Drumming with BEAT: a pilot study on the impact of drum set playing on motor control and quality of life in Parkinson's disease

Various interventions have been proposed to improve motor and non-motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Rhythm-based music interventions have the advantage of addressing multifaceted rehabilitation needs, especially those that use set drumming to induce structural coordination of the limbs, which can provide motor, cognitive, and psycho-emotional benefits. This pilot case series examined the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a seated drum set intervention—referred to as the BEAT program (Bilateral Engagement through Active Drumming in Music Therapy) in three community-dwelling adults with idiopathic PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages 2–3). Participants completed ten 30-minute sessions over 6 weeks using an acoustic drum set programmed with structured rhythmic exercises that progressively increased in complexity. Pre/post assessments included the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go (TUG), 9-Hole Peg Test (9HPT), Box and Block Test (BBT), MIDI-based drum tapping synchronization, Trail Making Test (TMT A/B), Korean Color Word Stroop Test (K-CWST), Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39), and Korean Geriatric Depression Scale (K-GDS). Semi-structured interviews were also conducted. Across the three cases, participants showed generally favorable changes in balance and upper limb dexterity, along with selected improvements in cognitive test performance. In contrast, depression and quality-of-life scores showed mixed patterns, despite consistently positive accounts of motivation, enjoyment, and perceived functional benefits in the interviews. These preliminary findings suggest that a therapeutic approach to drum set playing may be a feasible and individually adaptable rehabilitative strategy for people living with PD, warranting further evaluation in larger, controlled trials.