[Dixielandjazz] Nursing home gigs

[nvickers1 at cox.net]

Steve Barbone wrote:

An elderly gentleman had not uttered a word for several years, so the chief
nurse told me. He just sat and stared. We play familiar tunes at these
events and started on "My Blue Heaven". Somehow that made a connection and
the old guy started to sing it. He sang it perfectly.

Very moving experience. The more of them we play, the more we find out that
music makes a connection to these people, when mere words or actions.

Vickers' response:

I have seen this myself a few times. But first an anecdote from medical school days.  Professor of neuroanatomy was talking about disabled and elderly Englishmen who had been moved to the countryside to escape to London blitz.  One person had a stroke and hadn't spoken in months.  When the German bombers flew over their village on the way to London, the man raised his cane and uttered a string of cursewords to the sky.

The hospital in which I practiced had a nursing home attached.  One morning a week the chaplain, himself an amateur musician, would assemble some of the patients for a "memories" session which would include music.  One elderly woman was sitting in the wheelchair with eyes closed.  Hadn't spoken or looked around the entire time that I'd observed her.  They sang "Take me out to the Ballgame."  The woman opened her eyes, sang all the words.
When it was over, the slumped over and closed her eyes as before.  To my knowledge, she never spoke again.

Simple, layman's explanation of this-- some imbedded memories are in a different part of the brain.

Thanks for listening.

Norman Vickers