Power in Music.

Abstract

Growing up, I often heard the saying there is “power in music.” Even though I greatly enjoy the art form, that sentiment always struck me as more of an abstract notion, perhaps even a platitude. However, it wasn't until my first year in medical school, when I spent the spring working on a research study at a residential care facility, that I was afforded the opportunity to witness music's true power. This project aimed to examine the ability of music to impact those living with memory loss. The therapeutic power of using individualized music playlists in nursing homes has been established in the research literature, and it has been powerfully depicted in popular films like Michael Rossato-Bennettʼs 2014 documentary Alive Inside. My study sought to build on this work by evaluating a shared experience of music enjoyed not only by a person living with dementia but also their caregiver. One group of participants left an especially lasting impression. Mr. and Mrs. B had enjoyed a long life together, but in recent years, Mrs. B had developed dementia. As it worsened, Mr. B came to the difficult realization that he was no longer able to care for her on his own. By the time I was fortunate to meet the couple, Mrs. B was living in a memory care unit and her husband was visiting several times a day. Yet even with this new challenge, they seemed to be adjusting to their new normal and were excited to join the study. Mr. B hoped that playing some of his wife's favorite music would cheer her up or at least introduce some variety to her days. We worked together to create his wife's personalized music playlist, and he put great care into his selections that largely encompassed rock classics from the 1950s and 1960s. The first few sessions unfolded in a similar fashion. The couple would sit through the music together in a private gathering room exchanging smiles periodically as the songs played from a speaker plugged into my iPhone. They appeared to enjoy themselves, but at the end of the session it just felt like listening to music, nothing more. Then, on a warm spring day, I met the couple outside the facility for a music session. As always, Mrs. B sat there with a smile on her face as the first songs played. When the third song, “Jailhouse Rock” by Elvis Presley, began, however, Mrs. B leaned forward in her seat and moved her hands along a nearby table as if she was stroking the piano keys herself. Her husband looked at her, then at me, and we both turned back toward her as we watched in astonishment. When the fourth song played, now she had graduated to a little finger wag and some foot tapping to Bobby Dayʼs “Rockinʼ Robin.” As the music continued, Mrs. B danced along in her own unique way as her husband watched with a happier expression than I had ever seen. Over the next few visits, the pattern continued. Mrs. B would begin the session with her contained enjoyment of the songs, but by the second or third number, she was grooving along with great expression. At one point during an indoor session she got up and began dancing around the room, looking out the window and smiling ear to ear as she swayed to the music. Mr. B took the lead, and suddenly the couple was two-stepping to the beat as they swung around hand in hand. It was a beautiful sight to see, and it floored me that this had all started by simply playing a few songs on my iPhone! Truly, the “power of music” was on display. At the end of that spring, I knew I had witnessed something special. I watched a quiet woman go from sitting in a chair passively interacting with her world to a lively lady dancing around the room. So too had I witnessed her husband enjoying every step of that transformation as well. All this had been accomplished simply by pressing “play” on a device and letting the ancient art form do the rest.