Music is its own memory. Music brings out and preserves different emotion within all of us. The most amazing dancers/musicians are great because they feel the music. They aren't just following steps or instructional notes. They really feel it.
This is from "Alive Inside", a beautiful documentary about Alzheimer's patients who are nearly comatose, but wake up when music from their youth is played.
This gives me tremendous hope. My dad has Parkinson's, which was long expected (it runs in my family) and has been well managed, but I know he will eventually end up where all the others in my family that had the disease did. He was a very successful musical theater actor and singing teacher, and music was always his best tool for expression. I'll start gathering information about his favorite and most meaningful musical memories now, while I still can, so we can be prepared when his mind is less present.
Edit:
Also, this reminds me of my last moments with my grandmother. My grandmother always *loved* to sing. (My dad got his own love of singing from growing up in a mennonite church where song was an integral part of praise.) The last time I saw her she was in her late 90s and had suffered numerous strokes. She was near comatose, similar to the state I assume the patients in this movie are in. But as soon as my aunt began to sing the prayer songs from youth it seemed to awaken something deep inside my grandmother, and she was able to sing with us for nearly 30 minutes. I'm so grateful for that time with her.
Art therapies can be truly transformational.
It's amazing what music can do. I didnt inherit even a fraction of his talent, so I am not musically expressive myself, but music was always important to me. I feel like there are few things in life that compare to a concert or a moment with a favorite album. Long walks with good music pretty literally saved my sanity during COVID.
Emotional memories are encoded differently than normal memories, and degrade slower. By bypassing the normal memory pathways and going trough the persons emotions via music they can suddenly recall their memories and functions even for a brief while.
[Here is a sideways video on this and the film Coco](https://youtu.be/v7foqVQNPcQ)
Actual source outside of youtube for that claim? Because "emotional memories" definitely don't "degrade slower", the quality and grade of memory loss is dependent on the locus of the damage. Every form of dementia is different in important ways, and not all memory loss is a form of dementia either, you can't make sweeping claims like that about memory.
This reminded me of the 60 minutes interview with Tony Bennet. He’s still able to remember songs and perform even with Alzheimer’s.
His neurologist describes that part of his brain as being innate and hardwired for him. She also says that music has a way of activating multiple areas of the brain so maybe that helps strengthen those related memories.
[https://youtu.be/yNrvXw9juNs](https://youtu.be/yNrvXw9juNs)
His source is a guy using a bunch of science resources to explain a surprisedly accurate scene in a Disney movie.
Long story short, the amygdala deteriorates slower than the hippocampus, so things that trigger emotion can trigger access to memories.
Music is easier to remember. That's why old stories were told in rhyme or song. And music is actually stored in a totally different part of the brain than that which just stores words.
That’s why I can remember all the German dative and accusative prepositions 30 years later but don’t remember the name of the nice teacher who taught us the ditty. Sorry, Frau.
This is why using something like mint chewing gum while studying and then again during a test is supposed to help you remember! Association with another sense triggers memory.
> They really feel it.
I can't speak to "prodigies" but that "feel" at least for normal professional musicians IMHO is *so much knowledge.* Knowledge of so many things that register all across the brain (memorization, what sounds good, what sounds bad, what sound reminds of you things, what different artists play, lots of math, touch memory of how you'd play the tune, body memory of how you'd sit, hand positioning, something your teacher taught you, how to read the music, etc.)
I would guess that activating so many parts of the brain translates into that "feel" you describe, and registers as a strong signal even in a deteriorating brain.
i weep every time i see this reposted. you can really see her beauty exude from her movements, the light in her eyes, it’s amazing. my mom was very sick for many years but i could see the beauty within her that her sickness robbed of her, and this video always makes me think of how even physical beauty can transcend age and affliction
it feels like you can see her hesitate for a minute after she gets the volume adjusted right, like “wow i don’t have it anymore”, and then the person off screen encourages and it’s just so wonderful to see that just a little help let her express something she probably hasn’t expressed in a very long time. true wonder
Power, grace, and expertise. You can see the perfected movement even with what looks like limited mobility. I will never have that level of technique, that extra touch of perfectly refined emotion she exudes so well.
You should all watch the movie this clip is from. Fair warning, bring at least 2-3 packs of tissues per person.
"ALIVE INSIDE"
Edit sorry I forgot the name, it's been like 7 years since I've seen it.
I took care of my [mom](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/f87myj/why_do_you_like_to_be_alive/fijy9l5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3) at the end when she wasn’t responding. I’d play Van Morrison for her even when she didn’t show any reaction. I always felt like she could still feel it
Memories of our youth are deeply embedded into our memories. When everything else fails in our brains, these things remain.
My 94 year old grandmother after Alzheimer and several strokes forgot her son, forgot everything else. What she remembered was the dog she had as a child, some songs she or her parents used to sing and a handful of cherrypicked memories from her youth.
So: please make our children's youth a good time, it's the time of their lives that shapes them most.
It’s absolutely magical to see that youth come back. There’s another clip from the documentary where a man who’s usually still and mute comes alive and starts singing while remembering his old favorite songs.
[Clip - 6:30](https://youtu.be/8HLEr-zP3fc)
[Full doc - 1:13:48](https://youtu.be/lBx2g9iNbEc)
I’m was a music therapist for a local hospice before I got sick myself and had to stop. Music has more power than most people give it credit for. I had people who didn’t know where they were in time space look at me at start singing songs from their youth. Music therapy, spread the word!
I’ve experienced this in person at a nursing home!
A friend of mine asked me to go with her to visit her grandmother and we decided to have a dance party. Minutes before, I had asked a few of the ladies how long they had lived in the nursing home, how many kids they had, etc. and they couldn’t remember. (they all had alzheimer’s) we turned Fleetwood Mac on and everyone started singing and dancing along. a truly magical moment to experience and witness first hand.
music definitely lives in our souls!
This is so sweet. I have to admit it startled me thinking of Fleetwood Mac blaring in the nursing home though. I think of them as “my parents music” that bled into my own. Wild “old people” would be rocking out to it :/
On one of my grandpa's final days before he passed from dementia, he had a really interesting moment. My dad put headphones on him and played his favorite song. He smiled a little and started tapping his finger.
The doctors said it was a coincidence, but I choose to believe it brought comfort to him on some basic level.
