Opening Hearts With Music at Greenwood Assisted Living

Saturday, December 28th 2024

By: Charlotte Hendrey

Today, before I began playing the piano, I turned to my right to ask a kind guest of Greenwood Assisted Living if she had a nice Christmas. With a soft but melancholy smile, she replied "no".

But, when I told her that I was going to play Christmas music on the piano, her mood completely changed. Even before I started playing, a smile grew on her face and she became very excited.

Once I started playing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", she started singing along! Many of the residents are non verbal, and tend to keep to themselves. But, the Christmas music opened them up. Once one resident started singing, the gentleman (on the right) joined in too! Soon, my fingeres found themselves repeating the song on, and both of the guests kept singing along. The other residents who are non-verbal were still able to sit and listen to the music, and one was even humming along.

"That was fun!", the lady told me. I was happy to lighten up her Christmas. Then, I asked her if she would like me to read a Christmas poem out loud. She nodded eagerly, and requested that I read "Twas the Night Before Christmas". I smiled and told her about how when I was little, my dad would read me that poem every Christmas Eve, and she told me that her mother read it to her too! When I began to recite the poem, she joined me. She said it all from memory, which is a big accomplishment for a patient with dementia. Together, we said the whole poem together, while the rest of the residents listened.

I've found that when I bring in memories from the residents' childhoods, they engage more. In a past blog post, I wrote about the time I included older music in the Chair Yoga that I led, and the residents participated more than ever before. Their dementia makes it difficult for them to remember things, but early memories, from their childhood, are easiest for their minds to access. So sparking their early memories during activities can bring them into the present moment, which comforts them and makes them happy.