Piano Time For Guests with Dementia

Sunday, December 29th 2024 (Faces are blurred to respect the facility's privacy policy)

By: Charlotte Hendrey

Today I played piano for the guests at Windchimes Memory Care. The guests can zone out (due to their dementia), but I have found that playing music for them brings them back into the present moment. They were listening with intention, and whenever I finished a piece I would look back to see them all smiling and clapping.

They really enjoyed the Christmas music that I played for them. Musical Therepy is important for people with dementia, as it not only improves their moods, but also invokes memories. I have found that playing Christmas songs, especially, has been the most engaging and effective for them. I like trying to play different kinds of music for the guests at different facilities, and noticing which types of music is best for specific people. For example, I have wrote about how a very gentle and kind guest named Charlie at another facilitiy is very connected to the composer Bach, so I always play Invention 13 by Bach for him, which he loves. But, the residents at other facilities really like the Christmas music, and I have also written in my last blog post about how the residents at Greenwood Assisted Living were singing along to the Christmas music that I played.

My point is that all residents are their own person, with their own memories and emotions. Music is a great tool to bring out those memories, and therefore improving their moods, and in some cases, deeply effecting them emotionally. Whenever I play piano for the residents, there has always been a positive effect on their mood. This just goes to show how an act as simple as playing an instrument can make all the difference.