THE DEVELOPMENT OF A QUANTITATIVE MUSIC SKILLS TEST FOR PATIENTS WITH ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

A quantitative music therapy test, the Residual Music Skills Test (RMST), was developed for measuring music behaviors of persons with probable Alzheimer's disease. The instrument was piloted with eight subjects at Vanderbilt University and the Miami VA Medical Center. It was subsequently field tested with 37 subjects in two day treatment programs in Atlanta, Georgia. Results indicated that RMST items which incorporated singing produced the highest item discrimination indices. Coefficient alpha reliability on the RMST was less satisfactory. Scores on the RMST were also correlated with scores from Folstein's Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE, 1975). Interrater reliability was high for both tests. Language subscores of the RMST and the MMSE were also highly correlated. Correlations between total scores of the RMST and the MMSE produced an r of .61, suggesting that the RMST may be measuring unique cognitive functions as compared to the MMSE.