Mom grew up wanting to be a pianist. She dreamed of Juilliard. Her family just couldn’t afford it, and at the time (and maybe still, I don’t know), the entrance standards were very high.
I could run through her entire history but instead let’s boil it all down to dementia and music. My dad bought her this beautiful Steinway in 1965 and every house they bought after that needed to have “room for the piano.” It was the tool of her trade. She became known for her ability to accompany pretty much vocalists, choruses, and instrumentalists.
Fast forward again…we (Jim & I) are caring for mom. We encouraged her to play as often as possible. She did, for the first four years and then the broken pelvis happened. That paused her daily playing for 5 weeks…we brought her a piano music book so she could play at the rehab center but she couldn’t play every day.
When she got home, we tried to recommend she playbat least 3 times a week. If she said she didn’t feel like playing, we wouldn’t push.
What was most interesting was that she would always start out by playing this “vampy” piece that to this day I don’t know the name of, and then typically transition into White Christmas – including the introduction (most people don’t know that part!!) Both of these pieces she would play from memory. No music at all.
Let me say that again: FROM MEMORY. No music. At all. The woman with Dementia. Played from memory.
So, why am I writing this? Amy Grant tells a story of her parents having dementia and how her sisters sang hymns with them…and they could join right in. Mom was the same.
I can’t tell you how many times new doctors would suggest that mom “take up a musical instrument” to keep her mind sharp 🤔 😉 🤣. Music is more than just noise. It is therapy…real therapy for many ills, not the least of which is sadness.
Sharing the love. As we move through this season, I am hoping to grab more of mom’s playing and uploading to that same playlist from above. ⬆️ There’s nothing like growing up in a musical family. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but as I got older, I understood. I mean, how many of you sang Christmas carols in 4 part harmony every Christmas? With full piano accompaniment? 🙋♀️🙋♀️🙋♀️ I did.
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