Static Live Magazine February 2019

IFSTEI’OOHA’VRNARVEEEDTG HEARD THAT SONG BCEAFNODRBIE
BECBYUEY CANDICE BEU
Music plays such an integral part in our everyday
lives and in how we retain the memories we make
throughout a lifetime. It also plays a big part in connecting
people in healing ways. Recently someone
close to me was given the diagnosis of early onset
Alzheimer’s. Because of this I attended a local seminar
on Alzheimer’s and other types of Dementia led
by the insightful Doctor of Nursing Science, Ann M.
Mayo. Afterwards a bunch of us privately discussed
the role of caregivers and music therapy for patients
and families facing this disease. This event led me to
do my own investigating into how I, as a caregiver
and a musician, can better use music in my home
and community to stimulate brain functioning and a
sense of well being in myself, patients and caregivers
alike. In my research I found a recent study by neuroscientist
Linda McGuire on the cognitive and physiological
responses of Alzheimer’s patients to music.
Although a decline in brain function and memory
loss are often symptoms of dementia, most patients
in her study demonstrated a remarkable ability to
remember lyrics and melodies of popular songs from
their past such as “Somewhere over the Rainbow”,
“When you wish Upon a Star” as well as tunes from
various musicals like “The Sound of Music” and “Oklahoma”.
According to her 4 month study involving singing
sessions with patients at an east coast care facility,
she wrote, “Musical aptitude and music appreciation
are two of the last remaining abilities in patients with
Alzheimer’s.” Upon learning this gem, I’ve been contemplating
ways to utilize this knowledge to the best
of my ability in my caregiving services and in my
own self care. The study also suggested that the act
of using one’s voice to sing along to familiar songs
(more so than just listening to music alone) can have
real benefits, both emotionally and behaviorally, on
patients and caregivers alike. When singing, listening
and visuals are all employed, patients experience the
gestalt of exercising more brain functions than usual
at one time. This has proven to elevate mood, raise
confidence and orientation levels, and create positive
interactions that are felt by everyone involved.
Jane Flynn, a colleague of McGuire’s, stated that the
act of listening sparked activity on the temporal lobe
on the right-hand side of the brain, and singing led
to more activity in the left-hand side, while watching
the class activated the visual areas of the brain. One
of the reasons McGuire and Flynn both believe that
music can often reach beyond dementia and revive
connections between a patient and their loved
ones is because those key areas of the brain that are
linked to musical memory are relatively undamaged
by the disease. Anecdotal evidence also shows us
that music definitively evokes emotion, and emotion
can bring memories to mind.
In my time as an entertainer I have seen how music
brings back the feelings of life the way nothing else
can. In my experiments with healing my own chronic
pain issues, I have found that introducing music to
everyday activities, making up little ditties to get
me through the rough patches and singing my daily
affirmations out loud to myself has often helped
me shift from a sour mood to a joyous state in mere
minutes. Perhaps caregivers can elevate their own
experience and help their patients by adding some
musical exercises into their day to day activities. The
Introduction of music may even help develop
personal rhythms between caregiver and
patient that bring memory recall to certain
repetitive daily tasks. If nothing else, it may
just make the overall atmosphere a little
more lively and joyful for everybody.
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2019-01-28 1:27:02 PM