Hi, my grandmother has been living with dementia for the past 10 years, and I have recently started visiting her nursing home to play the piano, specifically songs she may have known from her childhood, e.g Auld Lang syne, Danny boy, I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy. From doing this I have noticed that despite her dementia she was able to flawlessly remember the lyrics of most of the songs and I was wondering if anyone has had similar experiences with music and its ability to help with dementia.
Music for Dementia.
- Thread starter FinnH
- Start date
Hi @FinnH and welcome to the forum.
Yes, the power of music to help people challenged with dementia is well known here.
There is a long standing member who runs a successful dementia choir.
I know with my own mum if she hears a favourite song she'll happily sing along word perfect, despite having great difficulty speaking words now, at any great length.
I originally thought it must be because a part of the brain that deals with music remains undamaged. But I read a while back that music is one thing that engages all the brain. Who knows.
Yes, the power of music to help people challenged with dementia is well known here.
There is a long standing member who runs a successful dementia choir.
I know with my own mum if she hears a favourite song she'll happily sing along word perfect, despite having great difficulty speaking words now, at any great length.
I originally thought it must be because a part of the brain that deals with music remains undamaged. But I read a while back that music is one thing that engages all the brain. Who knows.
Music does indeed stimulate the brain, but that is because musical memory and other things associated with music is stored in a different part of the brain and has connections to lots of other parts of the brain.
That's why it's easier to remember words if they are attached to music and why people can often sing, even when they can no longer speak
That's why it's easier to remember words if they are attached to music and why people can often sing, even when they can no longer speak
Absolutely 💗 I have seen residents who are seemingly non verbal sing along to every song and smile with clear enjoyment. Dad does karaoke and whilst he cannot learn new songs he sings from his memory bank if you like. Music seems to reach people.
My husband has always loved music and we listen to Greatest Hits radio, he can still name songs,groups and context of their music when he doesn't know what day it is.
His home has singers come in and I have seen non verbal residents sing and also cry when a song touches them.
Keep it up @FinnH you are doing a really great thing
His home has singers come in and I have seen non verbal residents sing and also cry when a song touches them.
Keep it up @FinnH you are doing a really great thing
Hello @FinnH , my husband has Alzheimer's and has been in a care home since January. We have bought him an Alexa which my son installed in his room and has linked it to his phone. This particular model has an inbuilt camera which we can switch on remotely and see what's going on in my husband's room, which has been informative on occasion - not for any bad reasons but just to keep us aware of how he is being cared for, what has to be done for him and what he can manage for himself.
My husband can't instruct the Alexa or ask it to play anything in particular but the staff can - and do - and my son has made a playlist of songs and pieces of music which he always liked. That can also be switched on and off remotely. It also keeps a record of everything that is played on it, plus the times when it's used so that is useful too.
I would really recommend getting one - I think it's the Echo 8 or something similar. The staff are aware of the camera, which is no bad thing,
Prior to my wife having dementia I played in a ukulele group and we went around local care homes playing. It was amazing to watch the dementia patients smiling, clapping 👏 and singing along. I'm now planning to go back to the groups practice sessions hoping she'll participate in the singing.
