The goal, he said, is not restoring memory, but rather improving quality of life for people in all stages of cognitive decline.
“When language gets affected, people struggle to communicate, but music can transcend language,” said Moughamian, “It becomes a way of communicating and it calms people.”
And music can help surface memories.
The group was singing King of the Road when Lauri Musumeche, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s three years ago, became overcome with emotion. The melody reminded her of her 98-year-old father, who used to play the harmonica.
“He did play [this song] for me one time, so it makes me want to cry,” she said.
Her friend Kandy Jones drove her from Livermore to attend, and has witnessed music prompting recall outside these sessions.
“I’ll say a phrase from a song and she immediately starts singing it,” Jones said. “It’s a real trigger.”
For Musumeche, the benefit is emotional as much as cognitive.
“It helps me feel good,” she said. “When you have Alzheimer’s, you’re always kind of sad.”
For Jim Hayden, the group helps preserve part of his wife Sandy Noltimier’s identity. She studied vocal performance, sang in a symphony chorus and performed as part of an A capella trio called PMS for decades before developing Alzheimer’s.
“She’s doing what she loves. It’s something she’s still good at,” said Hayden.
Noltimier said she values the absence of judgment and being less self-critical.
“This is a place where I don’t have to feel like someone’s listening too closely or saying I did it wrong,” she explained. “Everybody here has something they’re working through, and that makes it easier.”
Noltimier and Hayden attend together not as caregiver and patient but as partners. The hour gives them a shared activity that Alzheimer’s has not taken away.
“We’re always trying to drown each other out,” laughed Hayden.
By the time the session came to an end, the participants had run through nearly ten songs, clapping and tapping their feet to Puff the Magic Dragon and Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.
And next month, they’ll come back and sing a repertoire of songs reflective of Spring, dust the cobwebs off of another set of lyrics from their youth, and perhaps, unlock significant memories.