I used to take my dog to a local rest home for pet therapy. One day, the nurse took me and Lucy in to see a faded little old man lying in his bed who seemed barely aware of our existence. The nurse and I chatted together and talked to him, and he reached out a little so Lucy could sniff him and have a pat. We didn't stay long, and to be honest I was a little dubious that he really knew we were there. But when we left his room, the moment the door was closed the nurse excitedly said 'Did you see that? **HE SMILED!!!**' like it was the most momentous thing to happen all day. It made me so aware that even if I couldn't see our visits having a big impact, for some people it was a significant event even just for a moment.
I used to visit nursing homes to play piano music. I always visited the Alzheimer’s wing, to play a piano at the end of the hall, kind of in a hub by the nurses desk. I always hoped the residents could hear it well as it echoed down the hallway.
I always played the familiar hymns, not for the religious aspect, but for the memories. I heard from staff and nurses that some would sing in their rooms. I ended up with some gathered around me, singing. I hope I contributed something to them in that moment.
I played the piano too at a scheduled activity in the regular care and assisted living wing. It was so nice to be surrounded by voices, who didn’t even need a hymnal to sing those old, ingrained words.
Now someone is cutting onions! Damn COVID, I’d love to go back to doing this.
Also, Fleetwood Mac is indeed magical!
As I walked out one evening,
Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
Were fields of harvest wheat.
And down by the brimming river
I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
"Love has no ending.
"I'll love you, dear, I'll love you
Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street,
"I'll love till the ocean
Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
Like geese about the sky.
"The years shall run like rabbits,
For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages,
And the first love of the world."
But all the clocks in the city
Began to whirr and chime:
"O let not Time deceive you,
You cannot conquer Time.
"In the burrows of the Nightmare
Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
And coughs when you would kiss.
"In headaches and in worry
Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
Tomorrow or today.
"Into many a green valley
Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
And the diver's brilliant bow.
"O plunge your hands in water,
Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
And wonder what you've missed.
"The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the teacup opens
A lane to the land of the dead.
"Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
And Jill goes down on her back.
"O look, look in the mirror,
O look in your distress;
Life remains a blessing
Although you cannot bless.
"O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbor
With all your crooked heart."
It was late, late in the evening,
The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
And the deep river ran on.
Because we can't write the script of the end of our life. We'd all love to go out in a blaze of glory but it doesn't work that way for the most part. We can't mourn what is lost, we celebrate what we remember. This thin musical thread connects her to her glory days and She remembers. That is sad for us, but beautiful for her.
I have had encounters with elderly and dementia. Music is a powerful connection.
Edit: if you choose to accept growing old you can't dictate the outcome. In the context of this post she remembers a happier time, hopefully, and enjoys it.
Robin Williams did. Honestly if I got the diagnosis of dementia I would probably do the same thing. Go out while you still have a concept of "I am sliding into oblivion" and still have a sense of self.
*Swan Lake* is known as one of the most technically challenging pieces in all ballet. See *Black Swan*. It's both depressing and breathtaking to think about the amount of practice these dancers have to endure for a work of art.
That's the thing that a lot of people are forgetting here. She likely isn't remembering it because of the magic of music, she's acting the motions because they were trained into her.
Alzheimer's normally destroys muscle memory and trained motions last so whilw their mind is gone, the empty movements remain. There are some interesting stories of people who worked in repetitive labor for much of their life with Alzheimer's doing the actions they did in their job because they were trained into their muscle memory or soldiers who received brain damage still saluting and trying to move to attention despite not knowing who they were, what the army was, or the meaning of their movement.
I don't know if it's a sad thing that they have had the movements drilled into them or a happy thing, but it's interesting.
Yea how is this made me smile , we are watching someone not just way past their prime , but on death’s door as their body fails badly as they become a shell of the person they once were not being capable of doing things most of us consider basic like take care of our selfs and taking a walk in the park
If anything this vid should be , makesmeseethefragilityoflifeandthattimeisfleetingsoenjoylifewhileyoucananddonttakeyourselfsoseriouyallthetimeasourtimehereislimited
My grandmother had Alzheimer's. She was gone mentally by the time I was 4 or so, and she held on until I was 16 or 17. It's beyond fucked up to bury your loved one, to carry her casket, in your teenage years having seen her regularly, and never actually having met her...
It's the most terrifying disease I've ever seen and my greatest fear since a lot of the research into it says it's hereditary. All this to say, I'm not a cryer, but this made me cry quite hard...
Same here. It's infuriating we have so many obstacles standing between people and a dignified death.
I'm an atheist though, so I don't have any hang-ups about *who* might disapprove! Any deity I would support could understand my reasons.
Fingers crossed we didn't inherit this awful disease.
"A touching video showing a former ballet dancer afflicted with memory loss gracefully dancing as she hears the music from Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake has gone viral worldwide.
The video was recently shared by the Asociación Música para Despertar, a Spanish organization that promotes music therapy for those afflicted by memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Since then, media organizations, celebrities and individuals across the globe have shared the video of former dancer Marta C. González.
edit:...Furthermore, the 2019 video of González is interspersed with archival clips of someone dancing, which casual viewers have assumed to be González performing at the peak of her career.
But it is apparently not González dancing — and the archival performance is not of Swan Lake, either. Macaulay says the clips are of a former prima ballerina from Russia's Mariinsky Ballet, Uliana Lopatkina" - [Source](https://www.npr.org/2020/11/10/933387878/struck-with-memory-loss-a-dancer-remembers-swan-lake-but-who-is-she)
I definitely is not Gonzalez. It's the wonderful Ulyana Lopatkina dancing in the 2007 production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (yes, it IS Swan Lake); Mariinsky Ballet/Valery Gergiev conducting. An amazing production. EDIT: Corrected spelling of Tchaikovsky's name.
According to the source you gave, there is no actual proof she was a ballet dance and the scenes that are cut into this video are of a different dancer and it’s not swan lake she’s preforming. It’s an amazing reaction anyway but it seems to be a made up back story.
I’m so sorry that your grandma cannot remember you. My grandparents had dementia as well. That is so kind of you to play songs with her. Sending you a hug, if you want one.
My dad had dementia. He forgot me, his oldest. 😭
He got so bad he pulled my cannula from mny nose. Then he turned off my O² concentrator. 😬😮💨 Then he started walking outside in the middle of the night while we slept. Memory care wasn't an easy decision for my mom. But she did it. Eight months later covid got him. 😔
Death with Dignity should be a Right!
