Name That Tune

One of the "games" the music therapists play with the participants at the daycare center for the elderly is called "name that tune." It is actually run by the music therapy intern who studied and earned a music degree from Berklee College of Music, and plays violin, viola, guitar, ukulele, and I'm sure every other instrument under the sun. Essentially, she plays on her violin a few bars of an old song that the residents might have loved in their youth, and has them try to puzzle out what it is. Once they do, she'll play more of each song so that they can sing along with the lyrics, which they often know!

It's a fantastic exercise on many levels. One, it triggers the memory. The participants recognize and identify songs that are likely many decades old and that they have not heard in a long time. They recall melodies and lyrics that they sang in their youth-- a fun and effective exercise to revive memories that sit deep within their minds. This long-term memory recall also has an emotional component, where songs from a past time in the residents' lives stir up feelings of happiness and nostalgia, or whatever other emotions they might have tied to a particular song. This is beneficial to overall well-being-- ensuring residents' happiness, and brightening their days at the center. Lastly, a key objective of playing "name that tune" is to engage the participants' focus. Many of the people at this center are often unaware of or inattentive to their surroundings, so a game that strengthens their focus and engages them so that they must pay attention is beneficial to their overall mental health and allows them to be more alert and function at a higher level throughout the day.

On Friday I have the opportunity to bring in my own violin and co-run this exercise with the music therapy intern; I am so excited to offer my own experience to the men and women at the center. I have to say, my "name that tune" repertoire doesn't really extend far beyond "Oh Suzanna," "La Vie En Rose," and "Happy Birthday." I guess it's time to add some Elvis, Sinatra, and Beatles music to the mix. Any forties, fifties, or sixties suggestions?

Stories of People and the Music that Impacted Them

Neurologic Music Therapy is known to be effective, allowing individuals to cope with and sometimes heal their mental or cognitive afflictions. Aside from these common cases of music at work in the human brain, there are also some seemingly miraculous and mind-blowing stories of music and its ability to rewire the brain.

Sam: A man in his sixties and recovering from a stroke that affected his left side, Sam experienced significant weakness that caused him to have a faltering gait where his left foot would drag behind him.Traditional physical therapy offered little improvement. Then Sam tried music therapy. The therapist found music that exactly matched the tempo of his stride, and after a short time, not only was Sam able to walk more normally and with confidence but to dance along the way, clicking his heels and sliding his feet. In his youth he danced at the gym, and so he applied those experiences to the present, focusing not on walking but on dancing to the rhythm. With more therapy sessions, Sam was soon able to lift his left foot off the floor, and though he was not consciously aware of it, had more control and was regaining sensation of his left side. Turn the music off though, and all progress was lost. In Sam's case, his internal rhythm, or movement of his legs, matched the external rhythm of the music to which he listened. His mechanisms for conscious movement were damaged, but through subconscious connections tied to music, he was able to move in ways previously impossible. Music therapy gave him the ability to move freely again.

Sally: Sally suffers from leukoencephalopathy, a degenerative disease that destroys the white matter of the brain. In the nursing home in which she lived, she spent her days pacing the halls and crying. In fact, her crying was the only vocalization she made; she was mute. One day, as a therapist was playing music for some other residents, Sally began to sing the full lyrics of the song, and dance along into her room. Sally's sister confirmed that Sally had loved music in her youth and would sing and play the piano for house guests, and she was blown away by her sister's transformation. The staff would sing with Sally everyday. Soon she began to regain her speech, she stopped endlessly wandering the halls, and no longer continued to cry. Music released her from her personal imprisonment in her brain.

Matt: A middle-aged man, Matt has suffered from severe Tourette Syndrome his entire life, his body wracked with uncontrollable involuntary movements, called tics, that interfered with his everyday life, and tortured him as a child, making him violent and reserved. Then he began playing the drums, and as he did so, his tics disappeared. As soon as he stops drumming, they appear again. Even so, playing the drums or simply drumming on whatever surfaces he has available, has alleviated his involuntary movements and allowed him to take control of his life again. Now he wants to help others, and has started a drumming workshop for people with Tourette's, helping them to manage a syndrome was previously thought to be uncontrollable.

Citations

Tomaino, C. (2009, May 20). Cognition ~ How Music Can Reach the Silenced Brain. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/musicinstinct/blog/cognition/how-music-can-reach-the-silenced-brain/?p=31

(2015, September 14). Retrieved March 24, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqrNEmuSCis