Senior Sing Along

The Marvels of Music in Senior Care

It’s no secret—the power of music. But the secrets it unlocks have sometimes been buried for years.

Sarah* was once a beautiful pianist. Her days were filled with performing and teaching. But her musical past was just that…her past. As she grew older, the sound of her music began to fade. Until finally, dementia seemed to drain from her the passion and ability that once drove her.

In her senior years, dementia also claimed her independence. With a nursing care facility as her home, her days were quiet, unexceptional, predictable. To most, her lifetime as a pianist was unknown, like a well-kept secret. Until along came Senior Sing A-Long’s Tuned In program, which provides digital music players loaded with personalized playlists to people with dementia, like Sarah.

When a set of headphones was placed over her ears, the sounds of classical piano music—songs she once knew and loved—began coursing through her being. And Sarah was transformed.

Her body relaxed. Her smile shone. Her hands and fingers began moving along with the music, as if she were remembering the chords. Her joy quickly spread to her caregivers as they watched with amazement, witnessing a hidden passion within Sarah trying to surface.

Each time Sarah was given the headphones, her reactions intensified. She became more and more animated. And then one day she began to dance, her feet guiding her to the piano across the room. It was then that the music inside her finally escaped through her fingers, and Sarah the pianist found herself once again.

Sarah is one of many who are rediscovering themselves through Senior Sing A-Long’s therapeutic, music-based programming. The local nonprofit infuses new life into more than 65 nursing care, assisted living and other senior communities in West Michigan. Through a combination of programs, seniors of all abilities and circumstance can enjoy live concerts and performances, group and individual music therapy, and Tuned In’s personalized playlists. And it’s all available at no charge to the individual, within the comfort and familiarity of their own residence.

Music can unearth memories and joys stored deep inside the soul. It can break through layers of confusion, illness, depression and isolation the way nothing else can. It is the key to freeing those who have been trapped inside their own minds by the cruel effects of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. And it is how Senior Sing A-Long is changing senior care in West Michigan.

For more information or to get involved, visit www.seniorsingalong.org. You can also contact Senior Sing A-Long by phone at 616.538.8590.

*Name changed for anonymity