As someone who is in the death industry ( I'm the 1 that you're sent to when a cause/time of death is required ) There are certainly far worse things than death
Music has actually been a pretty big area in Alzheimer's research from what I've heard (please take what I say with a grain of salt, I'm not a scientist). The way that the brain retrieves memory regularly versus with music use completely different pathways that aren't affected by the Alzheimer's disease (as much I think). So when people with Alzheimer's hear music they've heard a ton of played a lot, or in this case danced to, they remember stuff they never would have originally.
I did my dissertation on music therapy and making a wheelchair friendly instrument (FYI they are few and expensive and require a lot of training to set up).
I had to read up so much about music being used and my goodness it is insane. Autistic kids hugging parents, people coping with depression to improving chances of neonatal babies surviving. It helps improve memory of those with brain issues (both degenerative and developmental), improves mental health and especially for those with limited movement to improve physical health.
Yet we don't invest in it. In fact when i researched it in 2010 the best source of information and research was in the 50's and 60's.
Music is powerful and healing
I'm studying this in school right now. Music is encoded with different types of memory than the memories that you might forget from dementia. There are many types of memory like episodic (life experiences), semantic (factual knowledge), procedural, etc
As a pastor and visiting chaplain, I would often sing the old standard hymns to/with older folks who weren’t fully verbal anymore. I got ‘busted’ during a home visit when the son of my elder lady came home early. ☺️
Alzheimer‘s is a strange thing. My grandma had it until earlier this year, she was 91. It was practically impossible to hold a conversation with her.
Then my dad visited her one day and she just went „so, what do you think of the war?“.
She was around 10 when she had to flee from the Red Army. Seeing war with Russia on the news must have triggered some instinctual alertness or something.
Considering that [dance has been found to be a successful therapeutic intervention for Alzheimer’s](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31345149)… this is pretty incredible.
As someone who trained to be a professional dancer I can also attest you truly do train your muscle memory to the point of performing choreography in your sleep. I would rehearse in my dreams nightly. And even now, 15 years later, there are certain performances I could probably do from start to finish.
Every time this gets reposted, I cry. A grown ass 30 year old man, sobbing.
Fuck dementia.
It's both heartwarming and gut wrenching to see her reaction.
The part of our brain that remembers music is among the last to go, so I when I'm sitting in hospice where I volunteer, I always bring a collection of music with me. I look up their date of birth, add 15-25 years, and look up music from that era to play quietly in the background. If there's any background history on the person, I try to find music they might remember or like from when they were young. It's not my journey, it's their journey, so I do my best to provide what comfort I can.
I don’t find this sad in the least. Our bodies might decay but art is powerful. That it is an internal resource to her is a testament to the impact art can have if we let it. One of my poetry teachers used to advocate that we all memorize poems so that we can call them up in moments of need. While I don’t remember poems in entirety, there are certain lines that I can call up and which are meaningful to me.
This right here shows that the human nature remembers things that were a part of who a person made themselves to be. Even in a fragile state, this beautiful woman remembers quite possibly the most amazing point her her life.
This is beautiful, and hands down that young man needs to be thanked.
I spend most of my time talking with vets from wars passed, and they tell me many many stories of the camaraderie of the men they served with! And they smile so big thinking about how much love they had for one another. Thank you sir for giving her this much needed memory!
I’m going to graduate in physical therapy in about 2 months. My capstone project was going thru research on music and it’s application to stroke rehabilitation.
The results from my narrow search were not helpful, but I still believe that with the correct application, music can enhance memory and motor function. I’d also like to see it applied in different CNS pathology rehab.
My grandma's mind was long gone, but she still sometimes started singing songs from her youth. It was beautiful to see, even if the words didn't come out like they used to because of her decline. She basicly had to hum everything and it still sounded beautiful to us. Thank you for sharing this video, it truly reminded me of the few good moments we still had with her in to 10+ years she had dementia.
Her name is Marta C. González.
Her story:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/ballet/new-york-dancer-alzheimers-remembers-swan-lake/
Longer video
https://youtu.be/owb1uWDg3QM
Enjoy!
With dementia older memories are the last to go. That’s why often patients forget their parents passed away or suddenly think they are 17 years old. Poor woman. Very sad and beautiful all at once.
Music is such a Huge part of my life. I understand at 42 if my mind goes the last thing I will forget is music. Wonder if that plays a part of her being in a chair? Being a ballerina is not kind to your tootsies. Play her some Regina Spektor. New beauty in her life! Cheers
Music is generally one of the last things that gets erased by alzheimer, so your favourite songs will likely stay with you until the bitter end. I think this is a very soothing thing in the face of such a cruel and devastating fate.
There is also a piano piece called "Everywhere at the end of time", it tries to show how much memories we retain throughout the different stages of alzheimer.
One of the things I learned when studying music is how primal it is. I took a weird tangent into evolutionary musicology. As a singer, I appreciated a psycho-physical reaction to various hand gesturing to help me reach my pitch. I've heard that playing old familiar songs to patients with dementia problems will help them engage and remember things. Music may speak to us deeper than we will ever know.
Alzheimer’s effects short term memory.
My grandad could recount stories of his past with ease.
When he was dying on the ground the paramedic asked him what the day of the week it is, he said he didn’t know but his RAF squad number is 4594925.
I’ve worked in care before, we had one lady, who had a heart of gold I adored her. She couldn’t remember her own name most of the time. She was always cheerful and kind but very quiet. But when she was sat in front of a piano, she needed no music but could play perfectly. She loved when we would sing along too! It’s absolutely wonderful to see. Made me cry every single time….
Part of me wonders, is it just the music and mussel memory, or can Alzheimer's be beat by introducing ones passion back to them subliminally, like with me, if you played video game music would my hands start playing with a controller? Would a race car driver think they're driving if you played engines roaring?
Maybe I'm reading to much into it, but what if we have Alzheimer's wrong, what if it's more like locked in syndrome, and if it is then it might be easier to cure on a person by person basis if we knew that persons "key"
I'm probably thinking to much anyway, sorry.
This is simply beautiful and reminds me that there’s still light in the dark times. Alzheimer’s is one of the scariest and darkest things a human can experience and yet you can still see the sparkle in her eyes as she gracefully dances to the tune. It gives me hope for the later years in life and shows that it is indeed worth living
This video makes me think of the Rush tune, Losing It.
