Health Benefits of Music for Aging Seniors

Health Benefits of Music for Aging Seniors

We are here to discuss Health Benefits of Music for Aging Seniors. How Music Impact the life of Aging Seniors.

It is generally accepted that musical activity can have beneficial results for the elderly. These benefits come in different forms for different people depending on their lifestyle.

“Music therapy” is one of the well-established method of helping people. Which are physical and cognitive disabilities caused by conditions such as dementia. “MT,” as it is referred to, often involves relatively passive activities such as listening to music under controlled conditions. But it can also include singing, drumming or tapping, and playing other simple instruments like the harmonica.

Research has shown that the calming effect of music leads to better social interaction and often helps improve communication skills where they have been impaired by things like stroke or other injury or illness.

Attendees are encouraged to join in singing, clapping and dancing to old familiar standards. This type of musical experience provides a pleasant and enjoyable social interaction, a valuable bit of physical activity and a rush of positive emotional stimulation.

Can seniors benefit from playing musical instruments?

Listening to your fav music can be emotionally stimulating, but it is a relatively passive activity. Can seniors benefit from being more actively involved in making music – for example, singing or playing a musical instrument?

Of course, a lot depends on the senior and the instrument. Many seniors have physical limitations that prevent them from playing the violin or guitar. But those same people can benefit from participating in a drum circle.

Participants in activities like this quickly become involved in making music, having fun with musical activity, dancing, singing and chanting.

As Shannon Rattigan says,

If the facilitated drum circle is presented correctly, within 10 minutes everyone can play the drum rhythm together… The key is to set the right tone, to make it playful and fun. You can improvise, play and just have fun. Like us when we were kids.
Can this be done with other tools?

Again, a lot depends on the senior and the instrument.

Many older people played a musical instrument when they were younger and stopped playing when family and work intervened. I often read comments on music instruction forums from older guys (most of them seem to be men) who picked up a guitar after it had been sitting in a closet for 40 years.

Yes, 40 years! That’s not an exaggeration. I am an example. I played guitar and trumpet in my 10s and twenties and didn’t actively pick them up again until I was 60.

The motivation for me was the opportunity to teach some of my grandchildren a little of what I knew. And that led to many opportunities to perform with them at family gatherings. And of course this led to the joy that comes with watching children become talented musicians in their own right.

The point is that it is possible to brush up old talent if the circumstances are right. One option is to revive old talents and play in a small, informal band with friends or family.

A retirement community seems like an ideal place for a group of people to come together to make music together in a more structured way—say, like a choir or a small band.

An enterprising social director in a senior community can even create a larger band – using regular musical instruments or simple instruments such as whistles, accordions and various percussion (drums, tambourines, shakers, wooden blocks, etc.)

Playing traditional musical instruments

Is it realistic to think that a person who is 70 or 80 years old can continue to play a traditional musical instrument such as the keyboard, guitar or trumpet? Or could he learn a whole new instrument – ​​for example keyboard or banjo, harmonica or even saxophone or guitar?

Again, it depends on the circumstances in which a person finds herself – especially her physical limitations. Many aging people lose flexibility in their hands. They may have sore backs or hips that make it difficult to sit in the positions required by some instruments. And often an elderly person has problems with vision or hearing.

If none of these things hold you back, then why not go for it!

Learning to play an instrument like the piano, keyboard – even in the most basic way – has real benefits. It provides enjoyment, mental stimulation and a sense of achievement. And that can be enough incentive to take on (and stick with) a project like learning to play a musical instrument.

But playing for fun is often not enough to keep you going. Playing a musical instrument or even singing in a small ensemble almost inevitably involves the opportunity to perform for others – usually friends, family or fellow community members.

In other words, it’s often just the prospect of performing for others that keeps musicians going. Taking music lessons when you’re a kid almost always involves a “recital” to show off what you’ve learned. Without rehearsing a recital, it begins to seem pointless.

There is no reason to think that it should be any different for a senior. My father played the violin in church for at least 50 years and it was those “shows” that kept him interested in playing. As his skills began to deteriorate and the invitations to play dried up, so did his interest in playing at all.

It is performances like this that provide the incentive to improve and learn new material, or for an older person to maintain skills acquired earlier in life.

So the question was “Can a senior like me learn a new instrument?” I would answer “Yes” to the question. Playing instrument will give you pleasure as well as mental and spiritual stimulation. And it gives you something meaningful to do with your time.

But don’t keep it to yourself. Play for friends and family. Join a group or start a band. Have fun as a musician and share the joy with others.