The Miracle of Music

By: William Goodwin ’28

Studies suggest that music improves memory, brings back old memories, and improves mood of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Under the direction of Mrs. Sally Zehnter,  Mr. Daniel Haslbauer, and Mr Joe. Wasserman, a small group of Chaminade students recently visited LIAD (Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center) where they had the honor of working with some of their patients while learning about how music helps memory loss. 

LIAD is a medical facility that works with patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. They also support the patients’ families and offer respite for caregivers.  

Prior to meeting the patients at LIAD, students met after school for a training session with Chaminade social worker and Jam Band moderator Mr. Joe Wasserman, Mrs. Connie Wasserman, a social worker who specializes in eldercare and works with Goidel Law Group, and Chaminade Fine Arts Chair Mrs. Zehnter  for a training session to understand the program’s  goals and what to expect when interacting with the patients and their caregivers. 

On their first visit to the center in April, students met the patients they would be working with as well as some of their caregivers and family members. They discussed which types of music each patient enjoys as well as some memories the patient might associate with certain songs.  Students then returned to Chaminade to create personalized playlists to save on SD cards to use with headphones donated by the Goidel Law Group.  The key points of the headphones are that they require neither a Wi-Fi connection nor Bluetooth, and they are wireless, making them easy to use once the individualized musical playlist is loaded.   

In May, the students delivered the headphones and taught the caregivers how to use them. Once the music played, the transformations began. “The minute my patient started playing the music I set up for him, his mood brightened instantly and he started speaking more and humming the music. His daughter said it was the happiest she had seen him in weeks,” said William Goodwin ‘28. 

Other patients started tapping their feet or fingers; some sang along, smiled, laughed, and relaxed their bodies. Many patients reminisced about points in their lives that the music reminded them of.  Chaminade social worker and assistant moderator of the Jam Band, Mr. Wasserman, also saw a dramatic change in the patient with whom we worked. His patient was unresponsive and slumped over in her wheelchair in the beginning but began to sit up and move around to the music. Another patient was initially agitated and wanted to leave, but listening to the music calmed him, and he was happy listening to his music while walking around the building.

After the success of the program, the next Miracle of Music event has already been set up to take place at Plattdeutsch Senior Living Center in September, and everyone involved is excited to see this collaboration between Jam Band, Emmaus and our elder community grow.

What students, moderators, and caregivers witnessed was the miracle of music. While it might not be a cure, the sound of a familiar song can find memories lost but not forgotten. Music can be a bridge to a life well lived.