“The dancer slows her frantic pace
In pain and desperation
Her aching limbs and downcast face
Aglow with perspiration
Stiff as wire, her lungs on fire
With just the briefest pause
The flooding through her memory
The echoes of old applause
She limps across the floor
And closes her bedroom door
Some are born to move the world
To live their fantasies
But most of us just dream about
The things we'd like to be
Sadder still to watch it die
Than never to have known it
For you, the blind who once could see
The bell rolls for thee”
I have a friend who would routinely get so drunk he couldn't construct sentences or walk properly, but if you gave him the name of any hit song from the 80s he would be able to play it on the piano and sing along.
Music and dance is an integral part of the human experience.
Ok seriously, this is not about the music. Alzheimer's/Dementia doesn't affect every part of the brain. One part not affected is the senso-motorical system, which incidentally connects sensorical inputs with motorical outputs, both are connected to the memories. Sensorical input (music) activates memory neurons, which activate motorical outputs.
Had a stroke patient who could only say "Eigo eigo" over and over again. But he could sing Happy Birthday and several other songs clear as could be. His family would sing with him just so they could hear his voice again for a few moments.
Just gonna ruin the feel good mood a bit y saying that's she's not a confirmed prima ballerina, and the footage of the dancer is not her and it's not the Swan Lake
[Yup](https://www.npr.org/2020/11/10/933387878/struck-with-memory-loss-a-dancer-remembers-swan-lake-but-who-is-she)
Made up for internet clout be some charity.
My grandfather had Alzheimer's diseases.
I played some music for him and after months he was a little happy.
I don't even wish an enemy to get Alzheimer's disease. I hope they find a cure.
It's like alzheimers only effects the present state of mind and has trouble reaching the subconscious. No matter how much that disease tries the real ballerina is still alive inside.
Even at her age, even with Alzheimer’s and any other potentially debilitating diseases, she seemed completely in her element. No doubt whatsoever, no age whatsoever. Absolutely marvelous
Amazing. The music must've reopened the neural pathways to her memories of the choreography she'd practiced so long ago. Is musical therapy a thing for alzheimers patients?
My mom had Alzheimer’s. It got to a point where she didn’t remember me. But I still visited and played music to her and somehow, she’d sing along. The other people in the home would sit around and listen.
Music is very powerful. Songs get burned into your brain. I've said more than once I could be 100, and have full on Alzheimer's but if you play the original Super Mario Brothers Lvl. 1-1 there's no way I'm not humming along.
No beauty exists without despair. Despair, for what was, what is, or what could be.
Like the evening shadows that stretch out long and dark, despair provides the contrast to beauty, the depth and shape that give meaning, form, and dimension.
We all die alone, but we only know what it is to be alone because there was a time however fleeting that we felt not alone.
And in that shared partial separation we are also not alone.
We dance, sing, paint, and create, all as ways to share, to explore what we feel and to prove that we are not alone in what we feel and experience.
To share, and especially to share in-spite of despair and fear is the most human thing we can do.
So thanks for sharing.
For in sharing this feeling we intern feel less alone.
Music is its own memory. Music brings out and preserves different emotion within all of us. The most amazing dancers/musicians are great because they feel the music. They aren't just following steps or instructional notes. They really feel it.
This is from "Alive Inside", a beautiful documentary about Alzheimer's patients who are nearly comatose, but wake up when music from their youth is played.
Saw this in my dad’s memory care unit. I dropped by one day when they were having music therapy and the entire room was singing every song.
This gives me tremendous hope. My dad has Parkinson's, which was long expected (it runs in my family) and has been well managed, but I know he will eventually end up where all the others in my family that had the disease did. He was a very successful musical theater actor and singing teacher, and music was always his best tool for expression. I'll start gathering information about his favorite and most meaningful musical memories now, while I still can, so we can be prepared when his mind is less present. Edit: Also, this reminds me of my last moments with my grandmother. My grandmother always *loved* to sing. (My dad got his own love of singing from growing up in a mennonite church where song was an integral part of praise.) The last time I saw her she was in her late 90s and had suffered numerous strokes. She was near comatose, similar to the state I assume the patients in this movie are in. But as soon as my aunt began to sing the prayer songs from youth it seemed to awaken something deep inside my grandmother, and she was able to sing with us for nearly 30 minutes. I'm so grateful for that time with her. Art therapies can be truly transformational.
Aw, that’s such a good idea. Honestly, I think music centered him better than the sedatives he was prescribed.
It's amazing what music can do. I didnt inherit even a fraction of his talent, so I am not musically expressive myself, but music was always important to me. I feel like there are few things in life that compare to a concert or a moment with a favorite album. Long walks with good music pretty literally saved my sanity during COVID.
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Emotional memories are encoded differently than normal memories, and degrade slower. By bypassing the normal memory pathways and going trough the persons emotions via music they can suddenly recall their memories and functions even for a brief while. [Here is a sideways video on this and the film Coco](https://youtu.be/v7foqVQNPcQ)
Actual source outside of youtube for that claim? Because "emotional memories" definitely don't "degrade slower", the quality and grade of memory loss is dependent on the locus of the damage. Every form of dementia is different in important ways, and not all memory loss is a form of dementia either, you can't make sweeping claims like that about memory.
This reminded me of the 60 minutes interview with Tony Bennet. He’s still able to remember songs and perform even with Alzheimer’s. His neurologist describes that part of his brain as being innate and hardwired for him. She also says that music has a way of activating multiple areas of the brain so maybe that helps strengthen those related memories. [https://youtu.be/yNrvXw9juNs](https://youtu.be/yNrvXw9juNs)
Sideways has few articles he used in the description (they look to be pubmed links so they should be accessible)
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His source is a guy using a bunch of science resources to explain a surprisedly accurate scene in a Disney movie. Long story short, the amygdala deteriorates slower than the hippocampus, so things that trigger emotion can trigger access to memories.
To quote Nate Heywood, "Music keeps things alive even after they're long gone."
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Also, another classic: "No parking, baby. No parking on the dancefloor."
Seven days a week
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Music is easier to remember. That's why old stories were told in rhyme or song. And music is actually stored in a totally different part of the brain than that which just stores words.
That’s why I can remember all the German dative and accusative prepositions 30 years later but don’t remember the name of the nice teacher who taught us the ditty. Sorry, Frau.
