Memory and Music

As a caregiver to my husband, who suffered from Alzheimer’s for 12 years, I can honestly say that the best therapy was music. It was magical to see Ed’s eyes light up when he heard any of his favorite songs or arias. Invariably he would sing along or pick up an “air baton” to conduct. Most people learn Christmas carols as children and these wonderful tunes can bring back memories instantly. It doesn’t matter if it’s Christmas or a summer-drenched day. The memories and enjoyment of the music and lyrics are the magical prescription. There are sentimental favorites that most people react to such as “Somewhere over the rainbow”. (For old-timers it might even be “Mairzy Doats”.)

Music worked so much better than any of the medications he was given to slow the progress of the disease. He might not have been able to tell you what day of the week it was, but he could sit at the piano and sight-read a complex piece of music without difficulty. He owned an enormous collection of music books which he treasured and used constantly. He loved playing songs from Rodgers & Hart, Rodgers & Hammerstein and Cole Porter. He happily plowed through Mozart, Bach and Satie. He would even revisit Czerny to keep up his technique. Sometimes he would play the “Va Pensiero” aria from “Nabucco” and sing it as beautifully as any opera star onstage at the Met or La Scala.

Neurologists will make suggestions to caregivers about the importance of keeping the patient engaged and active. They will recommend the use of crossword puzzles and games. Unfortunately, their advice and medication such as Aricept, Namenda and the Exelon Patch have limited value. We would often read together. We bought two books of the same title – for instance we would buy an edition of “Gone with the Wind” in Italian and one copy in English. Ed would read a couple of pages in Italian and I would repeat the same pages in English. He felt good about keeping up with languages he had spoken as a student. He loved working on a Japanese workbook – often stopping to draw ideographs and explaining their meanings. He grew tired of puzzles and stopped trying to work the New York Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle a few years back.

I found that a daily visit and walk around Lake Balboa with its multitude of ducks, geese, swans and cormorants was much more rewarding and beneficial for us both than medications. The finest therapy? Music, of course.