists to put on their social media. I got in touch with them and sent them a video of Duncan playing, which they put on their social media. A few days later we were contacted by the producers of The Piano.”

Duncan was invited to perform at the Manchester episode of the programme. He played Theme for Fran, which he wrote for his wife several decades ago, and his performance won him a place in The Piano final, which aired in June.

Although married for 43 years, the couple actually first met nearly 60 years ago through work, but, due to circumstances, never got together at the time, only to realise years later they were meant to be a couple.

Fran said: “When I first met Duncan I thought ‘that’s the sort of man I’d like to marry.’ About 15 years went under the bridge and we both had marriages that ended in divorce and we eventually met again and realised we were very much in love.

“We are still very much in love and, as a partner, the most important thing is not to get frustrated and try and make the situation positive. One thing that is really important to our relationship is humour – we do laugh a lot and may even joke about the Alzheimer’s if it’s one of those days when it’s rearing its head!”

The couple also want to highlight to others the importance of coming forward early if they or a loved one thinks they may have dementia.

Fran said: “There needs to be more awareness around symptoms – any anomaly that’s a little bit different to an age-related memory problem should be flagged up to a GP.”

To find out more about dementia, go to www.letstalkdementia.co.uk – a website developed and funded by Luye Pharma Ltd that offers advice, community tools and tips for those experiencing dementia.