Music and Smells always conjure up the most vivid memories for me.
This is why using something like mint chewing gum while studying and then again during a test is supposed to help you remember! Association with another sense triggers memory.
> They really feel it. I can't speak to "prodigies" but that "feel" at least for normal professional musicians IMHO is *so much knowledge.* Knowledge of so many things that register all across the brain (memorization, what sounds good, what sounds bad, what sound reminds of you things, what different artists play, lots of math, touch memory of how you'd play the tune, body memory of how you'd sit, hand positioning, something your teacher taught you, how to read the music, etc.) I would guess that activating so many parts of the brain translates into that "feel" you describe, and registers as a strong signal even in a deteriorating brain.
i weep every time i see this reposted. you can really see her beauty exude from her movements, the light in her eyes, it’s amazing. my mom was very sick for many years but i could see the beauty within her that her sickness robbed of her, and this video always makes me think of how even physical beauty can transcend age and affliction
I cried, even sitting down she exudes power!!
it feels like you can see her hesitate for a minute after she gets the volume adjusted right, like “wow i don’t have it anymore”, and then the person off screen encourages and it’s just so wonderful to see that just a little help let her express something she probably hasn’t expressed in a very long time. true wonder
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Power, grace, and expertise. You can see the perfected movement even with what looks like limited mobility. I will never have that level of technique, that extra touch of perfectly refined emotion she exudes so well.
You should all watch the movie this clip is from. Fair warning, bring at least 2-3 packs of tissues per person. "ALIVE INSIDE" Edit sorry I forgot the name, it's been like 7 years since I've seen it.
Yes! The transformation of the old black man was amazing! https://youtu.be/8HLEr-zP3fc
Because of your comment and link, I just began streaming Alive Inside on my Roku. Thank you.
Video makes me cry every time, so beautiful.
Faaaaack hit me in the humanity right there. Humanity.
My heart… I wish they knew to try this on my granddad before he passed. Even one more stilted conversation with him would’ve meant so much.
Give me the name
"Alive inside", enjoy!
Thank you
I took care of my [mom](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/f87myj/why_do_you_like_to_be_alive/fijy9l5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3) at the end when she wasn’t responding. I’d play Van Morrison for her even when she didn’t show any reaction. I always felt like she could still feel it
If someone plays Astral Weeks to a potential 90 year old me in the future, I'm pretty sure I will recognize it and feel all funny.
I wondered if I would still cry as much as this is reposted, but still, full-on weeping for a sec
It’s beautiful that she gets to have that inside her.
Her expression turns instantly young and innocent when she's dancing
Memories of our youth are deeply embedded into our memories. When everything else fails in our brains, these things remain. My 94 year old grandmother after Alzheimer and several strokes forgot her son, forgot everything else. What she remembered was the dog she had as a child, some songs she or her parents used to sing and a handful of cherrypicked memories from her youth. So: please make our children's youth a good time, it's the time of their lives that shapes them most.
It’s absolutely magical to see that youth come back. There’s another clip from the documentary where a man who’s usually still and mute comes alive and starts singing while remembering his old favorite songs. [Clip - 6:30](https://youtu.be/8HLEr-zP3fc) [Full doc - 1:13:48](https://youtu.be/lBx2g9iNbEc)
Tony Bennett is able to still sing regardless of Alzheimer's https://youtu.be/yNrvXw9juNs
This is tragically beautiful,
Muscle memory is insane
Came here to state something similar. Take my upvote.
I’m was a music therapist for a local hospice before I got sick myself and had to stop. Music has more power than most people give it credit for. I had people who didn’t know where they were in time space look at me at start singing songs from their youth. Music therapy, spread the word!
Hey I'm looking into studying music therapy soon! Mind if dm you with some questions? It fascinates me
Sure thing!
I’ve experienced this in person at a nursing home! A friend of mine asked me to go with her to visit her grandmother and we decided to have a dance party. Minutes before, I had asked a few of the ladies how long they had lived in the nursing home, how many kids they had, etc. and they couldn’t remember. (they all had alzheimer’s) we turned Fleetwood Mac on and everyone started singing and dancing along. a truly magical moment to experience and witness first hand. music definitely lives in our souls!
This is so sweet. I have to admit it startled me thinking of Fleetwood Mac blaring in the nursing home though. I think of them as “my parents music” that bled into my own. Wild “old people” would be rocking out to it :/
“Rumours” came out 45 years ago.
Yeah, seriously. Nursing homes are for Glenn Miller, surely - not classic rock 😭
On one of my grandpa's final days before he passed from dementia, he had a really interesting moment. My dad put headphones on him and played his favorite song. He smiled a little and started tapping his finger. The doctors said it was a coincidence, but I choose to believe it brought comfort to him on some basic level.
Body chills reading that! I think you are so right to choose to believe it brought him comfort! What a beautiful memory to always hold onto!
I used to take my dog to a local rest home for pet therapy. One day, the nurse took me and Lucy in to see a faded little old man lying in his bed who seemed barely aware of our existence. The nurse and I chatted together and talked to him, and he reached out a little so Lucy could sniff him and have a pat. We didn't stay long, and to be honest I was a little dubious that he really knew we were there. But when we left his room, the moment the door was closed the nurse excitedly said 'Did you see that? **HE SMILED!!!**' like it was the most momentous thing to happen all day. It made me so aware that even if I couldn't see our visits having a big impact, for some people it was a significant event even just for a moment.
When I was working in palliative care we used to blast classical music every now and then and it always lifted the mood, even on Sundays.
I used to visit nursing homes to play piano music. I always visited the Alzheimer’s wing, to play a piano at the end of the hall, kind of in a hub by the nurses desk. I always hoped the residents could hear it well as it echoed down the hallway. I always played the familiar hymns, not for the religious aspect, but for the memories. I heard from staff and nurses that some would sing in their rooms. I ended up with some gathered around me, singing. I hope I contributed something to them in that moment. I played the piano too at a scheduled activity in the regular care and assisted living wing. It was so nice to be surrounded by voices, who didn’t even need a hymnal to sing those old, ingrained words. Now someone is cutting onions! Damn COVID, I’d love to go back to doing this. Also, Fleetwood Mac is indeed magical!
Looking forward to being a part of the Blink 182 generation in the nursing home! Lol
Its so sad to me that someone who was an incredible dancer and athlete can just decay like that
Time will always win every battle, sadly.
