Heartwarming video of dad with dementia improvising on piano goes viral

Video report by ITV News Meridian's Malcolm Shaw


A heartwarming video of a father with dementia improvising on the piano has gone viral.

Paul Harvey, a composer and teacher, was diagnosed with dementia last year.

His condition is getting worse, however his ability to improvise remains unaffected, as he can prove when his son Nick gave him four notes to play with.

It comes as Monday (21 September) marks World Alzheimer's Day, with around 850,000 people currently living with dementia in in the UK.

Nick, from Uckfield in East Sussex, says his father often "seems lost" but that he is never "more present when playing the piano."

He says: "I genuinely felt so privileged to be in the same room as him when he came up with that. Honestly it was an amazing moment."

Nick shared a video of Paul's piano skills on social media, which has now been viewed more than 1.5 million times.