This presentation is about the healing power of music, featuring a story about 85 year-old Janis, a remarkable woman who has played the piano all her life and continues to play from memory even though she has some short-term memory loss. After it was decided she could no longer live alone, her family selected an assisted living facility that would let her bring her grand piano. The piano was placed in the living room, and Janis can go there and play any time she feels like it. Visiting her recently, I asked her to play, and what happened next was one of the most extraordinary displays of positive human energy that I have ever seen. She looked up, her eyes engaged and smiling, and began to play from memory songs that were popular in her youth. She sounded like a professional, embellishing with “flowing chords and scale runs” for a full, rich nightclub sound. Other residents came, some with walkers and canes, but all smiling. Two women “boogied” in, keeping time with their shoulders and snapping their fingers. One woman leaned against the piano, crooning the words like a vintage torch singer. It was if fairy dust had filled the room, creating a magical moment. Janis beamed, feeling happy and useful. We must find ways for people like her to continue to express themselves. It would have been a tragedy if Janis had been separated from her piano. Her gift of music is too precious to lose.
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Sigma Theta Tau International