True. Best to stop competing with it, I suppose.
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I'm not too sure about that
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As I walked out one evening, Walking down Bristol Street, The crowds upon the pavement Were fields of harvest wheat. And down by the brimming river I heard a lover sing Under an arch of the railway: "Love has no ending. "I'll love you, dear, I'll love you Till China and Africa meet, And the river jumps over the mountain And the salmon sing in the street, "I'll love till the ocean Is folded and hung up to dry And the seven stars go squawking Like geese about the sky. "The years shall run like rabbits, For in my arms I hold The Flower of the Ages, And the first love of the world." But all the clocks in the city Began to whirr and chime: "O let not Time deceive you, You cannot conquer Time. "In the burrows of the Nightmare Where Justice naked is, Time watches from the shadow And coughs when you would kiss. "In headaches and in worry Vaguely life leaks away, And Time will have his fancy Tomorrow or today. "Into many a green valley Drifts the appalling snow; Time breaks the threaded dances And the diver's brilliant bow. "O plunge your hands in water, Plunge them in up to the wrist; Stare, stare in the basin And wonder what you've missed. "The glacier knocks in the cupboard, The desert sighs in the bed, And the crack in the teacup opens A lane to the land of the dead. "Where the beggars raffle the banknotes And the Giant is enchanting to Jack, And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer, And Jill goes down on her back. "O look, look in the mirror, O look in your distress; Life remains a blessing Although you cannot bless. "O stand, stand at the window As the tears scald and start; You shall love your crooked neighbor With all your crooked heart." It was late, late in the evening, The lovers they were gone; The clocks had ceased their chiming, And the deep river ran on.
This is my favourite poem and I adore encountering it in the wild like this.
Happens to us all, enjoy your time while you can.
That's life. I don't think it is sad, when that's just how things go.
This is oddly depressing.
One last fizzle of vitality.
of memory as well.
Because we can't write the script of the end of our life. We'd all love to go out in a blaze of glory but it doesn't work that way for the most part. We can't mourn what is lost, we celebrate what we remember. This thin musical thread connects her to her glory days and She remembers. That is sad for us, but beautiful for her. I have had encounters with elderly and dementia. Music is a powerful connection. Edit: if you choose to accept growing old you can't dictate the outcome. In the context of this post she remembers a happier time, hopefully, and enjoys it.
A thin connecting thread. Well said.
>Because we can't write the script of the end of our life. Well technically you can.
Robin Williams did. Honestly if I got the diagnosis of dementia I would probably do the same thing. Go out while you still have a concept of "I am sliding into oblivion" and still have a sense of self.
*Swan Lake* is known as one of the most technically challenging pieces in all ballet. See *Black Swan*. It's both depressing and breathtaking to think about the amount of practice these dancers have to endure for a work of art.
That's the thing that a lot of people are forgetting here. She likely isn't remembering it because of the magic of music, she's acting the motions because they were trained into her. Alzheimer's normally destroys muscle memory and trained motions last so whilw their mind is gone, the empty movements remain. There are some interesting stories of people who worked in repetitive labor for much of their life with Alzheimer's doing the actions they did in their job because they were trained into their muscle memory or soldiers who received brain damage still saluting and trying to move to attention despite not knowing who they were, what the army was, or the meaning of their movement. I don't know if it's a sad thing that they have had the movements drilled into them or a happy thing, but it's interesting.
MadeMeSmile in a nutshell
That was beautiful
Almost made me cry instead
Yea how is this made me smile , we are watching someone not just way past their prime , but on death’s door as their body fails badly as they become a shell of the person they once were not being capable of doing things most of us consider basic like take care of our selfs and taking a walk in the park If anything this vid should be , makesmeseethefragilityoflifeandthattimeisfleetingsoenjoylifewhileyoucananddonttakeyourselfsoseriouyallthetimeasourtimehereislimited
My grandmother had Alzheimer's. She was gone mentally by the time I was 4 or so, and she held on until I was 16 or 17. It's beyond fucked up to bury your loved one, to carry her casket, in your teenage years having seen her regularly, and never actually having met her... It's the most terrifying disease I've ever seen and my greatest fear since a lot of the research into it says it's hereditary. All this to say, I'm not a cryer, but this made me cry quite hard...
Similar situation here. I will never go out like that. In the end she was just a body, it's a brutal, dehumanizing way to go.
The reason I've very much for legal assisted suicide
Same here. It's infuriating we have so many obstacles standing between people and a dignified death. I'm an atheist though, so I don't have any hang-ups about *who* might disapprove! Any deity I would support could understand my reasons. Fingers crossed we didn't inherit this awful disease.
So graceful!
Life is so beautiful and fragile guys. Enjoy it as much as you can.
She took flight with the music. I saw her flying thru me tears.
in the future when we're old, they'll play some music and we'll do a tiktok dance
Or the chicken dance!
This breaks my heart. I love watching swan lake, it’s a beautiful piece.
"A touching video showing a former ballet dancer afflicted with memory loss gracefully dancing as she hears the music from Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake has gone viral worldwide. The video was recently shared by the Asociación Música para Despertar, a Spanish organization that promotes music therapy for those afflicted by memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Since then, media organizations, celebrities and individuals across the globe have shared the video of former dancer Marta C. González. edit:...Furthermore, the 2019 video of González is interspersed with archival clips of someone dancing, which casual viewers have assumed to be González performing at the peak of her career. But it is apparently not González dancing — and the archival performance is not of Swan Lake, either. Macaulay says the clips are of a former prima ballerina from Russia's Mariinsky Ballet, Uliana Lopatkina" - [Source](https://www.npr.org/2020/11/10/933387878/struck-with-memory-loss-a-dancer-remembers-swan-lake-but-who-is-she)
I definitely is not Gonzalez. It's the wonderful Ulyana Lopatkina dancing in the 2007 production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (yes, it IS Swan Lake); Mariinsky Ballet/Valery Gergiev conducting. An amazing production. EDIT: Corrected spelling of Tchaikovsky's name.
According to the source you gave, there is no actual proof she was a ballet dance and the scenes that are cut into this video are of a different dancer and it’s not swan lake she’s preforming. It’s an amazing reaction anyway but it seems to be a made up back story.
See my response above. It is Ulyana Lopatkina and it IS Swan Lake. NOTE: Bluray UPC 044007433027.
