They sat in silence. Some sleeping. Some dozing off. Others held a slight glazed look. They were anticipating something and then they weren’t, because some were not sure what to expect.
I told the residents from the Friendship House my first song was a classic Bob Denver, and most of them may know it. If they did, to please sing along during the chorus if they liked.
As I started to strum the guitar and began singing, I watched as those who appeared to have been sleeping started tapping their fingers and toes. Others sat up taller in their wheelchairs or from the couch. Smiles broke out and some even joined in the chorus, “I’m leaving on a jet plane…”
Moments earlier the room had been still and down. In a blink it became filled with a joyfulness. I’m a mediocre guitar player and an even more mediocre singer but it doesn’t matter to the residents of the Friendship House, they don’t judge. It’s the song, the guitar, the rhythm. It stokes the internal memories.
It doesn’t matter what stage of dementia you are in; music brings those memories to the forefront. Music is like a time machine of sorts. Songs bring us back to a high school dance, a vacation. Our first date. A wedding. Maybe a breakup or the best day you ever had. Music has an impact that lasts all our lives.
If we’re feeling low, music can bring us up. It can calm you down. It can excite you. Improve your emotions. Help physically and mentally.
Music can help improve our memory as well. In can release neurochemicals that help with brain function. Lower your stress and reduce depression.
There’s been research our memories of music are from a separate part of the brain from our other memories. For that reason, dementia patients can recall songs as opposed to other parts of the brain that are being affected with the disease.
You don’t need a study to see the benefits of music, whether it be a piano, ringing bells or just having a singalong. And when songs with a bigger beat are performed or played on the radio, those capable, the residents of the Friendship House will get up and dance, sporting large smiles. Eyes gleaming.
There are numerous studies showing music can have a significant impact on cognitive health. On one occasion I was playing and watched a resident who never showed expression or emotion begin to cry and then break into a big smile.
People with dementia may have their memories buried in the deep corners of the mind, but it’s still there. I try and look past the person I see before me and imagine what they were like before coming to a place like the Friendship House: working at a job, family dinners, enjoying a night at the movies, spending holidays with family.
It can feel like it was only weeks ago when their world was different. Life moves quickly. We keep telling ourselves we need to appreciate the moments we have. We also need to reflect on the lives of those afflicted with dementia of what they’ve lost.
Music is a way to pull us all together.