“You can’t carry a tune with a bucket, stick to medicine,” my grandmother used to say. She said it with love… I think. I didn’t take offense; she was right. After all, my brief piano career ended the day I tried to play while wearing baseball cleats. Let’s just say, it was not my piano teacher’s finest hour or my family’s.
The truth is, most of us aren’t destined to be virtuosos. But we all know when music moves us—whether it’s a soaring symphony, a pop song, or that one tune that takes you straight back to your youth. At Waveny, I’ve witnessed firsthand how music doesn’t just stir emotions—it heals. It unlocks memories that dementia may have hidden and brings moments of clarity, joy, and peace to our residents.
Science agrees. Recent studies reaffirm musical memory doesn’t really fade with age and that music can jog memories even better than food. Ok, maybe not for my mother’s side of the family. The smell of apple pie usually brings everyone back to Grandma’s kitchen.
What I like to call “tuning the dial” is our way of unlocking those memories. Our musicians and activity staff meet residents where they are, finding the right song for the right moment. One note, one familiar lyric, and suddenly a mother can sing every word of her favorite song from decades ago. She remembers the car she was driving or the dance with her spouse, the dress she was wearing, or the sing-along and laughter of her children in the back seat. All because the music found its way through.
Moments like these remind us that healing isn’t always in a prescription. Our therapists, volunteers—many of whom are musicians tune the dial every day, creating these priceless moments of connection. In doing so, they bring not just music, but calm, comfort, and a little bit of magic to every soul they reach.