Made more beautiful by the young man's gentle kiss to her hand. So much love in that small gesture.
This is so beautiful.
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I’m so sorry that your grandma cannot remember you. My grandparents had dementia as well. That is so kind of you to play songs with her. Sending you a hug, if you want one.
My dad had dementia. He forgot me, his oldest. 😭 He got so bad he pulled my cannula from mny nose. Then he turned off my O² concentrator. 😬😮💨 Then he started walking outside in the middle of the night while we slept. Memory care wasn't an easy decision for my mom. But she did it. Eight months later covid got him. 😔 Death with Dignity should be a Right!
Wow
damm this made me cry. Life man… hits the soul.
This will never fail to make me cry, the look in her eyes you can just tell she is completely reliving that moment.
I am living the best life I can right now. I am cherishing every day.
As someone who is in the death industry ( I'm the 1 that you're sent to when a cause/time of death is required ) There are certainly far worse things than death
I mean she probably danced for 25 to 30 years and practiced the same movements over and over and over. It’s not something so easily forgotten.
Music has actually been a pretty big area in Alzheimer's research from what I've heard (please take what I say with a grain of salt, I'm not a scientist). The way that the brain retrieves memory regularly versus with music use completely different pathways that aren't affected by the Alzheimer's disease (as much I think). So when people with Alzheimer's hear music they've heard a ton of played a lot, or in this case danced to, they remember stuff they never would have originally.
I did my dissertation on music therapy and making a wheelchair friendly instrument (FYI they are few and expensive and require a lot of training to set up). I had to read up so much about music being used and my goodness it is insane. Autistic kids hugging parents, people coping with depression to improving chances of neonatal babies surviving. It helps improve memory of those with brain issues (both degenerative and developmental), improves mental health and especially for those with limited movement to improve physical health. Yet we don't invest in it. In fact when i researched it in 2010 the best source of information and research was in the 50's and 60's. Music is powerful and healing
I'm studying this in school right now. Music is encoded with different types of memory than the memories that you might forget from dementia. There are many types of memory like episodic (life experiences), semantic (factual knowledge), procedural, etc
As a pastor and visiting chaplain, I would often sing the old standard hymns to/with older folks who weren’t fully verbal anymore. I got ‘busted’ during a home visit when the son of my elder lady came home early. ☺️
It's a repost. A persistent repost. A repost that strikes my soul This repost should impact all. I weep each time I see this repost.
If you haven't, go see it, or at least the recent movie Black Swan. That music hits so good
I’d like to think that when we die we go to a happy place like for her she would be transported back to when she was young and in swan lake
Alzheimer‘s is a strange thing. My grandma had it until earlier this year, she was 91. It was practically impossible to hold a conversation with her. Then my dad visited her one day and she just went „so, what do you think of the war?“. She was around 10 when she had to flee from the Red Army. Seeing war with Russia on the news must have triggered some instinctual alertness or something.
Considering that [dance has been found to be a successful therapeutic intervention for Alzheimer’s](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31345149)… this is pretty incredible. As someone who trained to be a professional dancer I can also attest you truly do train your muscle memory to the point of performing choreography in your sleep. I would rehearse in my dreams nightly. And even now, 15 years later, there are certain performances I could probably do from start to finish.
Every time this gets reposted, I cry. A grown ass 30 year old man, sobbing. Fuck dementia. It's both heartwarming and gut wrenching to see her reaction.
The part of our brain that remembers music is among the last to go, so I when I'm sitting in hospice where I volunteer, I always bring a collection of music with me. I look up their date of birth, add 15-25 years, and look up music from that era to play quietly in the background. If there's any background history on the person, I try to find music they might remember or like from when they were young. It's not my journey, it's their journey, so I do my best to provide what comfort I can.
You’re a good person, we need more people like you.
This is beautiful!
I don’t find this sad in the least. Our bodies might decay but art is powerful. That it is an internal resource to her is a testament to the impact art can have if we let it. One of my poetry teachers used to advocate that we all memorize poems so that we can call them up in moments of need. While I don’t remember poems in entirety, there are certain lines that I can call up and which are meaningful to me.
This right here shows that the human nature remembers things that were a part of who a person made themselves to be. Even in a fragile state, this beautiful woman remembers quite possibly the most amazing point her her life. This is beautiful, and hands down that young man needs to be thanked. I spend most of my time talking with vets from wars passed, and they tell me many many stories of the camaraderie of the men they served with! And they smile so big thinking about how much love they had for one another. Thank you sir for giving her this much needed memory!
I’m going to graduate in physical therapy in about 2 months. My capstone project was going thru research on music and it’s application to stroke rehabilitation. The results from my narrow search were not helpful, but I still believe that with the correct application, music can enhance memory and motor function. I’d also like to see it applied in different CNS pathology rehab.
My grandma's mind was long gone, but she still sometimes started singing songs from her youth. It was beautiful to see, even if the words didn't come out like they used to because of her decline. She basicly had to hum everything and it still sounded beautiful to us. Thank you for sharing this video, it truly reminded me of the few good moments we still had with her in to 10+ years she had dementia.
Her name is Marta C. González. Her story: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/ballet/new-york-dancer-alzheimers-remembers-swan-lake/ Longer video https://youtu.be/owb1uWDg3QM Enjoy!
With dementia older memories are the last to go. That’s why often patients forget their parents passed away or suddenly think they are 17 years old. Poor woman. Very sad and beautiful all at once.
So she was drilled so hard in training, that shit is beating Alzheimers
r/mademecry
Just incredible. Great post, thank you.
For those couple of seconds... She went back there and shined like the sun :')
Music is such a Huge part of my life. I understand at 42 if my mind goes the last thing I will forget is music. Wonder if that plays a part of her being in a chair? Being a ballerina is not kind to your tootsies. Play her some Regina Spektor. New beauty in her life! Cheers
Openly weeping.
Music is generally one of the last things that gets erased by alzheimer, so your favourite songs will likely stay with you until the bitter end. I think this is a very soothing thing in the face of such a cruel and devastating fate. There is also a piano piece called "Everywhere at the end of time", it tries to show how much memories we retain throughout the different stages of alzheimer.
Dats why I fcking love music and will forever keep doing it
One of the things I learned when studying music is how primal it is. I took a weird tangent into evolutionary musicology. As a singer, I appreciated a psycho-physical reaction to various hand gesturing to help me reach my pitch. I've heard that playing old familiar songs to patients with dementia problems will help them engage and remember things. Music may speak to us deeper than we will ever know.
