Posts Tagged ‘Music is good medicine’

A guitar is wonderful for sound but often gets jostled and bumped in hallways and doorjams. A ukelele is so easy to carry around and play. I learned to play one a few months ago and it has been invaluable! It is most enjoyable to go room to room and sing to whoever is there, if invited in. It is especially fun if family members are hanging out. We reminisce and play songs from the past. A most recent favorite is “You get a line and I’ll get a pole and we’ll go fishin’ in the crawdad hole.” Many times, we put new words to familiar tunes, like “Down by the Riverside”. Much conversation comes between songs.

Pictured is a percussion circle in an Alzheimer’s unit. We started by taking lots of time to pass the African drum around, feeling and smelling the hide stretched across the top, the ties, and rubbing our hands over the carvings at the bottom. One on one we echo as the others watch. As we get in the flow, more instruments are introduced (shakers, bells, etc.) We experiment with sounds as we sing various songs. Rhythm is something that is quite active beyond mental capabilities. It expresses the inner soul.