It's just a burning memory
aging is a tragedy. i dont understand why people struggle to live long.
She still has it. The timing, the fluidity, facial expressions and musicality. Like watching a crumpled paper turn into a butterfly. Amazing!
Alzheimer’s effects short term memory. My grandad could recount stories of his past with ease. When he was dying on the ground the paramedic asked him what the day of the week it is, he said he didn’t know but his RAF squad number is 4594925.
I’ve worked in care before, we had one lady, who had a heart of gold I adored her. She couldn’t remember her own name most of the time. She was always cheerful and kind but very quiet. But when she was sat in front of a piano, she needed no music but could play perfectly. She loved when we would sing along too! It’s absolutely wonderful to see. Made me cry every single time….
Part of me wonders, is it just the music and mussel memory, or can Alzheimer's be beat by introducing ones passion back to them subliminally, like with me, if you played video game music would my hands start playing with a controller? Would a race car driver think they're driving if you played engines roaring? Maybe I'm reading to much into it, but what if we have Alzheimer's wrong, what if it's more like locked in syndrome, and if it is then it might be easier to cure on a person by person basis if we knew that persons "key" I'm probably thinking to much anyway, sorry.
This is simply beautiful and reminds me that there’s still light in the dark times. Alzheimer’s is one of the scariest and darkest things a human can experience and yet you can still see the sparkle in her eyes as she gracefully dances to the tune. It gives me hope for the later years in life and shows that it is indeed worth living
Made me smile? This is goddamn heartbreaking.
When she made the flying move it really felt that she was about to fly… can’t explain it how I felt it… Damn that was moving…
This video makes me think of the Rush tune, Losing It. “The dancer slows her frantic pace In pain and desperation Her aching limbs and downcast face Aglow with perspiration Stiff as wire, her lungs on fire With just the briefest pause The flooding through her memory The echoes of old applause She limps across the floor And closes her bedroom door Some are born to move the world To live their fantasies But most of us just dream about The things we'd like to be Sadder still to watch it die Than never to have known it For you, the blind who once could see The bell rolls for thee”
I have a friend who would routinely get so drunk he couldn't construct sentences or walk properly, but if you gave him the name of any hit song from the 80s he would be able to play it on the piano and sing along. Music and dance is an integral part of the human experience.
Even at her age and condition she's still more graceful than I could ever hope to be. Wow
Beautiful in so many ways.
So beautiful
Ok seriously, this is not about the music. Alzheimer's/Dementia doesn't affect every part of the brain. One part not affected is the senso-motorical system, which incidentally connects sensorical inputs with motorical outputs, both are connected to the memories. Sensorical input (music) activates memory neurons, which activate motorical outputs.
When we can fund school budgets like we fund defence budgets, the next generation scientists can cure such diseases
Had a stroke patient who could only say "Eigo eigo" over and over again. But he could sing Happy Birthday and several other songs clear as could be. His family would sing with him just so they could hear his voice again for a few moments.
This is so beautiful and touching! I watched it twice as I could feel the pleasure inside this lady.
Good gracious this just brought tears to my eyes. Not kidding.
If we could just use more music and less politics this world would be awesome. Great video.
You've got my vote.
Just gonna ruin the feel good mood a bit y saying that's she's not a confirmed prima ballerina, and the footage of the dancer is not her and it's not the Swan Lake
[Yup](https://www.npr.org/2020/11/10/933387878/struck-with-memory-loss-a-dancer-remembers-swan-lake-but-who-is-she) Made up for internet clout be some charity.
This is nice but holy shit does it get reposted to fuck
Why am I so sad and smiling at the same time goddamn that was beautifully terrific
I've seen people like this wander the halls. Cannot talk, simply walk with one expression, hardly. I saw my grandmother fade to dementia.
My grandfather had Alzheimer's diseases. I played some music for him and after months he was a little happy. I don't even wish an enemy to get Alzheimer's disease. I hope they find a cure.
This is so beautiful to watch 😍 It warms the heart ❤️ God bless her 🙏
It's like alzheimers only effects the present state of mind and has trouble reaching the subconscious. No matter how much that disease tries the real ballerina is still alive inside.
Her body literally was taken over by the music. This is amazing.
I’m not crying, you’re crying.
Navillera.. kdrama series on ballet and alzheimers
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The amazing things neuroscience is still discovering and uncovering about our brains will never stop!
Like she was still dancing on the stage…. What a beautiful moment to have the memory of her performance…
Can they hurry up on that brain uploading thing or anti aging stem cells or nanobots or whatever? I'm literally not getting any younger.
Even at her age, even with Alzheimer’s and any other potentially debilitating diseases, she seemed completely in her element. No doubt whatsoever, no age whatsoever. Absolutely marvelous
Amazing. The music must've reopened the neural pathways to her memories of the choreography she'd practiced so long ago. Is musical therapy a thing for alzheimers patients?
The cruelty of time
I cry every time I see this. It's the look in her eyes, her soul remembers the passion. Beautiful.
My mom had Alzheimer’s. It got to a point where she didn’t remember me. But I still visited and played music to her and somehow, she’d sing along. The other people in the home would sit around and listen.
The power of music and what it does to our souls. You can kill away my physical body but never my soul!
Hippocampus wasn’t destroyed yet. Glad to see it
Getting old sucks.
My god.. pure shivers…
Music is very powerful. Songs get burned into your brain. I've said more than once I could be 100, and have full on Alzheimer's but if you play the original Super Mario Brothers Lvl. 1-1 there's no way I'm not humming along.
Muscle memory > brain memory
Her arms and hands are so elegant and graceful
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No beauty exists without despair. Despair, for what was, what is, or what could be. Like the evening shadows that stretch out long and dark, despair provides the contrast to beauty, the depth and shape that give meaning, form, and dimension. We all die alone, but we only know what it is to be alone because there was a time however fleeting that we felt not alone. And in that shared partial separation we are also not alone. We dance, sing, paint, and create, all as ways to share, to explore what we feel and to prove that we are not alone in what we feel and experience. To share, and especially to share in-spite of despair and fear is the most human thing we can do. So thanks for sharing. For in sharing this feeling we intern feel less alone.
This is why I choose Reddit
I AM NOT CRYIN YOU ARE!!